On Writing a Social Novel, Giving Clear Feedback, and Outlasting Doubt
lithub.com – Wednesday April 20, 2022
I met Melissa Chadburn in 2011, at the Tin House Writer’s Conference, where I taught her in workshop. You already know that I’m going to tell you that she was brilliant and kind and funny, even back then, so I’ll skip to the part where I get really stoned.
This happened on the final night, when the poet D.A. Powell (bless his soul) proffered me hits off a blunt the size of a drumstick. At some point, I passed along to Melissa the little secret I had been saving for just such an occasion: the Croatian publisher of my debut story collection (“My Life in Heavy Metal”) had—after much anguished consideration—come up with a title that would capture the essence of my work for her readers: Sexburger U.S.A.
Oh my god, did we laugh.
Over the next five years, Melissa did two things for which I am still grateful. First, she took to calling me as Sexburger. Second, she sent me various drafts of her novel for review, absorbing, in the process, some pretty blunt feedback.
New Imprint for David C Cook
publishersweekly.com – Tuesday April 12, 2022
Christian publisher David C Cook is launching Esther Press, a new imprint focusing on women readers. Named after the Old Testament’s Queen Esther, the imprint will focus on Bible studies and trade books that share stories of women’s struggles and triumphs, as well as leadership books, devotionals, and hybrid interactive trade books and workbooks, along with video teachings. Susan McPherson, acquisitions editor at David C Cook who is heading up the new publishing program, says that Queen Esther’s “bravery, bold faith, and willingness to risk her life to answer God’s call embodies what we want this imprint to represent to women.”
Ocean Vuong on Taking the Time You Need to Write
lithub.com – Saturday April 9, 2022
The Japanese have this idea of the color of a poem. Bashō talks often about the colors of poems. I think what he means by that is the moods and the tones, the sort of aesthetic principles of them. And I think that you can’t just sit down and write that, you have to really embody it. That’s the hardest part: figuring out what tone or what mood you’re writing towards. A lot of this has to do with the themes you’re working with, or the mode that you want to present. That takes sometimes weeks, months — years, really — to develop before language comes to fruition. Language has its own register, like music, and depending on the “octave” or the tone that you’re using, there are connotations, there are meanings, implicit in tone.
New Magazine Listing: Second Factory
firstwriter.com – Thursday April 7, 2022
Publishes mainly poetry. Fiction and nonfiction will have a better chance if it is fairly short (more than 4 pages per contributor are not usually published) and if it has a fairly experimental and/or playful nature. 'Traditional' fiction and prose submissions are not as likely to be accepted, but open to surprises.
Crime writer David Peace says 'publishers should be less risk-averse' and novelists 'have a responsibility to push the boundaries' amid publishing's sensitivity crisis
dailymail.co.uk – Monday April 4, 2022
- Crime writer David Peace is latest author to speak out on sensitivity crisis
- The author, 55, said novelists 'have a responsibility to push the boundaries'
- Comes after Margaret Atwood and Art Spiegelman spoke on book bans
- The Handmaid's Tale author said it was 'playing woke snowflakery back'
- Maus cartoonist called society 'Orwellian', saying it is out of control 'culture war'
Novelist David Peace has become the latest renowned author to slam publishing's sensitivity crisis as he said novelists have 'a responsibility to push boundaries.'
The 55-year-old, who lives in Tokyo, has penned 11 novels, including The Damned Utd, which was made into a film with Michael Sheen in the lead role as Brian Clough.
Speaking to The Guardian, he said: 'Publishers should be less risk-averse...if novels are going to survive, novelists have a responsibility to push the boundaries.'
Think you can write a book? Here’s how to pitch, publish and push your career
nypost.com – Monday April 4, 2022
Everyone dreams of being an author. The pandemic has inspired many to start on these long-dormant passion projects. Or maybe just toy around with the idea but not, you know, take any tangible action in getting the proverbial pen to paper.
First, the good news: “If you want to write a book related to your career, this is a clear sign that you are ready to acknowledge your growth and achievement in life,” said J. L. Stermer, a literary agent who teaches “How to Get Published” at Gotham Writers Workshop, and is also president of Next Level Lit. “It means you have overcome challenges and found solutions that you are ready to share to help others on similar journeys. Your book establishes you as an expert in your field and can magnetize you to find new clients.”
It takes a lot of toil, but penning your own tome can help you get on panels, invited to podcasts and land speaking engagements.
Ahead, expert tips to go from a blank Google Doc to signing the title page.
The largest annual writers convention re-emerged last week. Here’s AWP by the numbers
latimes.com – Saturday April 2, 2022
They came, they saw, they picked up 6,000 AWP tote bags.
The annual conference of the Assn. of Writers & Writing Programs took place in person in Philadelphia last week. For thousands of writers accustomed to coming together annually to talk shop and stay up late drinking, it was a long-delayed reunion.
After the demise of the long-lived BookExpo, this MFA-centric gathering represents a writer’s biggest opportunity to network, browse journals, attend panels on literary trends and assemble for bookish gossip.
How to start writing a novel – authors share how they did it
metro.co.uk – Thursday March 31, 2022
We’ve all got a novel in us. Or so the saying goes.
But for most people, even if you have the burning embers of an idea inside you – it can be hard to know where to start.
How do you find the time, the confidence, or the structure needed to actually put pen to paper, or fingers to keys, and actually start the process of writing your first novel.
Well – it can be done. Just look at all the books on your bookshelf or in your local bookshop. All of those authors were once beginners, and they all had to start somewhere.
New Publisher Listing: DSP Publications
firstwriter.com – Wednesday March 30, 2022
We are a boutique imprint producing quality fiction that pushes the envelope to present immersive, unique, and unforgettable reading experiences. We choose stories that beg to be told, tales that depart from mainstream concepts to create fantastic and compelling journeys of the mind.
Narrative Sleight-of-Hand: The Trick of Writing Multiple POVs
tor.com – Tuesday March 29, 2022
One of the traps I fall into most easily as a writer is the illusion that I know what I’m doing. I have a few novels under my belt, and have seen some success with them. Readers have occasionally marvelled at my artistry, or even proclaimed me wise. I, for one, am all too ready to believe the hype about myself.
That is, until I start writing a book that is too hard for me. Which is every book I write, somehow. I end up with two choices—abandon the hard book and write something easier, or abandon the notion that I have any idea what I’m doing.
I highly recommend the latter. It’s humbling, but frees me to look around and find help in unexpected places.
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