Working efficiently, effectively, creatively.
On your own and with editors and other partners.

__________

Writing and marketing

Featured
First drafts are beautiful
First drafts are beautiful

They’re where the magic starts

There’s an unfortunate trend toward bemoaning and denigrating first drafts. We sigh about how wretched they are. We wring our hands and commiserate.

Read More →
Exposition: what it is, how best to use it
Exposition: what it is, how best to use it

Done well, it’s smooth and seamless, almost invisible

Exposition means different things to a writer, depending upon context.

Read More →
It’s not a “sh*tty” first draft
It’s not a “sh*tty” first draft

It’s just a first draft

Which is to say, it’s a work in progress. It’s the clay just down on the potter’s wheel. It’s the paints you’re messing about with. It’s first thoughts, early tinkering, maybe already some revision (if so, bonus points!).

Read More →

Categories and genres

Featured
YA compared with MG (a bulleted comparison)
YA compared with MG (a bulleted comparison)

Distinguishing characteristics at a glance

“Young adult” and “middle grade” are age categories, not genres. Young adult fiction is fiction for preteens and teens, from about the ages of 12 to 18. Middle-grade fiction, by contrast, is fiction for kids ages 8 to 12.

Read More →
Literary, upmarket, and genre fiction (a bulleted comparison)
Literary, upmarket, and genre fiction (a bulleted comparison)

Distinguishing characteristics at a glance

With some books, it’s obvious whether the book is meant as a work of genre or literary fiction. (Where literary fiction is a distinct genre itself.) Such books inhabit their worlds fully.

Read More →

editing and reviews

Featured
Planning for early review and editing (fiction, narrative nonfiction)
Planning for early review and editing (fiction, narrative nonfiction)

Plan ahead now for smoother success later

While you’re in the process of writing your book, you’ll want to think ahead to early reviews and the edit cycles. If you plan these into your schedule early on, they’ll be less likely to throw you off-schedule when the time comes to tackle them.

Read More →
Planning for early review and editing (nonfiction)
Planning for early review and editing (nonfiction)

Plan ahead now for smoother success later

While you’re in the process of writing your book, you’ll want to think ahead to early reviews and the edit cycles. If you plan these into your schedule early on, they’ll be less likely to throw you off-schedule when the time comes to tackle them.

Read More →


__________ 

__________