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Meg Waite Clayton

New York Times Bestselling Author

  • Meg
    • Bio
    • Short Works
    • Meg’s Writing Process
  • Books
    • The Postmistress of Paris
    • The Last Train to London
    • Beautiful Exiles
    • The Race for Paris
    • The Wednesday Sisters
    • The Four Ms. Bradwells
    • The Language of Light
    • The Wednesday Daughters
    • International Editions
  • Events
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    • The Last Train to London
    • The Race For Paris
    • The Wednesday Sisters
    • The Four Ms. Bradwells
    • The Language of Light
    • The Wednesday Daughters
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  • Writing Tips
    • Tips for Writers
    • How Writers Get Started
    • On Agent Queries
    • Publishing Tips
  • Contact

Writing Tips

Writing and Placing Opinion Pieces

September 25, 2021Uncategorized
Ten years ago today, on the 40th anniversary of Sandra ...
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On Agent Queries

May 10, 2021Publishing Tips
Finding a good literary agent - which is generally the ...
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Paddling your Bathtub into London: How Great Stories End

May 1, 2020Meg's Posts,Top Writing Tips,Writing Tipsendings,freitag,plot,story,writing
I am working through plotting issues myself and returned to ...
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Handwritten draft of A Scandal in Bohemia by Sherlock Holmes

No Social Distancing Required for Fictional Friends

March 21, 2020Meg's Posts,Writing Tips
No Social Distancing Required for Fictional Friends Like many now, I'm ...
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Bookseller Raves for The Last Train to London (now in 18 Languages) — and a prepublication copy for you!

June 23, 2019Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
So much great news to share on my forthcoming novel, ...
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A new book by Madeleine l’Engle: Stories found in her “Tower”

June 16, 2019Meg's Posts,Publishing Tips,Top Writing Tips,Writing Tips
The two books that made me dream of becoming a ...
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Writing in Paris!

June 8, 2019Uncategorized
I'm in Paris, working on a new novel, and just ...
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On the 75th Anniversary of D-Day

June 5, 2019Meg's Posts,Writing Tips
It’s a rainy evening in Paris, just minutes before the ...
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One More Day for a Prepublication Copy of The Last Train to London!

May 30, 2019Uncategorized
Just one more day for a prepublication copy of my ...
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WE-ARE-ALL-COMPLETELY-BESIDE-OURSELVES-jacket_300x450

Karen Joy Fowler: First Words

November 25, 2018Guest Authors
In celebration of Nanowrimo, I'm rerunning some of my favorite ...
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Julia Glass: The Not Quite Yes

November 5, 2018Guest AuthorsAtlantic,I See You Everywhere,Julia Glass,Nelson Algren Award,novels,Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society Medal for Best Novella,The New Yorker,The Whole World Over,The Widower's Tale,Three Junes,Tobias Wolff Award
For NanoWriMo month, I'm going to repost some of my ...
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The Lowly Pencil

September 22, 2018Meg's Posts
Pencil, from the Latin penicillus, meaning "little tail." Little tail? Not ...
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Video Wikis

September 3, 2018Uncategorized
I know -- and use -- Wikipedia on a pretty ...
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A Hemingway Story that Started 100 Years Ago Today

July 8, 2018Meg's Posts
On this day 100 years ago, 18-year-old Ernest Hemingway (yes, ...
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5 Quotes from Philip Roth on Reading, Writing, and Life

May 23, 2018Meg's Posts
I was saddened to hear the news last night that ...
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Gellhorn Lies Quote

Words of Wisdom from Martha Gellhorn

May 12, 2018Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Last year I started an effort to share a quote ...
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STOP Writing — Without Giving Up

April 4, 2018Guest Authors
I'm delighted to have as my guest this week Jennifer ...
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Steinbeck on Struggling with a Scene

November 15, 2017Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
Another bit of great writing advice from John Steinbeck: ...
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John Steinbeck Support for NANOWRIMO

November 2, 2017Meg's Posts
This won't be an all-Steinbeck-all-the-time month, but I did find ...
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John Steinbeck on writing

Advice from Steinbeck to Kick Off NANOWRIMO

November 1, 2017Top Writing Tips,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
Today is the first day of NANOWRIMO, wherein some crazy ...
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Writing Advice from Ernest Hemingway on the Anniversary of For Whom the Bell Tolls

October 21, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Tips
Today marks the anniversary of the publication in 1940 of ...
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5 Quotes from Toni Morrison

October 19, 2017Meg's Posts
Nobel- and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison's novels include The ...
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Caution: Writing While Parenting

October 11, 2017Uncategorized
My guest today, Anne Michaud, is a veteran political journalist ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

September 22, 2017Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
For the first day of fall, from Nora Ephron: Don't you ...
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25 Great Quotes on Writing and Life

May 22, 2017Meg's Posts
Continuing to play catch up on my year of quotes ...
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Nora Ephron on Reading

May 19, 2017Meg's Posts
A great one from Nora Ephron, on the occasion of ...
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A Brief Guide to Theft

May 17, 2017Guest Authors
Today's guest author, Ethel Rohan, has just released her third ...
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Nora Ephron on Craziness and Sanity

May 11, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
If you've heard me speak, you might know this is ...
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25 Quotes by Women Writers

May 10, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Well, it's been a tough couple months and I've fallen ...
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Remembering Harper Lee, on Her Birthday

April 28, 2017Meg's Posts
Harper Lee would have been 91 today. Seems a good ...
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365 Great Quotes for Women

April 8, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Again, the amazing Nora Ephron, this one from "When Harry ...
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The Loft

The Loft in Mineappolis, avec Devis

March 25, 2017Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
If you don't know The Loft, it's an amazing resource ...
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Journal Avatar to Link Back to Blog Hop

Isabel Allende on Writing

March 24, 2017Meg's Posts
Today's quote, just because I like it: Writing is a process, ...
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Joyce Maynard on Believing

March 23, 2017Meg's Posts
Last but not least at the luncheon table last week ...
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Aaron Sorkin-Master-Class

23 Tips from Aaron Sorkin’s Screenwriting Master Class

March 22, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Tips
I recently participated in Aaron Sorkin's online screenwriting master class, ...
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Lalita Tademy on Having Plans

March 22, 2017Meg's Posts
I was blown away when Lalita Tademy, author of the ...
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Sylvia Brownrigg on … Well, Just Read It!

March 21, 2017Meg's Posts
Well if today's quote, from the third side of my ...
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Women Who Lunch

March 20, 2017Meg's Posts
Since I started this series, which I might call "Ladies ...
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Peggy Orenstein On Women

March 19, 2017Meg's Posts
Today's quote, from Peggy Orenstein, will complete the first side ...
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No Accidents

March 18, 2017Meg's Posts
Another quote from a lunch companion: In the great design of ...
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7 Bits of Irish Wisdom

March 17, 2017Meg's Posts
Happy St. Patty's Day! In honor of my Irish roots ...
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Christina Baker Kline on Persevering

March 16, 2017Meg's Posts
I had the loveliest lunch yesterday, a gathering of nine ...
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Journal Avatar to Link Back to Blog Hop

Ayelet Waldman on Talented Women

March 15, 2017Meg's Posts
I'm looking forward to lunch today with some terrific authors ...
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A Little Paris Bookstore

March 14, 2017Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
Horton Foote, American author, playwright and screenwriter, was born 101 ...
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Anna Quindlen on Books

March 13, 2017Meg's Posts
Today's quote, from the amazing Anna Quindlen: Books are the plane, and ...
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Harper Lee on Expecting Success

March 12, 2017Meg's Posts
I love this quote from Harper Lee:   I never expected any ...
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Harper Lee on Reading

March 11, 2017Meg's Posts
One of my all-time favorite books is To Kill a ...
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Journal Avatar to Link Back to Blog Hop

Jane Austen on Reading

March 10, 2017Meg's Posts
Today's quote, on reading, from Jane Austen: I declare after all ...
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Jane Smiley on Reading

March 9, 2017Meg's Posts
Today's quote, from Jane Smiley's Thirteen Ways of Looking at ...
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Nora Ephron on Writing Parts for Women, on Women's Day

March 8, 2017Meg's Posts
It's International Women's Day today -- a celebration that we ...
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More Wisdom from Judy Blume

March 7, 2017Meg's Posts
My only advice is to stay aware, listen carefully, and ...
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Wisdom from Judy Blume

March 6, 2017Meg's Posts
Our finger prints don't fade from the lives we touch."- ...
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A Last Quote in Celebration of Suffrage

March 5, 2017Meg's Posts
My last post in celebration of the Supreme Court upholding ...
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Right and Left Hands

March 4, 2017Meg's Posts
Celebrating the 95th anniversary of the Supreme Court declaring the ...
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Suffrage Week Continues

March 3, 2017Meg's Posts
Celebrating the 95th anniversary of the Supreme Court declaring the ...
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Suffrage Week Continued!

March 2, 2017Meg's Posts
Celebrating the 95th anniversary of the Supreme Court declaring the ...
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In Praise of Stubbornness

March 1, 2017Guest Authors
My dear friend Harriet Scott Chessman's new novel, The Lost ...
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More Suffrage Wisdom

March 1, 2017Meg's Posts
Celebrating the 95th anniversary of the Supreme Court declaring the ...
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Wisdom from Elizabeth Cady Stanton

February 28, 2017Meg's Posts
Celebrating the 95th anniversary of the Supreme Court declaring the ...
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95 Years Ago Today…

February 27, 2017Meg's Posts
Ninety-five years ago today, the Supreme Court unanimously declared the ...
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An Oscar Night Quote

February 26, 2017Meg's Posts
Offering this one today, with an alternative: You have to write ...
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A Hidden Figures Quote

February 25, 2017Meg's Posts
I so loved the movie Hidden Figures that I am ...
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The Most We Can Hope For

February 24, 2017Meg's Posts
Today's quote, from Elizabeth Strout's lovely Abide with Me. I suspect ...
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A Quote from Christina Baker Kline, on the Occasion of Her New Book

February 23, 2017Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
I've just started reading Christina Baker Kline's brand new novel, ...
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Ann Patchett on Writing

February 22, 2017Meg's Posts
Today's quote: Writing is a job, a talent, but it's also ...
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Happy Birthday Anäis Nin

February 21, 2017Meg's Posts
Celebrating Anäis Nin's birthday with one of my favorite quotes ...
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Ann Packer on Broken Hearts

February 20, 2017Meg's Posts
Today's quote comes from my friend Ann Packer's latest novel, ...
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Cold-Body Reading

February 19, 2017Meg's Posts
Not sure what started me on this Emily Dickinson kick, ...
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Happy Birthday, Toni Morrison

February 18, 2017Meg's Posts
Today is Toni Morrison's birthday. In presenting her the Medal ...
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Forever

February 17, 2017Meg's Posts
Closing out the work week with great writing and life ...
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Variations on a Theme from Dickinson

February 16, 2017Meg's Posts
Certainly the most poetic writing advice I know of, from ...
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Hope, from Emily Dickinson

February 15, 2017Meg's Posts
Did you know Emily Dickinson wrote her poetry on scraps ...
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A Bit of Early Love, from Nicole Krauss

February 14, 2017Meg's Posts
If you haven't read Nicole Krauss's The History of Love, ...
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A Love Quote from Louise Erdrich

February 13, 2017Meg's Posts
More on the love theme for Valentine's Day, this time ...
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A Love Quote from Jane Austen

February 12, 2017Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Looking forward to Valentine's Day Tuesday, how about a love ...
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Sylvia Plath, Remembered

February 11, 2017Meg's Posts
I expect I could fill a whole year of quotes ...
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Yet More Writing Wisdom from Plath

February 10, 2017Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
More writing wisdom from Sylvia Plath today: “Some things are hard ...
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Sylvia Plath on Rejection Slips

February 9, 2017Meg's Posts
For many years, I kept my rejection slips, although I ...
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Writing Wisdom from Sylvia Plath

February 8, 2017Meg's Posts
  “I write only because There is a voice within me That will ...
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More Wisdom from Sylvia Plath

February 7, 2017Meg's Posts
“Perhaps some day I'll crawl back home, beaten, defeated. But ...
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The Wisdom of Sylvia Plath

February 6, 2017Meg's Posts
Fair warning: I'm a Sylvia Plath fan and have been ...
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Lock Up Your Libraries

February 5, 2017Meg's Posts
From Virginia Woolf: Lock up your libraries if you like; but ...
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Alice McDermott on the Perils of Publishing

February 4, 2017Meg's Posts
I'm offering today's quote, from one of the contemporary writers ...
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Gertrude Stein on Who to Write For

February 3, 2017Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
As it's Gertrude Stein's birthday today -- her 143rd -- ...
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Margaret Atwood on Words

February 2, 2017Meg's Posts
Today's quote, from Margaret Atwood, seems as important these days ...
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It’s Not Rejection; It’s Feedback

February 1, 2017Guest Authors
My guest today is debut novelist Abby Fabiaschi, author of ...
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Journal Avatar to Link Back to Blog Hop

365 Great Quotes from Women

February 1, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
More Wisdom from Nora Ephron, from her commencement address to ...
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Anne Frank on Patience and Paper

January 31, 2017Meg's Posts
Closing out January with a last quote from Anne Frank: Again, ...
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More Important Words from Anne Frank

January 30, 2017Meg's Posts
Today's quote, again from Anne Frank: Again, if you haven't done ...
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A Little More Anne Frank

January 29, 2017Meg's Posts
Staying with the Anne Frank theme today, an important voice ...
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Remembering Anne Frank

January 28, 2017Meg's Posts
I wrote this post on Facebook yesterday, which was International ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 27, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
Day #5 of writing in earnest, and a little humor ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 26, 2017Meg's Posts,Publishing Tips,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
Day #4 of writing in earnest, and here is a ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 25, 2017Meg's Posts
Day #3 of writing in earnest, and I'm offering a ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 24, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
Day #2 of writing in earnest: Make up a story... For ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 23, 2017Meg's Posts
I'm buckling down to write in earnest this week, so ...
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Great Quotes from Women

