I just came across a rejection letter from the Museum of Art, politely declining the donation of a painting by an artist. The letter is dated October 18, 1956, …
[Read more...] about If You AREN'T Being Rejected, Perhaps You Aren't Creative Enough
short stories
AWWP Writing Prompt: I Am…
I've just given my second writing prompt to the workshop I'm heading up at the Afghan Women's Writing Project this month. I tried to do something very simple …
A Friday the 13th Writing Tip – on Writing and Luck
"Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one's luck." — Iris Murdoch And a quick reminder that Friday the 13th …
[Read more...] about A Friday the 13th Writing Tip – on Writing and Luck
The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published #12: The Importance of Kind Words … and Book Giveaway Thanks for Same!
Yes, you're in the right place for the 1st Books Book Giveaway! Read on! [But Please Note: The Contest is Now Closed and the winner have been drawn and …
The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 11: We Need Permission! And a Latin Expert!
In Part 6 of this "All-True" series, I blogged about Beth Pearson and her amazing team who, among other things, flagged every place in The Four Ms. Bradwells …
The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 10: The Dreaded Author Photo
To be honest, I'm not sure why I'm not skipping right over this author photo bit and moving on to The Four Ms. Bradwells showing up on Amazon. I. Hate. Photos. …
A Brief History of the Slush Pile
Did you know the first time the New York Times used the term "slush pile" in a literary sense wasn't until 1967? I just came across an article at the Awl, "Very …
The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 9: Titles and DESCRIPTIONS and Author Photos – Oh My! (the "Description" part)
One funny thing about writing a book is how hard it is to reduce 300+ pages of prose to a one- or two-paragraph description. So the good news is that when your …
The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 8: TITLES and Descriptions and Author Photos – Oh My!
The working title for The Four Ms. Bradwells was "The Ms. Bradwells," which comes from an 1873 Supreme Court case, Bradwell v. Illinois, in which nine white …
The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 7: It's a … Well, Not a Book, Exactly, but an ARC. Or an ARE?
I've just arrive home from ten days in Berlin and Prague to find a box of advanced reader copies of The Four Ms. Bradwells on my doorstep! Woo hoo!!! For those …
