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Recently Jane Friedman, guru of all things publishing in the US if not the world, spoke of AI in her email “The Bottom Line.” Some books were disqualified from a national award in New Zealand because they discovered AI was used on the covers. A lot of people think this is appropriate. Others say that AI is nothing […]

For a long time, I’ve learned to go to bed with a chapter running in my head. First, it helps me go to sleep. Secondly, it makes my mind work, and in the morning, especially if I go right into the shower, ideas bubble to the surface for what I need to do next. Or […]

Search engines are an integral part of writing research, and often the way authors find new magazines, writing markets, or submission guidelines. However, search engines can be repetitive or biased and easily trap searchers in a scrolling loop. Here’s key advice on how to find your way around search engines. The Writing Market Search Searching […]

I was at Edisto Beach a few years ago, and it rained all week. I mean two days of hurricane-type rain and five days of drizzle. Water dripped off the porch roof and plopped in the sand below. Ozone hung in the air. A small herd of deer walked hidden in dunes and assorted grasses, […]

Illness/shingles tried to get in the way of my writing, and while I haven’t written every day, I have managed to throw a few words together often. The motivation is mostly due to the fact I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of the next book. So I’ve reverted to my old […]

Early in my career an executive once told me, “Great story, mediocre script.” When I pressed him on what made the script mediocre, he fumbled trying to explain – how it took too long to get to moment X or that moment Y had no conflict between the hero and villain – before finally settling […]

This newsletter has gone out for 26 years. I have missed two Fridays in that time period. I’ve been asked how I do it, and all I can say is it is such an instilled habit that a Friday cannot arrive without me wondering what’s left for the newsletter. Then I’m asked what’s the hardest […]

Several times this week, someone has told me what they write, how long they’ve been writing, and how much they love writing. They’ve finished a first draft, edited it once or twice, then deemed it ready for publication. They ask me where they can send their writing, as if that were just an afterthought, and […]

Most writers subscribe to at least one (usually more) market newsletters that provide lists of places to pitch work. In addition, these newsletters offer advice from experienced writers about writing and the business of getting published. I’ve been a subscriber to FundsforWriters since 2011, and I have what I thought was a bad habit of not deleting […]

I want to scream each time someone asks me this. I’m sure many other editors and publishers feel the same. They usually don’t reply. I simply tell the submitter to read the guidelines on the website. Being able to write is only one factor used in someone hiring, purchasing, or contracting your work. The other […]

The main way of making money from Medium is to join the Medium Partner Program and start submitting to ‘publications’. It’s worth subscribing too. Anyone can read a limited amount of the content on Medium, but for unlimited access beyond the paywall, you have to be a member yourself. Subscribing is how Medium makes the […]

I make a few hundred dollars a year from writing on Medium, something I’ve been doing for about seven years. As well as a writing side hustle, I’ve also found Medium useful as a research tool, portfolio, and archive. Over a couple of articles, I’ll look at how to get started, and how to start […]