January 22, 2017Meg's Posts
Love this quote and what it says about the term ...
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Great Quotes from Women

January 21, 2017Meg's Posts
I thought a quote from a literary great about women's ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 20, 2017Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Another from my fave, Eleanor Roosevelt, whose "My Day" column ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 19, 2017Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Today's, from Toni Morrison, for those of who, like me, ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 18, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
I do hope that as you enjoy this quote you ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 17, 2017Meg's Posts
Staying on the dream theme for another day here: The size ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 16, 2017Meg's Posts
We have a tradition at our house of spending a ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 15, 2017Meg's Posts
For the second post of this Maya Angelou weekend ... There ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 14, 2017Meg's Posts
To kick off a Maya Angelou weekend ... did you ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 13, 2017Meg's Posts
Call this a J.K. Rowling 3-fer, which yes, may have ...
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What I learned at PixarHow to Write a Good Beginning

January 12, 2017Writing Tips
One of my 59 new things I'm trying to do ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 12, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
And on a J.K. Rowling streak to match my Jane ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 11, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Today's quote, from Harry Potter fans: It is our choices ... ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 10, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Keeping with the reading theme here for a few days, ...
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Lee Miller quote

365 Great Quotes from Women

January 9, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
On this day when I know it is snowy and ...
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Jane Austen Quote

365 Great Quotes by Women

January 8, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Today, even though I featured her here yesterday ... because ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 7, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
And of course I would be remiss if I closed ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 6, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Today, wisdom from French writer Simone de Beauvoir: Change your life ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 5, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Today's quote -- with an image! -- from American novelist ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 4, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Today's quote comes from Nora Ephron, author of I Fell ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 3, 2017Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Today's quote, from Erica Jong, author of a number of ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 2, 2017Meg's Posts
Today's quote is from Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in ...
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365 Great Quotes from Women

January 1, 2017Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Today is both the 1st day of the new year, ...
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6 Writing Tips from Crazy Fabulous Female Journalists

November 1, 2016Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
I'm just back from the most amazing weekend, hanging out ...
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The Art of Quitting

October 19, 2016Meg's Posts
Lucy Jane Bledsoe is the author of the just-released A ...
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Wobbly Spelling

October 13, 2016Meg's Posts
Handwritten Draft of The Great Gatsby "My spelling is Wobbly. ...
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The Power of Sharing Your Story

October 12, 2016Uncategorized
Ann Douglas is the author of numerous books about parenting, ...
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New Novel Contest with Publication for Winner

October 10, 2016Meg's Posts,Publishing Tips
I thought those of you writing crime fiction might like ...
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1 Crazy Strange Writing Tip for #1ThTH

October 6, 2016Meg's Posts,Writing Tips
One of my favorite writing books is John Garner's The ...
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What Becomes Us cover

Here's to Mad Persistence!

October 5, 2016Guest Authors
Micah Perks won an NEA grant and The New Guard ...
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#1ThTH – Reputable Fiction and Novel Contests

September 29, 2016Meg's Posts,Publishing Tips,Writing Tipsaward,bellwether prize,nelson Algren,PEN,prize
This week's 1 Thing Thursday: Consider entering a contest! I finally ...
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Ruth Whippman America the Anxious cover

Writing while parenting

September 28, 2016Guest Authors
Ruth Whippman is a British journalist, author and documentary film-maker ...
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3-Minute Interview with New York Times Bestseller Caroline Leavitt

September 26, 2016Guest Authors
I'm delighted to kick off a new 1st Books feature--3 ...
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How Many Words Long Should a Novel Be?

September 22, 2016Meg's Posts,Publishing Tips,Writing Tips
This week's 1 Thing Thursday asks the question: How Long ...
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Best-seller Constance Hale on New Ideas in Publishing

September 21, 2016Guest Authors
Constance Hale is a San Francisco–based journalist probably best known ...
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Kurt Vonnegut on Story Structure

September 15, 2016Writing Tips
For today's 1 Thing Thursday, I offer you a charmingly ...
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The Truth about Publishing a 1st Book

September 14, 2016Guest Authors
I love this post by this week's guest author, Aya ...
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The Race for Paris Paperback cover

#1ThTh – Find Where Your Readers Gather on Social Media

September 8, 2016Book Marketing Tips,Meg's Posts
I decided when I was traveling to add what I ...
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15 Quotes on War from Journalists and Others

September 2, 2016Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Since today is the 71st anniversary of the End of ...
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Structure. Story and life. Rough Framing.

August 31, 2016Guest Authors
My guest today, Marian Palaia, is a San Francisco (and ...
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17 Social Media Tips for Authors and Others

August 25, 2016Meg's Posts
What makes people follow, favorite, click, and retweet? This post again ...
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Peek Behind the Amazon Publishing Curtain: an interview with Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

August 24, 2016Guest Authors,Publishing Tips
For her latest novel, The Things We Wish Were True, ...
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In Praise of Writing Friends

August 17, 2016Meg's Posts
When I first started this blog, I wrote a post (run ...
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The Inspiration of Competition, with Ave Maria Notes from the Vienna Boys' Choir and the Vienna Philharmonic

June 26, 2016Meg's Posts
Did you know that Sunday mornings from mid-September through June, ...
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5 Tips on Writing (War) from the Masters, for Memorial Day

May 28, 2016Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
For Memorial Day, five quotes from great writers about the ...
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Low-Price Promotion and the Value of Books

May 11, 2016Book Marketing Tips,Meg's Posts#99c,bargain books,low-priced books
  Harper Books, which published my latest novel, has had it ...
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When a Novel is a Long Time in Coming

April 6, 2016Guest Authors
I've been crazy busy lately, and sadly remiss about hosting ...
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5 Irish-leaning Quotes (and 2 Songs) to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

March 16, 2016Writing Quotes and Other Literary FunIrish,irish literature,Irish writer quotes,quotes,St. Patrick's Day
I've collected a few nice Irish quotes -- and two ...
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Remembering Pat Conroy through his Own Words: 6 quotes

March 5, 2016Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
I woke this morning to the news that Pat Conroy ...
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8 Great Valentine's Day Quotes of a Literary Sort, and 2 Charming Links

February 13, 2016Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
To put you in a literary Valentine's Day Mood, 8 ...
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The Loveliest Way to Connect with Readers

February 11, 2016Book Marketing Tips,Meg's Posts,Writing Tips
Twice in the last week I've done what I used ...
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10 Terrific Quotes from Elizabeth Strout's Fresh Air Interview

January 13, 2016Guest Authors,Meg's Posts,Top Writing Tips,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
May I recommend this interview -- Pulitzer-Prize winner Elizabeth Strout ...
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A Bit About Elizabeth Strout

January 5, 2016Meg's Posts
Elizabeth Strout's new novel, My Name is Lucy Barton, returns ...
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1 great way to celebrate the holidays with your book group

December 3, 2015Meg's Postsgiveaway
The best way I know of the celebrate the holidays ...
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3 Writing Programs Worth a Look

October 28, 2015Writing Tips
Writing can be a hard business, but like everything these ...
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Edith Wharton mirror quote

Dear Mrs. Wharton, Dear Mr. James – a literary Friendship

October 26, 2015Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
On this day in 1900, Henry James first wrote to ...
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Margaret Atwood signing The Heart Goes Last for fangirl-novelist Meg Waite Clayton

In case you want to be jealous…

October 13, 2015Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
"A word after a word after a word is power." ...
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Write it Down, Make it Real

September 30, 2015Guest Authors
Karma Brown is an award-winning journalist and freelance writer whose first ...
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Friendship on Friendship: Writing with a Partner

September 23, 2015Guest Authors,Meg's Posts
I'm so delighted today to be back at the 1st ...
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Signed Copies of Nightingale, Circling the Sun, and The Race for Paris for the asking!

September 11, 2015Meg's Posts
I'm still touring -- in Minneapolis and Chicago this coming ...
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5 Tips for Any Writing Career

August 5, 2015Guest Authors,Writing Tips
Lisa Brackmann is the critically acclaimed author of the Ellie ...
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From Academic to Technical Writer to Debut Novel

July 22, 2015Guest Authors
Amy Reichert's debut novel, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake, was ...
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Ain't Nothing Like Him Nowhere

July 3, 2015Meg's Posts,Top Writing Tips,Writing Tips
Writer Wins Love Lottery Because this is a writing blog, there ...
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Wishful Thinking Cover - fiction

Wishful Thinking: Memoir vs. Fiction

July 1, 2015Guest Authors
This is how a literary friendship begins: on a train ...
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Booker Prize Finalist and PEN/Faulkner winner Karen Joy Fowler on Beginning to Write

June 24, 2015Meg's Posts
Lucky all of us who love great fiction: a new ...
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5 Fabulous Literary Fathers, in Their Own Words

June 20, 2015Meg's Posts
In celebration of Father's Day... You may think you have the ...
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What Makes a Great Book Review, in 18 Words

June 18, 2015Writing Tips
(Or, how I spent my Sunday night on a virtual ...
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Writing high concept novels

June 17, 2015Guest Authors
Lori Nelson Spielman''s debut, The Life List, became a #1 ...
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A 6-Book Quiz: Match the Amazon 1 Star Reviews to the Classic Books they Describe

June 4, 2015Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Match the Amazon 1 Star Reviews to the Classic Books ...
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Starting with a journal…

June 2, 2015Meg's Posts
Laura Nicole Diamond's debut novel, Shelter Us, is just out, ...
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So you want to write a novel with another person?

May 26, 2015Writing Tips
Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke write novels. Together. And they ...
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10 Writing Tips from the Masters

May 21, 2015Meg's Posts,Writing Tipsfeatured
10 Writing Tips from the Writing Masters: “Above all, a well-imagined ...
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7 Fabulous Writing Tips (and Publishing Tips too!) from my 1st Books Guest Authors

May 8, 2015Meg's Posts
I'm celebrating the 7th anniversary of 1st Books this week ...
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An Outline Changed My Life

May 6, 2015Guest Authors
Bestseller Meg Donohue has a new novel, Dog Crazy, just out, ...
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19 Twitter Tips for Authors + Others

April 29, 2015Book Marketing Tips
What makes people follow, favorite, click, and retweet? This post updates ...
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Miss-Hazel-and-the-Rosa-Parks-League-Cover

Beginning in the Middle

April 29, 2015Guest Authors
I'm so delighted today to host fellow Marly Rusoff author ...
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Imaginary Things Cover Andrea Lochen

Andrea Lochen on Writing

April 22, 2015Guest Authors
 Andrea Lochen's second novel, Imaginary Things, is just out from Astor + ...
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13 Writing Prompts To Get the Ink Flowing

April 11, 2015Top Writing Tips,Writing Tips
When you want to write but aren't sure how to ...
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Christine Breen: a first novel … at age 60!

April 11, 2015Guest Authors
My guest this week, Christine Breen hails from Kiltumper, Ireland, ...
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8 Great Writing Tips from F. Scott Fitzgerald

April 10, 2015Writing Tipsfeatured
Fitzgerald never lived to see The Great Gatsby acknowledged as ...
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Barbara Stark-Nemon: fictionalizing the real

April 8, 2015Guest Authors
Barbara Stark-Nemon's debut novel, Even in Darkness, has been called ...
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BookWorks, Pacific Grove CA

April 7, 2015Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
Bookworks in Pacific Grove CA When Mac and I first ...
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6 Writing Tips from Kazuo Ishiguro

April 5, 2015Meg's Posts,Writing Tipsfeatured
The truth is the combination of dazzling on the page ...
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Eating-Poetry-Poster-Roz-Chast

6 sexy ways to celebrate National Poetry Month

April 1, 2015Meg's Posts,Poetry Tuesdays
Did you know April is National Poetry Month? The Academy of American ...
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Anita Hughes: writing as a child

April 1, 2015Guest Authors
Anita Hughes's fourth and fifth novels are both coming out ...
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M.J. Rose: steal my script

March 18, 2015Guest Authorsscreenwriting
I'm so delighted today to host one of the most ...
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5 Funny Irish Writers on How to Write

March 12, 2015Writing TipsAnne Enright,featured,green beer,irish literature,Irish Murdoch,Irish writer quotes,Irish writers,Maeve Binchy,Oscar Wilde,Patrick's day,Saint Patrick's Day,Samuel Beckett,shamrocks,st,St. Pat's Day,writing
In case you need some good old Irish inspiration to ...
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Madeleine-Mysko-Stone-harbor-mountain- cover

Madeleine Mysko: a 1st novel in … a mere 20 years

March 10, 2015Guest Authors
I am so incredibly delighted to host my dear dear ...
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Elizabeth Collison: writing while holding a day job

March 9, 2015Guest Authors
I have a two guests this week, so I'm doing ...
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5 Women journalists' words to inspire you on International Women's Day

March 7, 2015Writing Tips#MakeItHappen,featured,International Women's Day; writing
Tomorrow is International Women's Day, and yes, I can't resist ...
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Murder-on-Champs-de-Mar-cover

Cara Black: Let’s Talk Research

March 4, 2015Guest Authorsbook writing,novels,paris novels,research,setting,writing
Cara Black is the New York Times and USA Today ...
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Lynn Carthage: on persistence

February 25, 2015Guest AuthorsErika mailman,ghost stories,Haunted,pseudonyms,publishing under pseudonyms
Under her real name, Lynn Carthage was a Bram Stoker ...
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Greer Macallister: on writing historical fiction

February 11, 2015Guest Authors
Greer Macallister is a poet, short story writer, playwright and ...
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The Last Good Paradise cover

Tatjana Soli: on silencing the voices of no

February 4, 2015Guest Authorsbook publishing,novel writing,publishing,rejection,writing
Tatjana Soli guest posted here when her first novel, The ...
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Jan Ellison: on novels in drawers

January 28, 2015Guest Authors
Those of you who frequent this blog know that my ...
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Amanda Eyre Ward: on writing nights and weekends

January 21, 2015Guest Authors
One of the dearest and most generous writers I know, ...
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The Little Moments a Writer Lives For!

