Editor’s April Letter
Think back to when you started your author career. When did you start to consider your brand, and how did you decide what it would be? For me, the idea of settling on one selling point for my stories has always sounded nearly impossible. Even as I prepared to release my first book, I knew […]
Celebrating Inclusive Stories
A Q&A with Disability Book Week Founder Mary Mecham Nicole Schroeder Author Mary Mecham is passionate enough about books to have a collection of almost three thousand of them in her house. “It’s basically a library here,” she jokes. She shares the passion with her two daughters, both of whom have rare genetic conditions that […]
Editor’s Letter: Strong Beginnings
Countless craft books and blogs will tell you that the beginning of your book needs to be some of your strongest writing. You have to introduce your narrator and your world and hook your reader into the story, often in a matter of just a few sentences.In some ways, your book’s launch serves the same […]
Editor’s Letter: Just a Little Out There
Raise your hand if you’re one of those authors who has acted out a scene when they’re writing it to make sure it would work. Keep it raised if you’ve ever mimed a facial expression at your computer screen to help yourself describe it, typed a questionable search into Google while researching for your work-in-progress, […]
Meet the Writing Wives Making Marketing Accessible to Indie Authors
As the Writing Wives, Malorie and Jill Cooper Make Marketing Success Accessible to Indie Authors When asked about the advice they would offer indie authors heading into a new year, Malorie and Jill Cooper start their answers at the same time. “You go first, Mal,” Jill tells her wife with a laugh. “I figure we’re […]
Editor’s Letter: Endings and Beginnings
Although you’re reading this in January—or maybe even later into the new year—I’m writing this letter in December 2023. My family’s Christmas tree is still halfway decorated. I still have packages to ship, letters to mail, and several deadlines to meet for our staff before I sign out for the holidays. I may be clinging […]
Editor’s Letter: Your Career, Your Way
Another year is nearly complete, and I feel confident saying it’s been a busy one for most of us. It’s one of the side effects of being an indie author, after all. Generally, the word “leisurely” is not in our vocabulary. If you’re anything like me, at this point, your schedule is probably filled with […]
Letter from the Editor – November 2023
I once had a college professor remind me that, in some professions, doing everything right means most people won’t see the work you did. I can’t remember now if the advice came as part of a journalism or editing course, but after several years of working in both fields, I’ll admit it seems to apply […]
Looking Ahead at … Transmedia
A theme park that immerses fans in the world of a favorite movie. A board game or video game adapted from an existing story world. A fictional character’s favorite T-shirt made in real life for fans to purchase. Although the term “transmedia storytelling” may be unfamiliar to some, the concept is nothing new. Transmedia narratives […]
Looking Ahead at … AI
Authors understand the power of a strong launch, but describing OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT simply as “strong” feels like an understatement. In the first five days after an early demo of the generative AI chatbot released in late November 2022, the site had already amassed more than one million users, according to Forbes. That surge […]