Think your manuscript is ready for editing? Stuck on how to outline a book? Don’t hire an editor BEFORE you OUTLINE. In fact, don’t finish writing. Confession: Most writers come to me toward the end of their process, to ensure manuscripts are error-free. Yet 80% of these drafts actually need DEVELOPMENTAL work.  Some lack basic story […]

80% of First-Time Memoirists Make These Mistakes. Thousands of people who “survive life” each year believe they should write a book about what they’ve experienced in order to help others.  But is this, in itself, a good idea?, When should you actually write a memoir? When shouldn’t you? And what tools do you need to craft a […]

6 Tips to Help You Create Through Chaos ICYMI, these past few years have been a *****. Many of us have been working through personal loss while living through collective trauma. Yet our projects and dreams persist. We must learn to create with compassion amidst chaos. But how? How to write well about illness, grief, […]

How to turn autobiography into memoir for publishing success. Every month, I work writers on projects intended to be memoir that instead read as autobiography. Some have received this very feedback in rejections from agents and editors. Others belong to writing communities where members simply do not understand the difference between forms, chalking every craft […]

HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW TO BEGIN? Stuck on how to structure a novel? Should you outline first? Or free write to find out what happens along the way?  Writing is a journey. And while any trip remains an adventure, you wouldn’t leave home without a map or ultimate destination. When you […]

READY TO WRITE A MEMOIR? NAIL 3 THINGS BEFORE YOU BEGIN. Perhaps you have no idea what elements are essential for a successful memoir, or you’re stuck on how to start your book. Should you outline first, and then fill it in? Or free write to find out what happens along the way? Writing is […]

Q: I’ve decided to self-publish my book on Amazon. How can I get readers to actually buy copies? A: Although it’s vital to first write a professional-quality book on a topic people want to read, certain marketing strategies make for a successful self-published launch. It helps to remember: most writers are not marketing professionals–they spend […]

Why it’s essential we make space for creativity in daily life—and how to do it. You might think adding time to write into your weekly flow would prove easy—after all, you carry out a variety of practical tasks. But if you’ve tried and failed to establish a regular routine, and assumed this meant you weren’t a “real” […]

Can your influences help you around writer’s block? In Do You Have Writer’s Block Because You Are Writing in America?, I explored systemic baggage which impacts any American who sits down to write.  When it comes to writer’s block, writers are afraid, but not only afraid. They are also: Disconnected from a larger purpose for creating.  Disconnected from one another.  Disconnected from […]

3 Essential Tips for Openings  The rise of online submissions systems means your manuscript will first be encountered by agents and editors in digital format. Form affects experience; people’s attention spans are shorter online. Add to this the fact that agents and publications lack the staff to read thousands of unsolicited submissions to completion, and […]