January 16, 2015Meg's Posts
Heavens to Betsy! I don't often like to talk about ...
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Sandra Gulland: on getting around to writing

January 14, 2015Guest Authorsbooks writing,historical fiction,historical novels,mom writers,writing,writing tips
Sandra Gulland's fifth novel, The Shadow Queen, is out in paperback, ...
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10 Great Gifts for Writers (and Readers Who Want to Write!)

November 22, 2014Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Unless you're an editor willing to wrap up a book ...
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Ann Mah: mastering the art of french writing

November 5, 2014Guest Authors
I had the great fortune to read a galley for Ann ...
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While the Gods were Sleeping cover

Elizabeth Enslin: writing for readers

October 28, 2014Guest Authors
Elizabeth Enslin is a Stanford Ph.D who has done research in ...
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Patience, Iago – for screenwriting as well as novel writing

October 23, 2014Meg's Posts,Writing Tips
Diane Drake, my teacher for an online screenwriting course I'm ...
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Linda Gray Sexton: on following in her poet mother's footsteps

October 22, 2014Guest Authors
My guest author today is my friend and fellow Bay ...
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Sundog Books, Seaside FL

October 20, 2014Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
the books aren't shelved alphabetically, but the booksellers can find ...
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Switchbacks: Writing a First Novel

October 8, 2014Meg's Posts
Désirée Zamorano's novel The Amado Women is just out from ...
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Two Resurrections in One

October 1, 2014Meg's Posts
Liz Rosner has not one but two books coming out now ...
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Elena Mauli Shapiro: nothing but a desk and a typewriter

September 17, 2014Guest Authors
Delighted to host Elena Mauli Shapiro, who first appeared here ...
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5 Days Left, a novel by Julie Lawson Timmer

Julie Lawson Timmer: draft the acknowledgments, write the dedication

September 10, 2014Guest Authors
I always love hosting debut novelists here, and ones who ...
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The Moment of Everything by Shelly King

Shelly King: getting to a published novel the nanowrimo way

August 27, 2014Guest Authors
Debut novelist Shelly King is a Silicon Valley social media strategist ...
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Mambo in Chinatown cover

Jean Kwok: From Factory to Bestselling Author

August 13, 2014Guest Authors
If you think you have an excuse not to write, ...
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A Pinch of Ooh La La Cover

Renee Swindle: Every Writer's Nightmare

August 6, 2014Guest Authors
A Pinch of Ooh La La by Renee Swindle just released ...
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Write Like a Girl

August 2, 2014Meg's Posts
It's not just about the running. I've been a runner since ...
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Writing … Now or Never

July 30, 2014Meg's Posts
I am SO delighted to host my SheWrites.com pal, Cassandra ...
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Robin Black: There Was Only Moving Forward

July 16, 2014Guest Authors
Robin Black’s debut novel, Life Drawing, is an Indie Next pick for ...
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A Wedding in Provence Cover

Ellen Sussman: My Summer of Love

July 9, 2014Guest Authors
Ellen Sussman - my longtime writer-pal (since before either of ...
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The Wednesday Daughters paperback cover

Meg Waite Clayton: In Praise of Writing Friends … and Publishing and Bookselling Ones, Too

July 2, 2014Guest Authors,Meg's Posts
No guest today. Just me, since it's my paperback publication ...
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Tracy Guzeman: Writing to please myself, no slippers involved

June 25, 2014Guest Authors
Tracy Guzeman guest posted here when her debut novel, The Gravity ...
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Julia Fierro: Success in publishing means being able to publish a next book

June 18, 2014Guest Authors
Julia Fierro is the author of Cutting Teeth, which was ...
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Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke: An out of body experience that will keep us grounded

June 11, 2014Guest Authors
This week's guest authors, Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke, have ...
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Journal Avatar to Link Back to Blog Hop

Award Winner took a Decade to Find a Publisher

June 10, 2014Meg's Posts
The 2014 Bailey Prize winner (formerly the Orange Prize) for ...
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Poem in Your Pocket Day

Happy Poem in Your Pocket Day!

April 24, 2014Meg's Posts,Poetry Tuesdays#pocketpoem,#poempocket
April is National Poetry Month, and today -- the one ...
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Kelly O'Connor McNees: First I Was a Quitter

April 23, 2014Meg's Posts
Kelly O’Connor McNees guest posted here when her first novel, ...
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Beatrix Potter's Moss Eccles Tarn, Near Sawrey, England

8-Quote Bouquet in Celebration of Earth Day

April 22, 2014Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary FunEarth Day Quotes; environment quotes; earth day,environment,green,women authors
Beatrix Potter's Moss Eccles Tarn, Near Sawrey, England Can you ...
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Mother Daughter Me Paperback Cover

Katie Hafner: On Writing, Publishing, and Tea

April 16, 2014Guest Authors
Harpers calls Katie Hafner’s sixth book, Mother Daughter Me, “an ...
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Shadow Queen Cover

Sandra Gulland: Getting Around to It

April 9, 2014Guest Authors
Sandra Gulland's fifth novel, The Shadow Queen, "will remind readers ...
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Empress of the Night cover

Eva Stachniak: Writing is a Gamble

March 26, 2014Guest Authors
Eva Stachniak is, I'm pretty sure, my first guest author ...
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Collector of Dying Breaths Cover

M.J. Rose: An Amazing Self Publishing Success Story

March 19, 2014Guest Authors
My very dear friend M.J. Rose has a new novel, ...
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Jenny Bowen: My Memoir – What I Forgot

March 12, 2014Guest Authors
Amy Tan calls the just-released memoir of today's guest, Jenny ...
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Cara Black: An Author-Publisher Interview

March 5, 2014Guest Authors
Cara Black, the New York Times bestselling author of the ...
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Cathy Marie Buchanan: Finding the Writing Life

February 19, 2014Guest Authors
When Cathy Marie Buchanan asked if I’d read her new novel, The Painted ...
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Elizabeth Scarboro: Writing, The Ultimate Double Life

February 12, 2014Guest Authorswriting
My guest author this week, Elizabeth Scarboro, is the author ...
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Ariel Lawhon: Art is the Gift

January 29, 2014Guest Authors
I'm just delighted to host Ariel Lawhon, whose debut novel, ...
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Melanie Benjamin: The Novelist Formerly Known As… (on book publishing under a pen name)

January 8, 2014Guest Authorsbestsellers,book club books,pen names,publishing under a pen name
Happy New Year, everyone! I'm kicking off 2014 with a ...
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Bethany Beach Books, Bethany Beach DE

January 7, 2014Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
When my husband and I first got married and his ...
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Happy Holidays!

December 10, 2013Meg's Posts
  1st Books will be back in 2014! Enjoy the holidays! ...
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A Statistical Analysis of the New York Times Notable Books in Fiction for 2013

December 6, 2013Meg's Posts
I'm ever curious how the New York Times editors' book taste ...
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Tattered Cover, Denver CO

December 6, 2013Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
an amazing Colorado indie now at the airport, in case ...
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8 Great Gifts for Writers

December 5, 2013Meg's Postsgifts,gifts for writers
Unless you're an editor willing to wrap up a book ...
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Allison Winn Scotch: Moving the Other Way, from Traditional Publishing to Indie Author

November 20, 2013Guest Authors
I first hosted New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch’s on 1st ...
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11 Bits of Wisdom from Doris Lessing, On Reading, Writing, and Life

November 17, 2013Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
After I read in the New York Times that The ...
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Harriet Scott Chessman: The Beauty of Ordinary Things

November 13, 2013Guest Authors
I am so delighted to host Harriet Scott Chessman on the occasion ...
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Sara J. Henry: Learning to …

November 6, 2013Meg's Posts
Today's guest author, Sara J. Henry, is a LONGtime friend. We were ...
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Ellen Kirschman: Delusional, Perhaps with a Touch of Grandiosity

October 30, 2013Guest Authors
I'm delighted to be hosting my friend Ellen Kirschman, a ...
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Tara Conklin: Keep Writing, Keep Writing, Keep Writing

October 23, 2013Guest Authorswriting
The House Girl author Tara Conklin did a wonderful post here about the ...
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Tatjana Soli: Silencing the Voices of No

October 16, 2013Guest Authors
Tatjana Soli guest posted here when her first novel, The Lotus Eaters released. ...
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Dan Chaon: The Continually Humbling Process of Writing

October 9, 2013Guest Authors
To celebrate the paperback publication of Dan Chaon's story collection Stay ...
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Kathleen McCleary: Self-promotion makes me queasy

October 2, 2013Guest Authorsself-promotion
My guest this week, Kathleen McCleary, is a journalist and ...
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Ann Mah: Mastering the Art of French Writing

September 25, 2013Meg's PostsJulia Child
I had the great fortune to get to read Ann ...
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6 Literary Quotes & a Bouquet of Newly-Sharpened Pencils on this 1st Day of Autumn

September 22, 2013Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
On this autumnal equinox - the perfect balance of day ...
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Three Things I Learned from Alice McDermott

September 18, 2013Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
Early in my writing career, I had the incredible good ...
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5 Fun Tips on Writing and on Life – from Agatha Christie on the Occasion of her Birthday

September 15, 2013Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
Agatha Christie was born 123 years ago today--an old bird ...
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Jamie Ford: Call in Sick More Often, a Biography in Reverse

September 11, 2013Guest Authors
Just in case you haven't heard, Jamie Ford has a ...
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Nick Taylor: How to Put Women Where There Were None

September 4, 2013Meg's Posts
I'm delighted to welcome Nick Taylor back to 1st Books. ...
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Constance Hale: Sin, Syntax, and Persistence

August 21, 2013Guest Authorsgrammar
My guest this week, Constance Hale, wrote "probably the hippest ...
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Writing Advice and Inspiration from Elmore Leonard (1925 – 2013): #10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

August 20, 2013Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
I heard on NPR this morning that Elmore Leonard passed ...
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Melodie Johnson Howe: I am crazy. I'm a writer.

August 14, 2013Guest Authors
My guest this week is the wonderful mystery writer and ...
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Tracy Guzeman: Writing to please myself, no slippers involved

August 7, 2013Guest Authors
I had the absolute delight of introducing the absolutely delightful ...
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Mostly Books, Tucson AZ

August 4, 2013Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
A cool bookstore--in so many ways! I was just on tour ...
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Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale AZ

August 2, 2013Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
I grew up reading Agatha Christie, and mysteries remain my ...
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One true story I perhaps shouldn't admit…

August 1, 2013Meg's PostsBeautiful Day,Elin Hilderbrand,Emma,George Eliot,Jane Austen,Sense and Sensibility
Willoughby cutting a lock of Marianne's hair before they ...
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Warwick's, La Jolla CA

July 30, 2013Bookstores worth Browsing
Warwick's knows books, and luncheon menus, too! When I was told ...
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Meg Waite Clayton: In Praise of Writing Friends … and Publishing and Bookselling Ones, Too

July 17, 2013Guest Authors,Meg's Posts
No guest today. Just me, since it's my publication week! ...
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6 Weeks in the English Lakes #5: At Opposite Ends of the Coffin Route

July 12, 2013Literary Travel,Meg's PostsEnglish Lake District,literary travel
Sign marking the Coffin Route in the English Lakes Wordsworth ...
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Lori Nelson Spielman: One Door is Closed…It Might Never Open

July 10, 2013Guest Authors
It's always a pleasure to host debut authors on 1st ...
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6 Weeks in the English Lakes #4: Beatrix Potter on England's Fells

July 4, 2013Literary Travel,Meg's PostsEngland Lake district,English Lake District,hiking,travel
"The fells are never twice alike." – Beatrix Potter, from ...
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Nina Schuyler: The Translator

July 2, 2013Guest Authors
Nina Schuyler's first novel, The Painting, was nominated for the ...
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Leslie Lehr: You Can't Fail Until You Quit

June 26, 2013Guest Authors
Today's guest author, Leslie Lehr, is the author of the ...
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6 Weeks in the English Lakes #3: Beatrix Potter's Hill Top Farm

June 24, 2013Literary Travel,Meg's Posts
"Some of the walls were four feet thick, and there ...
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Sally Koslow: Magazine Editor Turns Novelist

June 19, 2013Guest Authors
I first connected with Sally Koslow when I was asked to read ...
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A Literary Father's Day: 5 fabulous quotes about fathers

June 16, 2013Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Just a few of my favorite literary quotes about fathers, ...
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6 Weeks in the English Lakes #2: A Literary Map

June 13, 2013Literary Travel,Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary FunEnglish Lake District
If you don't know where the English Lakes are, pull ...
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Marybeth Whalen: The Work of the Story

June 12, 2013Guest Authors
This week's 1st Books guest, Marybeth Whalen, is the author of ...
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Dr. Seuss Saying and Flowers for a Book-Worthy Saturday

June 8, 2013Meg's Posts
...
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Sarah Jio: Career Life Balance … and Silencing the Naysayers

May 29, 2013Guest Authors
When I first met Sarah Jio - at the Pulpwood Queens ...
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Jane Austen Drinking a Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino

May 21, 2013Meg's Posts
I know, I know. Caramel. Crunch. Or maybe it's the ...
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Amy Sue Nathan The Glass Wives cover

Amy Sue Nathan: Closing My Eyes Opened Me Up To Writing Again

May 15, 2013Guest Authors
I first "met" today's guest author, Amy Sue Nathan, when ...
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Chaucer's Books, Santa Barbara CA

May 10, 2013Bookstores worth Browsing
an old-style bookstore with as many books as will fit, ...
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Joan Steinau Lester: A journal full of poetry and frustration, in equal measure

May 8, 2013Guest Authors
Joan Steinau Lester's second novel, Mama's Child released yesterday. Alice ...
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Good News for Mother's Day, Good News for Goodread-ers, and Other Good News!

