UPDATE: November 11—Secret Advice for Writers just hit #1 in its category in the Kindle Free Store. Fiction and Stories are now #15 and #16 in their category in the Paid Store. FINALLY! It’s been five and a half years since we first published The Art & Craft of Fiction:… Read more“Art & Craft of Writing: Secret Advice for Writers”
Category: Editing Services
Would you like your work edited into a high-quality manuscript suitable for submission to the best literary journals and agents? See here for how it’s done.
Running into the Jaws of NaNoWriMo
Yes, folks, it’s that time of year again. Time to take off our shoes and socks, roll up our pants, flex our fingers, and with blood-curdling yells of terror and glory in our eyes. . . run straight into the jaws of NaNoWriMo Every year I run a series helping… Read more“Running into the Jaws of NaNoWriMo”
Farewell to my beloved blog cat
. . . It is with great sorrow that I share the news of the passing of my beloved blog cat. He was diagnosed last month with inoperable cancer and died yesterday in our arms. He was fourteen and a half years old. For those of you who have been… Read more“Farewell to my beloved blog cat”
Mark Twain on a Work of Art vs. Literary Delirium Tremens
My husband found this excerpt from Mark Twain’s famous criticism of The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper on the blog of Marcel Gagne: Writer and Free Thinker at Large. This excerpt has become known as “Mark Twain’s Rules of Writing.” And I tell you people, verily, these rules are as… Read more“Mark Twain on a Work of Art vs. Literary Delirium Tremens”
The Writer’s 3 Organizational Tools:
Jadestone Hatchet, Artist’s Easel, & Cat
So, last month was all about writers conferences, and if you were busy all month actually attending those conferences you can catch up with us here, and here, and here, and especially here (a story of hope!). Then last Friday I confessed what happened after that last writers conference. …. Read more“The Writer’s 3 Organizational Tools: <br>Jadestone Hatchet, Artist’s Easel, & Cat”
Fiction Southeast, literary magazine
Exciting news! This summer I was contacted by Fiction Southeast, the prestigious online literary magazine. They asked if I’d be interested in contributing a regular monthly piece for them. They’ve published Joyce Carol Oates, Ron Carlson, Robert Olen Butler, Michael Marton, and Aimee Bender, so they were offering me quite… Read more“Fiction Southeast, literary magazine”
Has a Techno-Shaman Ever Worn Your Blog T-Shirt?
Recently, my husband made me my own custom mug. Then we discovered you could also get them as all kinds of different drinking vessels like frosted glasses and travel mugs and a cup that looks black when it’s cold but shows the design as it heats up. Then he ventured… Read more“Has a Techno-Shaman Ever Worn Your Blog T-Shirt?”
3 Things Gordon Lish Did Right by Raymond Carver
Wow, it’s been years since the New Yorker magazine published the original editing job Gordon Lish did on Raymond Carver’s short story, “Beginners.” You may or may not have heard about the fracas surrounding that publication. And even if you’ve read some of Carver’s work, you might not recognize this… Read more“3 Things Gordon Lish Did Right by Raymond Carver”
Mugs & Publishers: What’s the Difference?
“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs. . .” —Rudyard Kipling Okay, two very disparate things to draw links between today (which linking is, of course, the basic act of all art): MUGS We had a quick chat one week recently about whether or… Read more“Mugs & Publishers: What’s the Difference?”
Final 3 Free HOOK Edits—
by Jeff Betts, Laura Eno, & Sean O’Mordha
All right, folks, we’re going out with a bang this month with three really beautifully-done entries for my 2009 series of HOOK Edits, from Jeff Betts, Laura Eno, and Sean O’Mordha. These authors left me with very little do do, edit-wise. Please give them a round of applause! I want… Read more“Final 3 Free HOOK Edits—<br>by Jeff Betts, Laura Eno, & Sean O’Mordha”