Jamie Raintree I participated in my first National Novel Writing Month event in 2008. I had never written a novel before and had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I'd always loved a challenge. Up until then, I'd only ever written short stories, and any previous novel attempts had stopped at the […]

Susan Spann “Advances” – technically, advances against royalties, are lump-sum payments some publishers pay to authors “in advance” of publishing the author’s work. More simply, an “advance” is the money an author receives up front on a publishing deal. Not all authors receive advances, and not all publishers offer them. Small and micro-publishers often pay […]

Penny C. Sansevieri If you’re an author who just wants to write, you’re not alone. I talk to authors every day who hate the idea of marketing and are not even sure where to begin. I definitely can understand. Marketing is always changing, and it isn’t easy, especially if you still have a full time […]

Piper Bayard Lone Wolf Writers are those who shun critique groups, avoid craft classes, and cross the street when we see volunteer editors heading toward us. We are known for keeping to ourselves and avoiding too many voices in our heads and in our lives. If you're still not sure if you are a Lone […]

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Revisions are a part of writing, and as much as we wish they'd go smoothly, they don't always work out like we planned. Some manuscripts fight us and nothing we do makes them any better. When we run into such a troublesome beast, it helps to step back and figure out […]