May 3, 2013Meg's Posts
So much good news to smush in to one post, ...
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Caroline Leavitt Throws Stones at Her Own Characters – a 1st Books Interview

May 1, 2013Guest Authors,Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
The New York Times Modern Love column had already turned ...
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Your One Wild and Precious Life

April 30, 2013Meg's Posts
On this last day of National Poetry Month, I'm keeping ...
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Book Passage in Corte Madera, and at the Ferry Building, too

April 28, 2013Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
Book Passage at the Ferry Building If you're in the ...
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Five Facebook Tips for Authors and Others (or "Being Generous Always Feels Better than Being Jealous")

April 25, 2013Book Marketing Tips,Meg's Posts
Having only recently learned to size my Timeline photos 403x403 ...
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Allie Larkin: Fake-Out (or, How Not to Write a Novel)

April 24, 2013Guest Authors
Allie Larkin is the internationally bestselling author of the novel ...
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Practical Poetry

April 23, 2013Poetry Tuesdays
Poet Joan Gelfand is chipping in for the 1st Books ...
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At the Intersection of Earth Day and National Poetry Month

April 22, 2013Meg's Posts,Poetry Tuesdays
Rydal Water, where Wordsworth walked and wrote Can I resist ...
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Poem in Your Pocket Day x 2

April 18, 2013Meg's Posts,Poetry Tuesdays
Of the many wonderful moments in National Poetry month, my ...
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Elizabeth Benedict: Writing about the Gifts Our Mothers Give Us

April 17, 2013Guest Authors
Elizabeth Benedict is the author of five novels, including the bestseller ...
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Mary Mackey: on poetry

April 16, 2013Guest Authors,Poetry Tuesdays
Mary Mackey and I belong to a San Francisco Bay ...
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Caroline Paul: Writing It Down

April 10, 2013Guest Authors
I'm delighted today to host Caroline Paul, whose Lost Cat ...
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Poetry Tuesday: Elizabeth Block

April 9, 2013Guest Authors,Poetry Tuesdays
Elizabeth Block is a poets who has also received national ...
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Shannon Huffman Polson: The Waiting

April 3, 2013Guest Authors
My fellow 85 Broad, Shannon Huffman Polson, has a first ...
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Elizabeth Rosner: on poetry

April 2, 2013Guest Authors,Poetry Tuesdays
It's April, National poetry month, and I'm delighted to have ...
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What are You Doing to Celebrate National Poetry Month?

April 1, 2013Meg's Posts,Poetry Tuesdays
What are you doing to celebrate National Poetry Month? I subscribe ...
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Sharing statistics for Meg's After the Debate Post on Forbes.com

Perils of Social Media Interface Software for Twitter and Facebook

March 30, 2013Book Marketing Tips,Meg's Posts
I've been using social media interfacing software for some time ...
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8 Great Quotes from the Ever-Spunky Barbara Walters

March 29, 2013Meg's Posts
Barbara Walters broke the glass so many times in her ...
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Paradise Guest House cover

Ellen Sussman: This One’s For You, Mr. G.

March 27, 2013Guest Authors
I could not be more delighted to be hosting Ellen ...
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Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D Cover

Nichole Bernier: Does Publishing a Novel Change Your Life?

March 20, 2013Guest Authors
Nichole Bernier's fabulous The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D - ...
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Towne Center Books, Pleasanton CA

March 17, 2013Bookstores worth Browsing
great fiction at the front of the store, and terrific ...
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The Wednesday Daughters galleys with tulips and thesaurus

8 Great Tips for Successful Writing Groups

March 16, 2013Top Writing Tips,Writing Tips
I've just added The Company of Writers by Hilma Wolitzer to ...
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Monica Wesolowska: The Secret of Writing for Others

March 13, 2013Guest Authors
Monica Wesolowska's first book, Holding Silvan, was decades in the ...
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Neil Gaiman on Making Good Art

March 12, 2013Writing Tips
If you want to be a writer, or any kind ...
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11 Twitter Tips for Authors + Others

March 10, 2013Book Marketing Tips,Meg's Posts
What makes people follow, favorite, click, and retweet? And does ...
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For most of history, Anonymous was a woman – But not anymore

March 8, 2013Meg's Posts
To take a slightly different slant on the famous Virginia ...
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50 Drafts: The SheWrites Novelist Group Chat with Cathy Marie Buchanan

March 7, 2013Meg's Posts
Since there is no way that I know of to ...
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Copperfield's, Santa Rosa CA

March 3, 2013Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
6 fabulous stores in Sonoma and Napa countiesHave you been ...
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What Do You Get at a Writers Conference?

March 2, 2013Writing Tipsagents,becky vintner,cara black,editors,Kimberley Cameron,Laurie McLean,Linda Lee,literary agents,Marilyn Atlas,michael Larsen,publishers,San Francisco Writers Conference,shewrites.com,Tanya Egan Gibson,Taylor Martindale,writers conferences,writing
Several times over the course of the San Francisco Writers ...
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Meyers_The_Comfort_of_Lies_cover

Randy Susan Meyers: How Long Does it Take (to write books? find an agent? get published?)

February 27, 2013Guest Authors
The Murderer's Daughters author, Randy Sue Meyers, has a new ...
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Look what showed up on my doorstep!

February 24, 2013Meg's Posts
A box of the early reader copies of The Wednesday ...
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If My Story is Paper

February 22, 2013Meg's Posts
I read a poem last night that was both lovely ...
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Writing Love Stories: The Missing Handout

February 21, 2013Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
Do you have a favorite quote about love? Or one ...
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Julie Kibler: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic

February 20, 2013Guest Authors
This week's guest author, Julie Kibler, began writing Calling Me ...
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Vroman's, Pasadena CA

February 19, 2013Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
my bookstore the summer I became a fanatic readerI just ...
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10 Suggestions for Writing Dialogue

February 16, 2013Top Writing Tips,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
I did a panel on writing dialogue at the San ...
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The House Girl Cover

Tara Conklin: Keep Writing, Keep Writing, Keep Writing

February 13, 2013Guest Authors
There are so many reasons I am absolutely delighted to ...
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Modern Love

February 10, 2013Meg's Posts
I sent a tweet to my friend Caroline Leavitt yesterday ...
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Can you imagine a nicer way to start a morning?

February 8, 2013Meg's Posts,Writing Tips
The Wednesday Daughters galley pages have arrived! Is there a nicer ...
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Another 1st Books 2 for 1: Sara J. Henry and Alex George on How They Started Writing

February 6, 2013Guest Authors
Two wonderful authors who've posted in the past for me, ...
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How to Cut a Digital Heart out of Your Book Jacket

February 3, 2013Book Marketing Tips,Meg's Posts
This little heart I was so proud of Friday garnered ...
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Journal Avatar to Link Back to Blog Hop

A Survival Guide to Writers Conferences: 1. Eat Chocolate for Breakfast

January 31, 2013Meg's Posts,Top Writing Tips,Writing Tipsbooks,chocolate,writers,writers conference,writers conferences,writing,writing advice,writing tips
A friend who is heading for a writers' conference next ...
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Two Author Posts for the Price of One!

January 30, 2013Meg's Posts
This week, I'm rerunning two previous posts, one to celebrate ...
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2013 Caldecott Winner Announced … And Newbery Winner, Too

January 28, 2013Meg's Posts
In case you haven't been watching, the ALA awarded the ...
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Cathy Marie Buchanan: Finding the Writing Life

January 23, 2013Guest AuthorsCathy Marie Buchanan,degas,novels,paris,The day the falls stood still,the painted girls,writing,writing life
Earlier this year, when Cathy Marie Buchanan asked if I'd ...
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Leah Stewart: Making Good the Lie

January 23, 2013Guest Authors
I met Leah Stewart at the Sewanee Writers Conference years ...
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A Facebook Tip for Writers and Others With Fan Pages

January 20, 2013Book Marketing Tips
An easy to-do for anyone with a personal facebook page ...
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Twitterature Quiz: a Literary Match Game with Hashtags

January 19, 2013Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
I recently posted on my Huffington Post blog a Twitterature ...
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Melanie Benjamin: The Novelist Formerly Known As…

January 16, 2013Guest Authorsbook publishing,books,inspiration,Melanie benjamin,pen name,publishing,struggle,the aviator's wife
I'm SO delighted to host Melanie Benjamin this week - ...
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What Book Editors Want in 2013

January 15, 2013Meg's Postsauthors,books,editors,novels,publishing,submitting
I stumbled across a piece on the Andrew Lownie Literary ...
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Elizabeth Percer: A Reverse Coming-of-Age Story

January 9, 2013Guest Authors
Last year, when I read Courtney Sullivan's take on An ...
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Kathy Leonard Czepiel: This Way to the Back Door

January 2, 2013Guest Authorsagent,Kathy Leonard Czepiel,mentor,MFA,novel,publisher,writing
I'm delighted to host as my first guest author of ...
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Isabel Allende on Passion, Writing, and Character

December 31, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tipscharacter,feminism,feminist,isabel Allende,passion,ted talk,writing
Nice people with common sense do not make interesting characters; ...
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Writing Resolutions for 2013

December 26, 2012Meg's Posts
he essential impulse in working is to allow what ...
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Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes for Wonderful Reading in 2013!

December 23, 2012Meg's Posts
...
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A Little Robert Frost End-of-the-Word Poetry

December 21, 2012Meg's Postsend of the world,poems,poetry,robert frost
Fire and Ice by Robert Frost Some say the world will end ...
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Good Grammar is Sexy

December 5, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funcopyedits,editing,grammar rules,writing
As I am deep in the details of the grammar ...
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The Comma Lottery!

December 4, 2012Meg's Posts
Want to enter the comma lottery? I just got exactly what ...
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Books=Gifts

December 3, 2012Meg's Posts
Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?” ...
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Streetcars and Desire, Tennessee Williams and Writing

December 3, 2012Writing Tipsa streetcar named desire,broadway,jessica tandy,marlon brando,plays,playwright,Tennessee Williams,theater,writing,writing quotes
What is straight? A line can be straight, or a ...
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Random House Announces Digital-Only Imprints

November 30, 2012Publishing Tips
The Random House Publishing Group (my happy literary home!) just ...
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Bank Square Books, Mystic CT

November 24, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
the true story of the flood If you're looking for signed ...
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Bookshelf as Painting

November 23, 2012Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
How sad that this wonderful book image, which I found ...
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The Brewster Book Store

Books on the Cape: Where the Sidewalk Ends, the Brewster Book Store, and More

November 18, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's PostsBook stores,books,bookstores,cap cod books,cape cod bookstores,reading
Who knew Cape Cod had so many great bookstores and ...
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Page's Post-It Dressing

November 18, 2012Meg's Posts
Growing up, I was never a big fan of dressing, ...
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Tara Ison: How Alcatraz Became an Ebook

November 14, 2012Guest Authors
Tara Ison is the author of the novels A Child ...
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Ann Patchett, Richard Russo, John Grisham, Garth Stein and Others Give A Shout-Out to Indie Bookstores!

November 13, 2012Meg's Posts
Today (horray!) is the publication date for My Bookstore: Writers ...
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When Comforting a Grammar Nazi…

November 8, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Maybe it's just that I'm waiting for copyedits on The ...
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Linda Herman: From Buckets to Books

November 7, 2012Guest Authors
Today's guest author, Linda Herman, is the author of Parents ...
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We'll Return to Our Usual Literary Programming after This Brief Message

November 5, 2012Meg's Posts
Because this election is so important for the economy, women's ...
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I Could Not Be More THRILLED…

November 3, 2012Meg's Postsballantine,cover,robbin schiff,wednesday daughters
When my editor asked if I had any ideas for ...
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Juliette Fay: I Never Wanted to Be a Writer

October 31, 2012Guest Authors
Juliette Fay’s Shelter Me was a 2009 Massachusetts Book Award “Book of ...
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On Reviews

October 26, 2012Book Marketing Tips,Meg's Posts,Publishing Tips
I'm in that wonderful place for a writer: between reviews. ...
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Alison Owings: Fast Faster Fastest Slow Slow Slow

October 24, 2012Guest Authors
The San Jose Mercury News calls Indian Voices: Listening to ...
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Litquake's Lit Camp Writers Conference

October 20, 2012Meg's Posts
Just got an email about Lit Camp, the Bay Area's ...
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E.B. White and Friedrich Nietzsche on Writing and Friends … and Please Share Links to Your Writer-Pals

October 12, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
I was just about to tweet the E.B. White quote ...
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The Wordle.net Edit

October 11, 2012Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tips
Have you discovered Wordle.net yet? It's a site that will make ...
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Lake Forest Book Store, Lake Forest IL

October 10, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
Charming suburban Chicago bookstore with smart booksellers and great events When ...
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Kelly O'Connor McNees: First I Was a Quitter

October 10, 2012Guest Authors
Kelly O’Connor McNees guest posted here when her first novel, ...
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I like to have a Martini…

October 8, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
I like to have a Martini, two at the very ...
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Why Save Big Bird, Oscar, and the Rest of PBS?

October 7, 2012Meg's Posts
You're still here? Hey, why don't you go read a ...
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The Book Bin, Northbrook IL

October 6, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
My teenaged bookstore I have a sentimental attachment to The Book ...
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Debra Dean: Taking the Long Way

October 3, 2012Guest Authors
Debra Dean’s bestselling debut novel, The Madonnas of Leningrad was ...
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Think Pink Books?

