Writers attending conferences - like last week's The Muse & The Marketplace 2021 - tend to react to the experience in one of two ways: despair or elation.

 

Camp #1 is overwhelmed with information. Too much of the advice they absorbed seemed contradictory or overly complicated. They’re not sure they even like agents and editors anymore. And dammit, if all those other attendees are trying to get published, how do they stand a chance? 

By Katrin Schumann

I sat down to write this post and have now written four openings and ditched them all.

What do writers need to hear in times like this? How can I be helpful to others when that which binds us--our obsessive love of words, books, writing--is overshadowed so universally by our fear of the unknown? 

Do I tell you how to make lemons out of lemondade?* Do I reveal that I'm writing page after page despite the uncertainty and boredom

 

GrubStreet Instructor, marketing consultant, writer, and mother of two, Allison Pottern Hoch knows how important support can be to fostering a creative life. She’ll be covering this topic and more in her class Writing Like a Parent, Parenting Like a Writer on July 20th, but until then read on to learn more about grants, scholarships, residencies and more for writers who are parents.

Authors bristle at having to fit their books into neat boxes according to genre—yet the industry and readers continue to demand that we do so. Katrin Schumann explores why, and how best to find your genre.

 

 

Personally, I've found it quite challenging to figure out the genre of my novels. It seems overly simplistic to categorize my own work according to genres, and differentiating between them can be hard

Boston-based novelist, screenwriter, and stand-up comic Erica Ferencik strikes again. This time she has a few choice words for you from your best friend and worst enemy: your unfinished novel.

 

My dear writer,

          To be blunt, I’m not even sure I start off all that well. A little heavy on the “sense of place” and not enough in medias res, in my humble opinion