Podcasts for True Crime Writers
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October 18, 2016

Perhaps you got hooked on podcasts last year by listening to Serial. From the creators of This American Life, produced by WBEZ Chicago, and hosted by Sarah Koenig, Serial offered listeners a true story told over the course of a season with weekly episodes. The first season focused on the disappearance in 1999 of Hae Min Lee in Baltimore and the conviction of her boyfriend,… [Read More]

An Interview with Elaine Mansfield on using social media as an author.
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February 9, 2016

Elaine Mansfield is the author of Leaning Into Love: A Spiritual Journey Through Grief (Larson, 2014). Gold Medal Winner of the Independent Publisher Book Award 2015, her memoir captures your heart—from the extraordinary closeness of Elaine’s marriage to how she and Vic transformed their struggle with cancer and despair into a conscious relationship with mortality. After Vic’s death, Elaine leaned into her ongoing love as… [Read More]

ARROWS author Melissa Gorzelanczyk’s unusual road to publication
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January 26, 2016

The launch of Green Bay author Melissa Gorzelanczyk’s debut Young Adult novel ARROWS (Delacorte Press, 2016) is one example of how social media can play an important role in author success. Melissa’s novel ARROWS is a modern cupid story set in present-day Wisconsin combining the fantastical elements of Greek mythology with the contemporary drama of MTV’s Teen Mom,” according to Melissa’s website. Her novel also has… [Read More]

Blurbs and asking for endorsements
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January 12, 2016

It is the author’s responsibility to seek endorsements for their books and publishers expect you to get them. Blurbs – often only a few words or phrase of praise from a high profile author, celebrity, or expert  –  appear on a book’s cover or dust jacket flaps. Blurbs are also used in query letters to agents, on tip sheets to booksellers, in marketing materials and… [Read More]

Audience Engagement and the Sales Funnel: The Business of Being an Author
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November 3, 2015

How are readers going to find you? When agents and publishers consider a book project, especially nonfiction, they ask questions about your discoverability. There are two basic ways authors and their books get found by readers: search or referral. The first method requires you master search engine optimization and the second requires you master social networking. The marriage of the two in social media marketing… [Read More]

The Importance of Reading Comparable Works
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October 20, 2015

Agents and publishers in their submission guidelines often ask for a list of comparable titles. By identifying these books, they can estimate the size of the print run and a P&L (profit-and-loss statement). Identifying the current books on the market which serve the needs of your readers helps you with the business of being an author and your bottom-line, too. The comparative title analysis identifies the authors… [Read More]

Managing the business of being an author
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September 8, 2015

To be an author is a status many work hard to attain. Most of that work is invisible to the reader’s eye. Much of it doesn’t involve creative writing. The roles and responsibilities of an author go far beyond producing a wonderful manuscript. Writer is one role and the manuscript is one important responsibility. There are other roles besides writer and many more responsibilities. The role… [Read More]

Narrative Arc for Nonfiction Writing
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August 4, 2015

Blame Aristotle.  Blame classical Greek culture. Blame all of Western Civilization. But every story must have a beginning, middle, and end. And more than that. Without narrative structure, non-fiction writing is just a boring recitation of one thing after another. You may think because it is based on your experiences, historical events, scientific experimentation, or natural observations that you don’t need a story to write… [Read More]

Literary Journals and Platform Building
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July 7, 2015

Getting your writing published in a literary journal is an important way to improve your chances of getting your nonfiction (or memoir) book manuscript published. When your writing is published in a literary journal it provides a publisher with evidence you can meet professional standards and others find your work compelling. Literary journals are often considered gatekeepers to the publishing community. Which literary journals should… [Read More]

No Shortcuts
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June 16, 2015

“There’s a long history, of women especially, saying ‘Well, I just got lucky.’ I didn’t just get lucky. I worked my f***ing a** off. And then I got lucky. And if I hadn’t worked my a** off, I wouldn’t have gotten lucky. You have to do the work. You always have to do the work.”  –Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things Simply… [Read More]