Archive for the ‘Advice for New Writers’ Category

The Do’s and Don’ts of Asking for Reviews

by Carien Ubink It’s important to get reviews, but if you ask in the wrong way, your request might be deleted right away. So here are some do’s and don’ts when asking a blogger or fellow author for a review. Do your research. This means you need to have a good look at the blog/site/profile […]

Active Reading to Step Up Your Writing

by Corrine Kumar We grow as writers by reading, but we often read passively—leaving the understanding of stories to our subconscious. Passive growth is important, but active reading can raise our storytelling to new heights. Over the last two years, I have developed a system of actively reviewing each novel I read, and this process […]

Author Advances: An Update for Your Expectations

by Alice Speilburg Nearly every summer, I bring on an intern for the agency, and each week we cover a different publishing topic, focusing on traditional publishing paths in the US. When we get to author payment structures—advances and royalties—I start with a theoretical explanation. An advance is intended to cover an author’s expenses while […]

On Grants

by Gillian Polack   It’s suddenly harder to make a living as a writer. It was never easy. Setsu Uzumé recently wrote on the possibility of obtaining grants from regional or local governments. This article will walk you through some of the steps to get a local or regional government grant. I am Australian, so […]

Submission Tetris: An Analytic Approach

by Laurence Raphael Brothers Introduction Short fiction submissions can be challenging. There are many factors to juggle in deciding what to submit, and where. “Submission Tetris” is the game of matching your available stories with magazine and anthology slush calls. Markets and Market Lists The two leading short fiction market and submission trackers are The […]

Writing ‘POC’ is Not Enough

Writing ‘POC’ is not enough. It doesn’t merit applause, or points for diversity. What does merit applause and accolades is acknowledging and depicting unreduced minorities—especially marginalized voices—in writing. We are not a monolith. Our stories are as complicated and intersectional as anyone else’s.