I know there are others who have written about this, and said that authors owe readers nothing, but I’m going to give a slightly different answer here. I think what authors owe readers is authenticity. To me, that means admitting honestly if the author isn’t interested in writing a series anymore. It means writing books that resonate with the ( Read more... )

1. Are you telling the story you mean to tell?
2. Are your characters acting in ways that are consistent and sympathetic?
3. What characters need to be cut out to make the story tighter?
4. What parts of the story are unnecessary?
5. What parts of the story need to be deepened and expanded?

When I was a baby writer, I think I really did believe that my editor (and my agent) were my bosses. Now, I realize this is not true. While it’s also not true that I was a writer am the boss of my agent or editor (the relationship is more like a partnership), I’ve experienced several different editorial relationships.

1. The editor who knows ( Read more... )

I go to conferences all the time and the most commonly asked questions are those about publication:
How do I get an agent ( Read more... )

When I go to conferences and people ask me what the latest “trend” is, I have to admit, I kind of turn off and decide that these people don’t really want to hear the truth about writing. I mean, what’s the point of going deep and telling people the hardest lessons of my life if all they want to hear about is what is selling right now not because it ( Read more... )

For writers and creative types needing a boost today, here's this youtube video from perhaps the best Doctor Who episode of all time (that didn't have David Tennat): Vincent and the Doctor ( Read more... )

I write for my own purposes. I do not write to make my religion look good. I do not write to persuade people to one viewpoint or another. I do not write to please my family or my publisher. I do not write to make money, though I will certainly complain about it if I don’t. I do not write to give people a warm feeling when they close the pages of my ( Read more... )

When I was in high school and college, teachers would talk to us about revising papers and focus us on fixing sentences, rearranging paragraphs, and choosing better words. Which is definitely revising on one level. The problem was that when I became a professional writer, I realized that this was the very last stage of revision, basically the copy- ( Read more... )

Once upon a time, I was the perfect author for all my editors. When they sent me letters, I dealt with every query. I didn’t always fix things the way the editor suggested, but I satisfied my editors questions about projects. I made sure that my book was something my editor felt they were part of and that they were proud to sell. I wanted to be the ( Read more... )

At some point along the path to publication (or after), you're going to realize that no one cares that you are a writer. It may happen when ( Read more... )