Traditional Publishing

The Art of Revising a Book

Recently, I stayed in an Airbnb where someone had tied the top tissues of all of the Kleenex boxes into bows. My first instinct was to laugh because

Recently, one of my writing students asked for advice on how she should structure her novel. “I already have fifty pages and I don't know

It's easy to give up on your writing. Whether you're working on a novel, a memoir, a short story, or an article, writing is hard. Not

I am no fiction virgin. I have published six novels to date—one on my own, and five with Penguin Random House. Yet, until recently, I have never felt

I hated history class in high school. All of those boring dates and dead people, blah blah blah. I memorized what I needed to, then took the

If you're a writer, rejection is a way of life. Maybe your writing group doesn't like your current draft. You can't find an agent. Or,

So you finished your novel. Congratulations! Now what? If you're like me, the first thing you'll do is celebrate, maybe even all by

I came downstairs just as my husband returned from our local liquor store, where he'd gone to buy wine for dinner. He brandished a bottle of rum at

My dad was a Navy officer, yet he was sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas when I was eleven years old. Yes, Kansas: not exactly a seafaring