October 1, 2012Meg's Posts
Today kicks off National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and as ...
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What Favorite Books of Yours Have Been Banned?

September 30, 2012Meg's Posts
Today is the first day of Banned Books Week, and ...
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Book Labyrinth

September 28, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
I'd love to get lost in this very cool book ...
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Victoria Brown: Who's Your Mentor?

September 26, 2012Guest Authors
I met Victoria Brown at the fabulous Christamore House Guild ...
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Parnassus Books, Nashville TN

September 25, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing
A new bookstore in my old home town My best writer-pal, ...
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Literary Yum!!!

September 16, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funbook clubs,Book cupcakes
Does it get tastier than this? Well, maybe if there ...
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Harper Voyager: Accepting Unsolicited Manuscripts

September 13, 2012Meg's Posts
From the Harper Voyager Website:For the first time in over ...
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Karen Brown: Waiting

September 12, 2012Guest AuthorsAWP,Best American Short Stories,first novel,Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction,o. henry prize,PEN,prairie schooner book prize,story collection
Karen Brown's Pins and Needles received AWP’s Grace Paley Prize for Short ...
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How to Chat Up a Writer

September 7, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
I came across the very funny "How to Chat Up ...
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David Abrams: The Birth of Fobbit, and Other Happy Accidents in a War Zone

September 5, 2012Guest Authors
David Abrams' debut novel, Fobbit, is one of the most ...
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Tatjana Soli: Silencing the Voices of No

August 29, 2012Guest Authors
Tatjana Soli guest posted here when her first novel, The ...
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Book Exchange

August 24, 2012Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Today's friday fun comes from Seòras' photostream on Fickr, which ...
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Beach Books, Seaside OR

August 23, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing
a book store with exceptional warmth and charm Kristina McMorris, author ...
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Rayme Waters: A Strong Voice and a Happy Ending

August 22, 2012Guest Authors
My long-time friend Rayme Waters has just published her debut ...
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Graham Swift on Writing and Claustrophobia

August 21, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
"If you can't stand your own company alone in a ...
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Harvard Books, Cambridge MA

August 18, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
an indie store on Harvard Square We're headed to the east ...
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Kim Fay: Imagine the Impossible

August 15, 2012Guest Authors
A former indie bookseller, The Map of Lost Memories author ...
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Do You Read While Watching the Olympics?

August 10, 2012Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
And if so, what? I'm glad to see I'm not ...
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The Coop, Cambridge MA

August 7, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
my son's favorite hangout When I visited Cambridge, Massachusettes this February ...
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Reading in Bed!

August 3, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
This wonderful sheet is a collaborative art project done by ...
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Capitola Book Cafe, Capitola CA – now sadly closed

August 2, 2012Meg's Posts
My baby brother, who lives in Berlin, Germany most of ...
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Heather Barbieri: Not According to Plan

August 1, 2012Guest Authors
This week's guest, Seattle novelist Heather Barbieri, has published Snow ...
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1 Question: Do You Have a Favorite Bookstore? Here are some of mine…

July 31, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
Four years ago this month and just a couple weeks ...
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Oh the Places You'll Go (To Write!)

July 30, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
To borrow from the good Dr. S: Congratulations! Today is your day. You're ...
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Tayari Jones: Writing in the Wilderness

July 25, 2012Guest Authors
To celebrate the paperback publication of Silver Sparrow by my ...
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Nancy Pearl on Judging a Book by its Cover

July 20, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
I came across this lovely bit in Nancy Pearl's Book ...
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Thaisa Frank: Yellow Pencils

July 18, 2012Guest Authors
I've known Thaisa Frank since about the time my first ...
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Longfellow Books, Portland ME

July 16, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
warm and cozy, with walls and tables filled with books, ...
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How to Use Images in Email Footers

July 15, 2012Book Marketing Tips
I was just asked, for the I-don't-know-how-many-eth time, how I ...
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Chaucer (and others) on Friday the 13th

July 13, 2012Meg's Postsfriday the 13th,superstition
How unlucky can a day be when it inspires words ...
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Katharine Britton: Lucky in Literature

July 11, 2012Guest Authors
Katharine Britton was by one measure fifty years to getting ...
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Readers' Books, Sonoma CA

July 10, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
better than a winery tour, and at author events you ...
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Mark Twain on Separating Characters from Corpses

July 6, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
An email from a reader this morning reminded me of ...
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A Great Good Place for Books, Oakland CA

July 3, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
a little bookstore with an amazing selection, and even more ...
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Literary Tights

June 29, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
These tights singlehandedly inspired me to start a new occasional ...
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Catherine Brady: All of My Stories Are Feminist, and No, I’m Not Apologizing

June 27, 2012Guest Authors
My dear friend and guest author this week, Catherine Brady, ...
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Pages, Manhattan Beach CA

June 26, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
"Grocery Stories" Perhaps the only place more special than a good ...
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Inside Random House: Bringing Books to Life

June 21, 2012Meg's Posts
Do you want to hear how it works from the ...
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Claire McMillan: The Gal with the Non-Flammable Manuscript

June 20, 2012Guest Authors
I met Claire McMillan through Twitter, in part because we ...
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A Writing Contest Worth Considering

June 19, 2012Meg's Posts
I'm not generally a big fan of writing contests with ...
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Sally Koslow: Magazine Editor Turns Novelist

June 13, 2012Guest Authors
I first connected with Sally Koslow when I was asked ...
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Joshua Henkin: Risking Failure

June 6, 2012Guest Authors
Joshua Henkin wanted to be a fiction writer when he ...
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Richard Russo on Those Who Fill the Chairs

June 5, 2012Book Marketing Tips,Writing Quotes and Other Literary FunAnn Patchett,Barbara's Bookstore,Copperfield's,my bookstore Black Dog & Levanthal,readings,Richard Russo
One really stressful prospect for authors is that we will ...
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Toni Morrison on Making Time to Write, among Other Things

May 31, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
President Obama, in presenting the Medal of Freedom to Toni ...
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Camille Noe Pagán: Would I Steal these Scenes?

May 30, 2012Guest Authors
Last year I had the pleasure of hosting debut novelist ...
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Kathi Kamen Goldmark & Sam Barry: The “Neener Neener” Factor

May 24, 2012Guest AuthorsKathi Kamen Goldmark,Sam Barry
I just heard that fellow WOMBAtista, Rock Bottom Remainderer, writer, ...
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Sandra Feder: "Champagne?"

May 23, 2012Guest Authors
Today's guest author, Sandra Feder, has just published the chapter ...
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What kind of Bookworm belongs at the Cannes Film Festival?

May 22, 2012Meg's Postscannes film festival,films based on books by women authors,films based on novels,novel to film
Because I'm a book person who loves film (even though ...
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Deborah Michel: A Book Deal after Two Decades

May 9, 2012Guest Authors
Before writing her debut novel, Prosper in Love, Deborah Michel ...
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Poem in Your Pocket Day

April 26, 2012Meg's Posts,Poetry Tuesdays
Of the many wonderful moments in National Poetry month, my ...
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Lynda Rutledge: The Time I Broke Up with Fiction

April 25, 2012Guest Authors
Lynda Rutledge's path to publishing Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale - ...
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Andrea Buchanan: Captivating Your Inner Night-Time Critic

April 18, 2012Guest Authors
I first connected with Andi Buchanan on Readerville.com years ago, ...
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Shakespeare & Company, Paris France

April 17, 2012Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts,Poetry Tuesdays,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
where Anais Nin, Henry Miller, James Baldwin, and Ernest Hemingway ...
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Poetry Tuesday: Mark Doty on Knowing What Want is

April 10, 2012Meg's Posts,Poetry Tuesdays
Since April is National Poetry Month, I've been looking around ...
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10 Don't-Miss Sites for Marketing Your Writing (Without Breaking the Bank)

March 29, 2012Book Marketing Tips
How friendly are you, really? Do you have enough followers ...
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Carolina De Robertis: How I Avoided Second Novel Syndrome

March 28, 2012Guest Authors
I met Carolina De Robertis at a book club mixer ...
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M.J. Rose: From Self-Publishing to a Starbucks and Indie Next Pick

March 21, 2012Guest Authors
M.J. Rose - whom I've known since before my first novel ...
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Cara Black: 1 Book + 1 Lie

March 7, 2012Guest Authors
Cara Black's twelfth Aimée Leduc mystery, Murder at the Lanterne ...
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Garrison Keillor on Humor and Rejection

March 1, 2012Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
I came across a delightful interview of Garrison Keillor today. ...
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Maria Espinosa: In Translation

February 29, 2012Guest Authors
This week's guest author, Maria Espinosa, is the author of ...
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The Page Davidson Clayton Poetry Prize

February 26, 2012Meg's Posts,Poetry Tuesdays
I read the most extraordinary poem yesterday, "what you'd find ...
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Randy Susan Meyers: How Long Does it Take (to find an agent? sell the book? get published?)

February 22, 2012Guest Authors
Randy Sue Meyers is an online writer-pal, and author of ...
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Literary Envy

February 18, 2012Publishing Tips
It's the dirty little secret none of us likes to ...
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Alex George: Starting Over

February 15, 2012Guest Authors
Sara Gruen calls this week's guest author, Alex George "a ...
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Eleanor Brown: When Your First Book Is Not Your First

February 8, 2012Guest AuthorsEleanor Brown,Weird sisters
Have you read Eleanor Brown's The Weird Sisters yet? She's ...
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Dickens Quotes for Writers, on the Occasion of his 200th Birthday

February 7, 2012Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fundickens,quotes
Dickens Quotes for Writers, on the Occasion of his 200th ...
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How to Be an Indie Bookseller's Dream

February 5, 2012Book Marketing Tipsbook promotion,readings
I came across a great Wall Street Journal piece on ...
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Sarah Pinneo: Sometimes Things Don't Pan Out

February 1, 2012Guest Authors
Sarah Pinneo celebrates the publication of her debut novel, Julia's ...
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Meredith Maran: Starting

January 25, 2012Guest Authors
Terry McMillan calls this week's guest author, Meredith Maran, "a ...
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Get Your Manuscripts Ready!

January 24, 2012Meg's Postsamazon breakthrough novel,contests
The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest is open for submissions through ...
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Happy 150th, Edith Wharton!

January 24, 2012Meg's Posts
Edith Wharton, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize ...
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10 Words to Shape Your Writing Life By

January 13, 2012Meg's Posts
“A word after a word after a word is power.” - ...
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Does This Sound Familiar?

January 1, 2012Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funagatha christie
"You start into it, inflamed by an idea, full of ...
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Unpublished Writers: Just a Few Days Left and It's Only Offered Every Two Years

December 27, 2011Meg's Posts
Years ago I was a finalist for the Barbara Kingsolver-founded ...
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May Your Days Be Merry and Your Reading Light Bright!

December 25, 2011Meg's Posts
...
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Meg Waite Clayton: A Super Sweet True Love Story

December 21, 2011Guest Authors
Before I started writing, I imagined published writers were folks ...
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The Twelve Books of Christmas

December 17, 2011Meg's Posts
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave ...
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Julia Flynn Siler: Girl Reporter Turned Bestselling Author

December 14, 2011Guest Authors
My dear friend Julia Flynn Siler was my second guest ...
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Will You Share a Favorite Poem?

November 25, 2011Meg's Posts,Poetry Tuesdays
Was it Baudelaire who said, "Always be a poet, even ...
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Which Writing Friends are You Thankful For?

November 24, 2011Meg's Posts
Which writing friends are you particularly thankful for this Thanksgiving? For ...
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Tamar Cohen: It Just Got Personal…

November 23, 2011Guest Authorsdebut novel,debut novels,fiction,first novel,first novels,historical fiction,journalism,journalist,non-fiction,simon & Schuster,Tamar Cohen
Todays guest author, Tamar Cohen, comes from London, and is ...
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Never Mind a Room, We Need a Newspaper of Our Own

November 22, 2011Meg's Posts
Uh-oh. The year's "great books" lists have begun. Female authors ...
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Never Pity Your Manuscript

November 20, 2011Meg's Posts
"The main rule of the writer is never to pity ...
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A Few Choice Words on Book Reviews

November 13, 2011Book Marketing Tips,Meg's Postsbook reviews,criticism,ouch,reviews
Without meaning to disparage the great work some book reviewers ...
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Inside This Place Not of It

November 7, 2011Meg's PostsAyelet Waldman,Dave Eggers,Inside this place not of it,lola Vollen,margaret atwood,Mcseeeney's,robin levi,voice of witness
“Good writing takes place at intersections, at what you might ...
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Anaïs Nin on the role of a writer

October 22, 2011Writing Tips
"The role of the writer is not to say what ...
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Margaret Leary: Owning My Obsession

October 12, 2011Guest Authors
Margaret Leary - recently retired as the director of the ...
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Jamie Ford: Call in Sick More Often

October 5, 2011Guest Authorsbook club bestsellers,book clubs,Book group favorites,book groups,bookmovement,first novels,Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet,Jamie Ford,national reading group month,publishing
I've been immersed in writing and remiss about organizing 1st ...
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The Future of Book Publishing?

September 27, 2011Meg's Postse-books,espresso machine,on demand books,publishing
Several years ago now, my friend Margie McKinley from the ...
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Tracy Seeley: Sailing this Book into the Wind

September 21, 2011Guest Authorsbison books,first novels,prairie schooner,the florida review,Tracy seeley
Tracy Seeley is a bay area writer-pal, whose memoir, My ...
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The Dreaded Author Photo, Version 2.0

September 13, 2011Book Marketing Tipsauthor photo
I've written before about how much I hate photos of ...
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Downton Abbey: An Inspirational Writing Story

September 11, 2011Meg's Postsacademy award,Downton Abbey,writing
Downton Abbey is one of my three television weaknesses (along ...
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Alma Katsu: From Writer to Spy to Writer

September 7, 2011Guest Authorsalma katsu,first novels,publishing
I'm delighted to be hosting Alma Katsu, whose debut novel, ...
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Sentencing a Book: The Tough Task of Writing the Pitch Sentence/Paragraph

September 1, 2011Publishing Tips
The writing of a book and the writing of a ...
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Kristina Riggle: Crazy Finally Worked

August 24, 2011Guest Authorsfirst novels,Kristina riggle,novels,persistence,rejection,writing
"Since I wasn’t getting published, I reasoned, and this outcome ...
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Cavanaugh Lee: What is the Question???

