Every month, I join Nevertheless Writers, a cross-genre group of five writers, to discuss writing and publishing at local libraries and
Read Morebook marketing
Begging for Blurbs? Here’s How
There is probably no more humbling experience than pimping a book for blurbs. Most writers are cut out to be solitary creatures
Read MoreHow Long Does a Novel Take to Write?
I binged this past weekend. Not on reality TV or chocolate or martinis, but on writing. I booked a cheap off-season condo in Maine and wrote 17,822
Read MoreTHE DIY BOOK TOUR: 8 TIPS FOR TURNING AN AUTHOR’S NIGHTMARE INTO A PARTY
I'm betting most writers prefer working alone in pajamas to promoting their books like carnival barkers. We're relieved when our publicist—if we're
Read MoreWriting Genre Fiction? Push the Envelope.
Whether you're writing a mystery series or fantasy, so-called "literary fiction" or romances, the common view is that writers must brand themselves as
Read MoreHow Do You Write a Novel? Six Things that Stay the Same Every Time
My friend Susan Straight and I have been swapping manuscripts-in-progress since graduating from the MFA program at the University of Massachusetts,
Read MoreHow Launching a Book is Like Sending Your Kid to College
This month, as I gear up to launch my new novel, BEACH PLUM ISLAND, on April 1, it occurs to me that there are lots of similarities between sending
Read MoreShould You Do a Book Tour On Your Own Dime?
We writers quake in our slippers at the thought of actually having to get dressed and emerge from behind our laptop shields. Whether we're
Read MoreThe AWP Conference in Boston: Where Writers Swim Like Fish
My first day at the AWP Conference in Boston, I stood for several minutes at the bottom of the escalator, paralyzed by the sight of so
Read More