The traditional publishing process can be full of surprises for a first-time author. Here's what a few writers publishing in 2019 have learned since signing on the dotted line.

We make all sorts of assumptions about what it will be like to actually become published authors for the first time

This month of DeadDarlings, Novel Incubator grads and authors Susan Donovan Bernard and Louise Miller sat down to discuss craft and Louise's second novel The Late Bloomers’ Club. Susan Donovan Bernhard is a 2014 Massachusetts Cultural Council fellowship recipient

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

The final stages before book publication involve copyediting (and then proofreading). It's your last chance to make changes before your writing goes public. What can you do at this stage to assure your book stays true to your unique vision and style?

Every soon-to-be published writer is nervous and excited about copyedits. Will they require rewriting of beloved text

"Dear Sugars" podcast host, New York Times columnist, bestselling author, and longtime grubbie Steve Almond fished himself from a pool of dread after the 2016 election by asking, What are the bad, fraudulent stories that got us here? The result was his latest work of nonfiction, Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to Our Country? a book-length inquiry into the bad stories we tell ourselves as Americans and how we can use literature as a lens through which to understand what the hell happened in 2016. Earlier this year, Steve was on retreat at Wellspring House, where GrubWrites …