August 17, 2011Guest Authors
I met today's guest author, Cavanaugh Lee, when we were ...
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Reputable Novel Contests You Might Apply To

August 11, 2011Meg's Posts
Following up on a conversation we had in the Novelist ...
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Maddie Dawson: A First Novel, Take Two

August 10, 2011Guest Authors
I met today's guest author, Maddie Dawson, on my favorite ...
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Anne Tyler on 1st Drafts

August 5, 2011Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funanne tyler,first drafts,novels,patchwork planet,writing
"I would advise any beginning writer to write the first ...
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Ellen Baker: Getting Started … Again and Again

August 3, 2011Guest AuthorsEllen Baker,I gave my heart to know this,keeping the house,novels,writing
I loved Keeping the House, by this weeks guest author, ...
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How to Build a Book Group Audience for Your Book

July 30, 2011Book Marketing Tipsbook club,book clubs,book group,book groups,book marketing,book sales,reading group,reading groups
The biggest market of readers these days seems to be ...
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Writing a Novel is Like Making a Jigsaw Puzzle

July 28, 2011Meg's Posts
I've often said writing a novel is like running a ...
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Sandra Beasley: The Accidental Memoirist

July 27, 2011Meg's Posts
I'm delighted to be hosing Sandra Beasley on 1st Books ...
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Now All I Need is a Sand-Repellent Laptop

July 21, 2011Meg's Posts
The summer I studied for the bar exam, I went ...
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How to Prettify Your Google+ URL

July 17, 2011Book Marketing Tips
For anyone who, like me, is loving the new Google+ ...
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Samuel Park: Writing by the Tropic of Equator

July 13, 2011Guest Authorsbookpassage,burns my heart,ferry building,printer's row lit fest,Samuel Park
Samuel Park's This Burns My Heart is being called "astonishing," ...
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First Draft!

July 11, 2011Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funfirst draft,first drafts,Hemingway,novels,writing
Just finished a first draft of my new novel, and ...
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Ellen Sussman: Breaking the Rules

July 6, 2011Guest Authorsagents,Ellen Sussman,French lessons,novels,publishing
I'm absolutely delighted to day to be hosting my friend ...
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Meg Waite Clayton: A Paperback Eight Years after the Hardcover

June 28, 2011Guest Authors
My first novel, The Language of Light was the first thing ...
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Profoundly Shaken

June 16, 2011Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
It's a close call to say which was the more ...
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Feminine Tosh

June 11, 2011Meg's PostsAlias Grace. Toni Morrison,Beloved,Bonnie Jo Campbel,Chicago Tribune,David Dickerson,Eleanor Brown,feminine tosh,George Eliot,great american novel,Harper Lee,Jane Austen,Jen Karsbaek,Kelly o"connor mcnees,Kristine Riggle,margaret atwood,Melissa Fraterrigo,Middlemarch,Printers' RowPrinters' Row Lit Fest,Samuel Park,Tayari Jones,To Kill a Mockingbird,tosh,Zoe Carter
I spent an inspiring and entirely too short weekend gathering ...
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Just the Bookstore, Glen Ellyn, IL

June 10, 2011Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
Sue, Meg, Jane, Elizabeth, and Margie I spent a few ...
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Treasures of the Mind

June 10, 2011Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Like everyone else lately, I've been glued to the news ...
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Camille Noe Pagán: Would I Steal these Scenes?

June 8, 2011Guest AuthorsCamille Noe Pagan,debut novel,first novel,The Art of Forgetting
This week I get to do one of the things ...
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A Gaggle of Writers at the End of the World

May 21, 2011Meg's Postsand Barbara Meade,Caroline Leavitt,Eleanor Brown,Jud Ashman (the great Gaithursburg Book Fest founder!),Katharine Weber,me,Paula McLain,Reading Group Choices,Sarah Pekkanen
If today really is the end of the world, the ...
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Tayari Jones: Writing in the Wilderness

May 18, 2011Guest Authorsalgonquin,novels,persistence,rejection,silver sparrow,Tayari Jones
I could not be more delighted: today I am hosting ...
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An itunes Bestseller! (And a giveaway to celebrate)

May 16, 2011Meg's Postsaudiobooks,bestsellers,karen white
A little flurry of excitement over the weekend: the just-released ...
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8-Step Recipe for Author Readings

May 5, 2011Book Marketing Tips
Help Wanted, one Novelist... The more detailed want ad: Help Wanted, ...
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Kelly O'Connor McNees: First I Was a Quitter

May 4, 2011Guest Authorsfirst novel,Kelly McNees,Kelly o"connor mcnees,novels,publishing,the lost summer of louisa may alcot,writing
With National Poetry Month now over, it's back to our ...
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Tobey Hiller: on poetry

April 26, 2011Guest Authors,Poetry Tuesdayspoems,poetry,tobey hiller,writing poetry
This week's Poetry Tuesdays guest, Tobey Hiller, has published three ...
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The Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction

April 22, 2011Meg's Postscontest,fiction,Flannery O’Connor Award
Heads up, short story writers: The 2011 Flannery O'Connor Award ...
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Connie Post: Advice on Submitting Poetry

April 19, 2011Guest Authors,Poetry Tuesdaysbooks,connie post,literary magazines,poems,poetry,publishing,submitting,trip wires
Today's Poetry Tuesday comes in the form of advice on ...
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On the Amazon and Elsewhere Star Thing

April 18, 2011Book Marketing Tips,How a Book Gets Published,Publishing Tipsamazon reviews,Caroline Leavitt,dan chaon,reader reviews,Sheila Schwartz
I'm posting this in response to a first-time author post ...
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Books and Co, Dayton OH

April 14, 2011Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
Books & Co. in Dayton, Ohio One of the nicest things ...
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Dispatches from the (Book Tour) Front

April 13, 2011How a Book Gets Published,Publishing Tips,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funbook tour,books,novels,publishing
"I never minded reading to three people. I had plenty ...
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David Huddle: How I Found My Way to the Place Where They Give Out Those Poetic Licenses

April 12, 2011Guest Authors,Poetry TuesdaysBest American Short Stories,Black Snake at the Family Reunion,David Huddle,Glory River,Harpers,National Endowment for the Arts,NEA,Nothing Can Make Me Do This,paperboy,poems,poetry,The New Yorker,The Writing Habit,Tupelo Press,writing poetry
For this week's Poetry Tuesday, I have some truly lovely ...
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J. Ruth Gendler: on poetry

April 5, 2011Guest Authors,Poetry Tuesdaysbooks,harper collins,poems,poetry,publishing,robert sapolsky,ruth gendler,self-publishing,writing
I'm just absolutely thrilled to be kicking off National Poetry ...
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Page Davidson Clayton Poetry Prize, and 1st Books Paperback Row

April 3, 2011Meg's Postsdaphne kalotay,dolen perkins-valdez,novels,poetry,Poetry Prize,publishing,russian winter,Wench,writing
Since this month is National Poetry Month, I'll be running ...
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Meg Waite Clayton: In Praise of Writing Friends … and Publishing and Bookselling Ones, Too

March 23, 2011Guest Authors,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,publication,publishing,random house,reading,The Four Ms. Bradwells,writing
No guest today. Just me, since it's my publication week! The ...
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Look at this Cover!!!

March 22, 2011How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,publication,publishing,random house,reading,The Four Ms. Bradwells,writing
Holy Moly!!! The Four Ms. Bradwells goes on sale today, ...
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The Lowly Pencil

March 21, 2011Meg's Posts
I'm not exactly monogamous in my writing tool relationships, but ...
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Words of Wisdom from Confucius, Austen, and Tuchman

March 18, 2011How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tipsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,publication,publishing,random house,reading,The Four Ms. Bradwells,writing
"Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings." — ...
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Zoe FitzGerald Carter: Imperfect Endings

March 16, 2011Guest Authorsbooks writing,imperfect endings,memoir,publishing,zoe fitzgerald carter
Zoe FitzGerald Carter's first memoir, Imperfect Endings, is out in ...
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How a Novel Gets Published: 2nd Printing! (Before publication!)

March 14, 2011How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,publication,publishing,random house,reading,The Four Ms. Bradwells,writing
The Four Ms. Bradwells is going into a second printing ...
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How a Novel Gets Published: 10 Days Left!

March 12, 2011How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,essay writing,essays,fiction,finished books,literary magazines,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,short story collections,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
Just a quick post that will not begin to cover ...
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Pretty URL for Facebook Fan Pages

March 10, 2011Book Marketing Tipsauthors,custom url,facebook fan pages,social networking
I just learned how to change the URL for my ...
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Writing a Novel is Like Paddling a Bathtub

March 6, 2011Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tipsagent,authors,fiction,novelists,novels,persistence,revision,stephen king,writing
Just came across this wonderfully funny and true quote in ...
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She Writer Blogger Ball Redux

March 3, 2011Meg's Posts
Welcome to the SheWrites.com Blogger Ball Redux. This time we've ...
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Edna St. Vincent Millay on Publishing

March 3, 2011Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funbooks,edna st. vincent millay,novels,publishing,writing
"A person who publishes a book willfully appears before the ...
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Sarah Pekkanen: A Glass of Wine and a Little Courage

March 2, 2011Guest Authorsbooks,novels,publishing,Sarah Pekkanen,writing
I'm having a nice little Gaithersburg Book Festival run lately, ...
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How a Novel Gets Published: Books in Hand!

February 24, 2011How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,essay writing,essays,fiction,finished books,literary magazines,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,short story collections,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
Thanks to my lovely editor, Caitlin Alexander, the fed ex ...
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Sara J. Henry: Learning to …

February 23, 2011Guest Authorsbooks,Daniel Woodrell,debut novel,first novel,Learning to Swim,Lisa Unger,mystery,Sara Henry,Sara J. Henry,writing
I first read pages of Sara J. Henry's debut novel ...
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All True Story: Finished Books!

February 22, 2011How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagents,ballantine,books,editors,essay writing,essays,literary magazines,novelist,novels,publishing,random house,short stories,short story collections,submissions,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
Woo Hooo!!! Look at these! Don't have them in hand ...
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The Kama Sutra of Kindness, and the Importance of Sharing Our Words

February 22, 2011Meg's Posts,Poetry Tuesdayslove,love poem,mary mackey,poem,poetry
Mary Mackey, a writer-pal of mine from a Bay Area ...
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Hemingway on First Drafts

February 19, 2011Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funfirst drafts,Hemingway,writing
At the risk of using a four letter word here, ...
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An Offering to the Literary Gods: A Deep Orange Scarf

February 18, 2011How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
One of the things I did this week on my ...
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SheWrites B&W Blogger Ball

February 17, 2011Meg's Posts
Welcome to the SheWrites.com Blogging about Books and Writing Group ...
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Eleanor Brown: When Your First Book Is Not Your First

February 16, 2011Guest Authorsamy einhorn,Eleanor Brown,first novels,publication,Weird sisters
I'm just thrilled this week to welcome Eleanor Brown, author ...
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All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published # … Sadly, I've Lost Count

February 12, 2011How a Book Gets Published,Meg's PostsAdrienne Defendi,agent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,cara black,Caroline Leavitt,editor,editors,fiction,Jane Smiley,Kelly McNees,literary agents,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publicists,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,Tatjana Soli,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
Where in the world have the days gone this week? ...
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Katherine Ellison: Writing about my Son

February 9, 2011Guest AuthorsAmaryllis in Blueberry,buzz,Christina Meldrum,kathy ellison,memoir,mommy brain,mother writer,nofiction,pulitzer prize
Katherine Ellison is a friend and fellow Wombatista - a ...
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How a Novel Gets Published: Book Tours, Websites, and Press Releases

February 5, 2011How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,essay writing,essays,fiction,literary magazines,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,short story collections,stories,submissions,submitting,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
This week's pre-publication taks: finalize press release materials and tour ...
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Elena Mauli Shapiro: A Dead Woman's Box

February 2, 2011Guest Authors13 Rue Therese,Elena Mauli Shapiro,novels,writing
I e-met this week's guest author, Elena Mauli Shapiro, on ...
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Caroline Leavitt: The Story of My Start

January 26, 2011Guest AuthorsCaroline Leavitt
I've been a big fan of Caroline Leavitt's novels since ...
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Tick, Tick, Tick … Two Months till The Four Ms. Bradwells!

January 23, 2011How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,audio book,author,author visits,author websites,authors,ballantine,book clubs,book groups,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,doubleday book club,editor,editors,fiction,large print,literary guild,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,mystery guild,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
It's two months - or two months less a day ...
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Facebook Fan Pages: How Authors, Bloggers, and other Writers Can Set Up a Page

January 23, 2011Book Marketing Tipsfacebook fan pages
Someone messaged me on facebook this morning to ask how ...
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Jumping (Late) into Bloggiesta

January 23, 2011Meg's Posts
I just learned last night, as I was coming up ...
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Tatjana Soli: Silencing the Voices of No

January 19, 2011Guest Authorsrejection,Tatjana Soli,The Lotus Eaters,vietnam war fiction
To celebrate the release of Tatjana Soli's The Lotus Eaters ...
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How Authors Can Get Bookscan Numbers

January 14, 2011Book Marketing Tipsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
In case any authors out there don't already know it, ...
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Linda Schlossberg: Isn't it Unromantic?

