James Preston When I was growing up I read a lot. I had a pattern, a way that I approached books that just evolved sort of on its own. I'd read for a while, get to a really good part and then go off and do something else, something mindless. Often I'd dig a hole. […]

Shannon Donnelly I'm always thinking about the pacing of the story. Am I moving too slow or too fast? Too much detail in the story slows the pacing—but too little and the reader can’t ‘see’ the scene. Action is great for speed, but too much can confuse. Dialogue can pick up the pace, but you […]

Rachel Funk Heller What's the whole deal about writing fast? Why is it such a trend? One, we know writers who write more and have more books to sell -- sell more books! You have fans that want to gobble up everything you write and you're under the gun to write faster. But, you don't […]

Kate Moretti Congratulations! You published a book. It’s out there in the world, all new and shiny, bouncing like the newborn its constantly compared to. The hard part is over, right? Um… well this is awkward. Maybe you watch Amazon rank or your Bookscan data or if you’re lucky, get numbers from your publisher and […]

Ellen Meister Churlish. Mean. Difficult. Insensitive. When I first got the idea to introduce the acid-tongued Dorothy Parker to social media, I had no idea I would soon be using those adjectives to describe Facebook. It started in early 2011. I was working on a new novel that resurrected the great 1920s literary wit as […]