January 12, 2011Guest Authors
Publisher's Weekly compares Linda Schlossberg's Life in Miniature to ...
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Heather Havrilesky: Sitting beside Teddy Roosevelt

January 5, 2011Guest Authorsbiography,disaster preparedness,essays,Heather Havrilesky,memoir
Heather Havrilesky co-created the cartoon Filler for Suck.com, was tv ...
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A New Years Greeting-Quote

January 1, 2011Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams ...
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New Year's Blogolutions

December 28, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Tipsblogolutions,blogs,droid,New Years,publishing,resolutions,smart phone,writing
The torn wrapping paper is thrown away, the cookies are ...
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Happy Holidays from My Gang to You and Yours

December 24, 2010Meg's Posts
From top left, clockwise: The gang at a wedding near ...
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Literary Santa and One Lucky Chimney

December 21, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
I've spent most of my holiday shopping hours this year ...
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Poetry Tuesday: an Eclipse, a Solstice, and a Post and Poem by Leslie Lytle

December 20, 2010Poetry Tuesdayseclipse,Execution's Doorstep,Leslie Lytle,lunar eclipse,poem,poetry,solstice,winter solstice
The confluence of winter solstice and lunar eclipse tonight, for ...
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A Long Scroll of Ink

December 19, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tipsatwood,margaret atwood,writing,writing tip,writing truth
Words of writing wisdom from one of the authors I ...
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Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

December 17, 2010Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
Winning a writing contest always seems like a long shot, ...
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Happy Birthday, Jane Austen

December 15, 2010Meg's Posts
December 16: Jane Austen's birthday. She would have been 235 ...
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A Date which will Live in Infamy, and the Value of a Word

December 7, 2010Meg's Posts
President Franklin D. Roosevelt began his speech asking Congress to ...
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The Story Was Completely Untrue

December 5, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
“The story was completely untrue, but the untruth of untrue ...
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All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published: Poker Losses and Writing Wins

December 2, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,poker,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
There is some connection between losing at poker and getting ...
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Daphne Kalotay: The Hastily Jotted Letter R

December 1, 2010Guest Authorsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
Daphne Kalotay's first novel, Russian Winter, sold at auction, is being ...
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The Worst Enemy to Creativity

November 28, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
"And by the way, everything in life is writable about ...
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ATSHNGP: Do I Look Like Mark Twain?!

November 26, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsadvanced reader copies,marketing,publicity,publishing
Every All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published must ...
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And the Winners of the National Book Awards Are …

November 18, 2010Meg's Postsaward-winners,children's literature,fiction,jaimy gordon,kathryn erskine,National book award,non-fiction,patti smith,poetry,terrance hayes,winners
The National Book Award ceremonies were last night. Did you ...
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Chandra Hoffman: Dawn Chorus

November 17, 2010Guest Authors
This week's guest author, Chandra Hoffman, published Chosen - her ...
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Beatrix Potter on Writing First Lines – Sort Of

November 14, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing TipsBeatrix potter,English Lake District,first lines,writing
I've been rooting around in the life of Beatrix Potter, ...
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Jillian Cantor: A Third Book that is also a First

November 10, 2010Guest AuthorsJillian Cantor
Jillian Cantor's first novel, The September Sisters, was called "memorable" and ...
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Walking in Oscar Wilde's Diary-Steps

October 30, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
What city can claim more writers per square mile than ...
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Catherine Brady: Book Geek

October 27, 2010Guest AuthorsCatherine Brady,craft book,Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction,Northern California Book Award,reading,Story Logic and the Craft of Fiction,writing,writing book
Catherine Brady teaches in the MFA in Writing Program at ...
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Is NaNoWriMo for MyNewNovel?

October 24, 2010Meg's Posts
I was a lawyer before I started writing, and when ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published: The Cover, Take Two

October 16, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book jackets,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,covers,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
Several months ago, I delightedly shared the new cover for ...
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Susan Straight: People Who Stay

October 13, 2010Guest Authors,Meg's Posts
I'm delighted this week to host Susan Straight, whose new ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published #17: TI-CATs, Galley Letters, and Staying Drunk

October 5, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,bradbury,catalogs,covers,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,ti-cats,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
I've just passed the six-month point: less than six months ...
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Allison Hoover Bartlett: Literary Obsessions

September 29, 2010Meg's PostsAllison Hoover bartlett,biography,character,nonfiction,obsession,rare books,the man who loved books too much,theft
To celebrate the paperback release of Allison Hoover Bartlett's ...
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Meredith Maran: Starting

September 22, 2010Guest Authorsmemoir,meredith maran,my lie,nonfiction
"Only a writer as fierce and incisive as Meredith Maran ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published #16: A Little Book Blogger Love

September 17, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,blogger appreciation week,bloggers,blogging,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,Hey Lady,Lesa's book critiques,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,Tucson Book Festival,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
Since this week is Book Blogger Appreciation Week, and book ...
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Elizabeth Rosner: Two Resurrections in One

September 15, 2010Guest AuthorsBlue Nude,elizabeth rosner,novels,persistence,Speed of Light
Liz Rosner's post today first appeared on her Redroom Blog, ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published #15: Wordle-ing the Time Away

September 6, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,wordle,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
It's labor day weekend, a time when even the hardworking ...
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On Gathering with Other Writers

September 3, 2010Meg's PostsAWP,Brenda Rickman Vantrease,critique,Elizabeth Brundage,Jennifer Haigh,Leslie Lytle,meg waite clayton,michelle richmond,Richard Bausch,sewanee writers conference,She Writes,writing,writing conferences,writing groups
Starting today, I'll be doing a weekly blog post on ...
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Writing Contests to Help You Break Out – from Real Simple and Iowa Review – and AWWP Writing Prompt #4

August 29, 2010Publishing Tipsagents,editors,essay writing,essays,iowa review,literary magazines,Michael chabon,novels,publishing,real simple,short stories,short story collections,submissions,writing prompts,writing tips
For my fourth week mentoring in the Afghan Women's Writing ...
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The Scent of a Woman's Ink, Still

August 28, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funbooker,editors,francine prose,Franzen,franzenfreude,literature,nobel,prizes,pulitzer,time,time magazine,top 10 lists,women authors,writing
On the whole, the past year was a pretty good ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published #14: Very Superstitious, Writing's on the Wall…

August 24, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsadvanced reader copies,agent,agents,arcs,ARE,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,goldberg mcduffie,IndieBound,magazines,Marly Rusoff,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,newspapers,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publicist,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,reviews,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,The Wednesday Sisters,wednesday sisters,writers' group,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
Seven months till publication of The Four Ms. Bradwells! Seven ...
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AWWP Writing Prompt: Using Place

August 23, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Tipsagents,books,editors,essay writing,essays,iowa review,literary magazines,Michael chabon,novels,publishing,real simple,short stories,short story collections,submissions,writing prompts,writing tips
I gave my Afghan Women's Writing Project workshop a third ...
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If You AREN'T Being Rejected, Perhaps You Aren't Creative Enough

August 18, 2010Meg's Postsagents,books,editors,essay writing,essays,iowa review,literary magazines,Michael chabon,novels,publishing,real simple,short stories,short story collections,submissions,writing prompts,writing tips
I just came across a rejection letter from the Museum ...
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AWWP Writing Prompt: I Am…

August 16, 2010Meg's Postsagents,books,editors,essay writing,essays,literary magazines,novels,publishing,short stories,short story collections,submissions,writing prompts,writing tips
I've just given my second writing prompt to the workshop ...
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Two Days Left to Win Four Terrific Novels

August 14, 2010Meg's Posts
I'm reposting this because I just finished Elizabeth Brundage's A ...
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A Friday the 13th Writing Tip – on Writing and Luck

August 13, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun,Writing Tipsagents,books,editors,essay writing,essays,literary magazines,novels,publishing,short stories,short story collections,submissions,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
"Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself ...
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Rosemary Graham: Taking the Scholarly Route

August 11, 2010Guest Authorschildren's,Hippie Hotel,novel,novels,Rosemary Graham,scholarly writing,young adult
I first met Rosemary Graham on the chat at the ...
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AWWP Writing Prompt: Creating Character

August 9, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing TipsAWWP,character,writing prompts
This month, I have the privilege of teaching in the ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published #12: The Importance of Kind Words … and Book Giveaway Thanks for Same!

August 7, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,literary magazines,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
Yes, you're in the right place for the 1st Books ...
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Ilie Ruby: Life Happens While You’re Making Other Plans

August 4, 2010Guest Authorsavon,harpercollins,Ilie Ruby,the language of trees
Publishers Weekly calls Ilie Ruby's debut novel, The Language of ...
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Submissions Tips

July 29, 2010Publishing Tipsagents,editors,literary magazines,novels,publishing,submissions,writing tips
I've been updating the WRITERS PAGE on my website, and ...
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Tanya Egan Gibson: It Wouldn't Have Happened Without My Writing Group

July 28, 2010Guest AuthorsHow to Buy a Love of Reading,novels,Tanya Egan Gibson,writing groups
You'll perhaps not be surprised, after you read Tanya Egan ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 11: We Need Permission! And a Latin Expert!

July 22, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,Graywolf Press,IndieBound,Jane Kenyon,John Felstiner,Let Evening Come,Marilyn Yalom,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,permissions,persistence,poetry,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,The Wednesday Sisters,titles,wednesday sisters,writers' group,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
In Part 6 of this "All-True" series, I blogged about ...
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Kim Wright: Bagging that 1st Novel – in a Hefty Bag!

July 21, 2010Guest AuthorsKim Wright,love in mid air
Kim Wright has been writing about travel, food, and wine ...
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Diane Lockward: on poetry

July 20, 2010Guest Authors,Poetry Tuesdaysbooks,Diane Lockward,poetry
I had such fun hosting poets here on 1st Books ...
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Kafka on Books as Axes

July 19, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funkafka,reading,writing
"A book must be the axe for the frozen sea ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 10: The Dreaded Author Photo

July 15, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,IndieBound,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,poetry,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,The Wednesday Sisters,titles,wednesday sisters,writers' group,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
To be honest, I'm not sure why I'm not skipping ...
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A Brief History of the Slush Pile

July 14, 2010Meg's Postsagents,books,editors,essay writing,essays,literary magazines,novels,publishing,short stories,short story collections,submissions,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
Did you know the first time the New York Times ...
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Irene Zutell: People Magazine Writer Tells All

July 14, 2010Guest Authorsirene zutell,journalism,novels,people magazine,pieces of Happily ever after
Irene Zutell's most recent novel is Pieces of Happily Ever ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 9: Titles and DESCRIPTIONS and Author Photos – Oh My! (the "Description" part)

July 8, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,catalog copy,editor,editors,fiction,flap copy,IndieBound,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,poetry,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,The Wednesday Sisters,wednesday sisters,writers' group,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
One funny thing about writing a book is how hard ...
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Julie Buxbaum: Wrong Turns

July 7, 2010Guest AuthorsAnne Hathaway,Jodi Picoult,Julie Buxbaum,The Opposite of Love,Twentieth Century Fox
Julie Buxbaum's first novel, The Opposite of Love, has been ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 8: TITLES and Descriptions and Author Photos – Oh My!

July 1, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,IndieBound,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,poetry,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,The Wednesday Sisters,wednesday sisters,writers' group,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
The working title for The Four Ms. Bradwells was "The ...
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Michelle Hoover: The Years Passed

June 30, 2010Guest AuthorsMichelle Hoover,The Quickening
This weeks guest author, Michelle Hoover, tells a terrific story ...
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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?

June 22, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,ARC,ARE,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book design,book jacket,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,cover,editor,editors,fiction,IndieBound,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,poetry,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,The Wednesday Sisters,wednesday sisters,writers' group,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
I've just arrive home from ten days in Berlin and ...
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Julie Compton: When Luck Strikes, You Need to be Ready for It

June 9, 2010Guest AuthorsJulie Compton
Julie Compton's second novel, Rescuing Olivia, has been called "a ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 6: It Starts to Look Like a Book!!! (a.k.a. in Praise of Beth Pearson)

June 5, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,copy editors,copyediting,editor,editors,fiction,IndieBound,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,poetry,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,The Wednesday Sisters,wednesday sisters,writers' group,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
My tweet for May 15 reads "Page proofs for THE ...
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Allison Winn Scotch: Stubbornness has Always Been My Strong Suit

June 2, 2010Guest AuthorsAllison Winn Scotch
New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch has a ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 5: Hunting the Elusive Agent

June 1, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,The Wednesday Sisters,writers' group,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
I've gotten a few requests from readers of this series ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 4: What's in a Cover?

May 29, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,covers,editor,editors,fiction,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
I've got my final cover for The Four Ms. Bradwells, ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 3: Why I LOVE my Editor

May 22, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,IndieBound,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,poetry,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,The Wednesday Sisters,titles,wednesday sisters,writers' group,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
You may recall that when last you saw our fearless ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 2: Brainstorm, and Revise, Revise, Revise!

May 17, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,IndieBound,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,poetry,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,The Wednesday Sisters,wednesday sisters,writers' group,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
In Part 1 of this little series, "Manuscript Puberty," I ...
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The All-True Story of How a Novel Gets Published, Part 1: Manuscript Puberty

May 15, 2010How a Book Gets Published,Meg's Postsagent,agents,author,author websites,authors,ballantine,book marketing,book sales,book tours,books,editor,editors,fiction,IndieBound,meg clayton,meg waite clayton,mystery,novel,novelist,novels,persistence,poetry,publication,publishing,random house,reading,rejection,short stories,stories,submissions,submitting,The Four Ms. Bradwells,The Wednesday Sisters,wednesday sisters,writers' group,writing,writing prompts,writing quotes,writing tips
I just got my first peek at the likely cover ...
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Leah Stewart: Making Good the Lie

May 5, 2010Guest AuthorsLeah Stewart,novels
I met Leah Stewart at the Sewanee Writers Conference years ...
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Poetry Tuesdays: Lynne Knight on First Books and Luck

April 27, 2010Guest Authors,Poetry Tuesdays
Poet Lynne Knight came to my attention through a mutual ...
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Richard Bausch on Showing Up for Work

April 22, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary FunRichard Bausch,writing tips
I had the great pleasure of paneling with Richard Bausch ...
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Poetry Tuesday: The Page Davidson Clayton Prize for Emerging Poets

April 20, 2010Meg's Posts,Poetry Tuesdays
One of the many things I had in common with ...
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Professional Writer or Amateur?

April 18, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funpersistence,Richard Bausch,writing,writing tips
I had the great pleasure of paneling with Richard Bausch ...
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Kirsten Jones Neff: on poetry

April 13, 2010Guest Authors,Poetry Tuesdays
For my second Poetry Tuesday, I'm delighted to host Kirsten ...
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Christina Sunley: Persevering With That Tricky First Novel, An 8-Year Saga

April 7, 2010Guest Authors
Christina Sunley's first novel, The Tricking of Freya - just ...
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Tatjana Soli: Silencing the Voices of No

March 31, 2010Guest Authorsrejection,Tatjana Soli,The Lotus Eaters,vietnam war fiction
Can I gush about a book here for a moment? ...
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Tim O'Brien on Tenacity and Stubbornness

March 23, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary FunThe Things They Carried,Tim O'Brien,writing tips
I read Tim O'Brien's amazing short story, "The Things They ...
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Mark Twain on "Damn"

March 21, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary FunMark Twain,novels,writing tips
Think how much easier this writing advice is to execute ...
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Zoe Carter: Imperfect Endings

March 17, 2010Guest Authors
Zoe Carter's first memoir, Imperfect Endings, won first place in ...
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Rules for Writers (from Some Amazing Ones)

March 8, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary FunAnne Enright,Joyce Carol Oates,rules for writing,writing tips
I just came across the most wonderful "Rules for Writing" ...
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J.K. Rowling: The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination

February 23, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funfailure,j.k. rowling,novels,persistence,publishing,writing
This video, though a couple years old, came to me ...
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"The Ghost within Every Experience"

February 19, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary FunMark Strand,poetry,writing tips
From Mark Strand's "On Becoming a Poet" in The Making ...
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If You Tell the Truth

February 14, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funwriting tips
Stumbled across this Mark Twain quote as I'm going through ...
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Ink on the Rejection Slip

February 6, 2010Publishing Tipsagents,editors,novels,writing tips
A passage that ought to give all struggling writers hope, ...
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Calling loudly, "J.D. Salinger"

January 28, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funcatcher in the rye,rejection,salinger
In 1941, J.D. Salinger had seven stories rejected by The ...
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Dolen Perkins-Valdez: Connecting

January 27, 2010Guest Authorsdolen perkins-valdez,novels,Wench
I'm absolutely delighted to have Dolen Perkins-Valdez, the author of ...
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Unrecognized Talent (or the Lessons of Rodin)

January 23, 2010Meg's Postsrejection,rodin
I was drawn to a documentary about the sculptor, Auguste ...
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The All-True Confessions of a Serious Book Group-aholic

January 17, 2010Meg's Posts
I think of January as Book Club month, I suppose ...
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You Must Write It

January 7, 2010Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Thought I'd start the new year with a very hopeful ...
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2,000 Words or 2:00, and Writing Friends

December 12, 2009Meg's Posts,Top Writing Tips,Writing Tipsmeg waite clayton,novels,The Language of Light,The Wednesday Sisters,writing group,writing groups,writing tips
The history of my writing starts with a little brown ...
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Holiday Giving: Free Copies of The Language of Light, and Personally Inscribed Copies of The Wednesday Sisters

November 27, 2009Meg's Posts
Holiday Greetings! I've been casting about for a way to do ...
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Dropping the Turkey

November 23, 2009Meg's Posts
For Thanksgiving week, I did a guest post on Debutante ...
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Do Real Mom Writers Bake Cookies?

November 14, 2009Meg's Posts,Writing Tips
I wrote the post below as a guest post for ...
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She Writes Day of Action

November 14, 2009Meg's Posts
Like many writers unhappy about the recent underrepresentation of women ...
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Nabokov on Reading Poetry

October 31, 2009Meg's Posts
In part because a character in my new novel is ...
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Breakfast for Breast Cancer!

October 9, 2009Meg's Posts
Is there a more fun place to raise awareness for ...
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The Inner Book Geek in Me

September 21, 2009Meg's Posts
Just before The Wednesday Sisters released in paperback, I was ...
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Allison Hoover Bartlett: Whatever You Do, Find Interesting Character

September 16, 2009Guest Authors
Allison Hoover Bartlett's first book, The Man Who Loved Books ...
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Janet Skeslien Charles: Open to Experiences

September 9, 2009Guest Authors
My guest this week, Janet Skeslien Charles, is a novelist ...
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Natural Writers

September 6, 2009Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
I'm reading Graham Swift's Making an Elephant: Writing from Within ...
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Kathryn Ma: All That Work

September 2, 2009Guest Authors
My guest author this week, Kathryn Ma, is the author ...
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The Single Best Piece of Advice I've Gotten as a Writer

September 1, 2009Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Several years ago, I had the great (okay, and somewhat ...
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A Room of My Own

August 29, 2009Meg's Posts
Thought I'd share this morning a post I did for ...
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Dan Chaon: Hungry Heart

August 26, 2009Guest Authors
With apologies for this long introduction but ... well, this ...
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Firoozeh Dumas: Writing with a Kid Velcroed to my Hip

August 12, 2009Guest Authors
This week's guest, Firoozeh Dumas, is the bestselling author of ...
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Sheila Himmel: Hungry

August 5, 2009Guest Authorssheila himmel;
I have a wonderful guest post today by James Beard ...
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Carleen Brice: The Road More Frequently Traveled

July 8, 2009Guest Authors
I was lucky enough to read the sophomore novel from ...
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George Eliot on Reaching for your Dreams

July 5, 2009Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
"It is never too late to be what you might ...
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Maud Carol Markson: Leaving the Elephant Behind

July 1, 2009Guest AuthorsLooking after Pigeon,maud carol markson,novel
Today's guest author is my good friend Maud Carol Markson, ...
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The Secret to Getting Published

June 11, 2009Meg's Posts
I get so many questions at events and in emails ...
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Books Inc., Palo Alto CA

June 6, 2009Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
and other locations in the bay area--this is where I ...
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Cara Black: A Library Kid

June 4, 2009Guest Authors
I'm delighted to host Cara Black, about whom the New ...
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Mrs. Dalloway’s, Berkeley CA

May 30, 2009Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
Literary & Garden Arts Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore Mrs. Dalloway's is a ...
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Just in Case You're Thinking It's Time to Give Up

May 25, 2009Meg's Posts
How long should you stick to writing if you're not ...
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Erma Bombeck on Snow-Blindness

May 21, 2009Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fundiscipline,erma bombeck,writing
"To say, 'Well, I write when I really get into ...
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W.H. Auden on Work Habits

May 16, 2009Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funw.h. auden,work habits
Get up very early and get going at once, in ...
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Linda Himelstein: From Journalist to Author

May 13, 2009Guest Authorsbook,history,nonfiction
I'm delighted today to host Linda Himelstein, author of The ...
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Kepler's Books, Menlo Park CA

May 12, 2009Bookstores worth Browsing,Meg's Posts
a great store for author events and reading advice I had ...
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"For most of history, Anonymous was a woman."

April 26, 2009Meg's Postsannette gordon-reed,awards,elizabeth strout,francine prose,lynn nottage,olive kitteridge,pulitzer,reviews,ruined,sewanee writers conference,the hemingses of monticello,women writers
As I was tidying the yard with my husband this ...
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Jane Austen: Fourteen Years of Rejection

April 21, 2009Guest Authors,Meg's PostsJane Austen,novels,rejection,writing
I just read a wonderful piece in The Literary Review ...
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Do You Book Blog? or The Book Blog Roundup

April 16, 2009Meg's Postsbook blogs,literary blogs
Do you blog about books? Or have a favorite book ...
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Chekhov on Failure and Persistence

April 15, 2009Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funchekhov,failure,persistence,success
"...you must at once and for all give up being ...
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On Slush Piles and Finding Agents

April 10, 2009Meg's Postsagents,Brenda Rickman Vantrease,Frances Dinklespiel,Kirsten Menger Anderson,meg waite clayton,publishing,The Help,The Illuminator,The Wednesday Sisters,Towers of Gold
This photo of the decidedly undaunting St. Martin's slush pile ...
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A Self-Publishing Success Story or Three, with a Caveat

April 6, 2009Meg's Posts
At the risk of encouraging folks to head for self-publishing, ...
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A Twitter Book Club?

March 29, 2009Meg's Postsbook club,book clubs,book group,meg waite clayton,twitter
How does one discuss a book in 140 characters or ...
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Book Sales

March 26, 2009Meg's Posts
I came across an article this morning about Borders financial ...
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Open Veins

March 25, 2009Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Funessays,Leslie Berlin,Red Smith,Tim O'Brien,writing
Are personal essays inherently solipsistic? I'd like to take credit ...
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My Two Minutes on Radio: Writing for Sound

March 21, 2009Meg's Posts
There’s nothing like reading on radio to make you focus ...
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The Secret: You sit down and you start and that's it.

March 15, 2009Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
I came across this interview with Elmore Leonard today. It's ...
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The 46th Time is the Charm

March 6, 2009Meg's Posts,Publishing Tips
Yet another story of persistence paying: Kathryn Stockett, author of ...
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Even Jack Kerouac Struggled

March 6, 2009Publishing Tips
I recently stumbled upon this NPR story about Jack Kerouac's ...
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Summerset Maugham Rules for Writing

March 1, 2009Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
I saw this quote the other day, and couldn't resist ...
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Jamie Ford: Call in Sick More Often

January 28, 2009Guest Authorsballantine,first novel,Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet,IndieBound,Jamie Ford
I'm absolutely delighted to host fellow Ballantine author Jamie Ford ...
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From On Becoming a Novelist, by John Gardner

January 14, 2009Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Some words of wisdom from John Gardner, whose The Art ...
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Hemingway's Advice to Writers

January 7, 2009Meg's Posts,Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
For a new slant in the new year right, I've ...
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If You Think Continuing to Rewrite is Wasted Time…

November 20, 2008Meg's Posts
...take a look at the winner of this year's National ...
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Frances Dinkelspiel: Not So Instant Gratification

November 12, 2008Guest Authorsagent,biography,first book,Frances Dinkelspiel,journalist
Frances Dinkelspiel is a fifth-generation Californian who spent more than ...
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Eleven Years to a Pulitzer

November 9, 2008Publishing Tips
I was listening to NPR on the way to the ...
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Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October 1, 2008Meg's Posts
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so I'm using my ...
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The Thirty-Year Novel!

September 26, 2008Guest Authors,Publishing Tips
I found this story about Selden Edwards The Little Book ...
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Editor Dan Smetanka and Novelist Liz Rosner

September 24, 2008Guest Authorsdan smetanka,editor,elizabeth rosner,novel
I’m so delighted this week to welcome an author-editor duo: ...
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Fingers Crossed!

September 23, 2008Meg's Posts
This video comes compliments of Judy Merril Larsen, and though ...
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Leslie Lytle: Confession: I am a Write-Aholic

September 17, 2008Guest Authorsagent,death row,Execution's Doorstep,first book,Leslie Lytle,non-fiction
Since my dear, dear friend Leslie Lytle and I shared ...
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Harriet Scott Chessman: Walking Through the Hedge

August 20, 2008Guest AuthorsBooksense,Good Morning America,IndieBound,Lydia Cassatt,novel,Ohio Angels,publisher,Someone Not Really Her Mother
I'm delighted to have one of my own favorite authors, ...
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Danielle Younge-Ullman: Waiting for Godot…or Publishing House X

August 13, 2008Guest Authors
This week's guest, Toronto-based novelist Danielle Younge-Ullman, is also a ...
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On Book Tours

August 1, 2008Meg's Posts
I just read Ann Patchett's "My Life in Sales" in ...
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Sheryl Cohen Solomon: If At First You Do Succeed

July 9, 2008Guest Authorsessay,magazine,rejection,Sheryl Cohen Solomon
My guest this week is Sheryl Cohen Solomon, a writer ...
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A Little Something I Just Have to Share

July 5, 2008Meg's Posts
This one is a non-literary story, but it sure is ...
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Meg Waite Clayton: In Praise of Writing Friends

June 18, 2008Guest Authors,Meg's Postsagent,editor,novel,publication,wednesday sisters,writing
No guest today. Just me, since it's my publication week! The ...
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Brenda Rickman Vantrease: A 136-Rejection Overnight Success

June 11, 2008Guest Authorsagent,illuminator,novel,rejection,vantrease,writers' group
My guest blogger today, Brenda Rickman Vantrease, is the author ...
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Julia Flynn Siler: “Girl Reporter” Turned Bestselling Author

May 21, 2008Guest AuthorsMargaret Mitchell,novelist
My guest blogger this Wednesday is Julia Flynn Siler, whose ...
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Christina Meldrum: The Slanted Journey

May 14, 2008Guest AuthorsChristina Meldrum,Emily Dickinson,MADAPPLE,novelist
I'm so pleased to kick off the guest posts on ...
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On Your Way to the Incinerator

May 7, 2008Meg's PostsErnest Gaines,Scott Turow,Sue Grafton,William Faulkner
If you think writers are born rather than made and ...
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