Interested in taking your novel to the next level? Join us for an informal Q&A session on our Novel Incubator program tomorrow, December 12th from 11:00am-12:00pm (EST).

Instructor Michelle Hoover will answer any questions you have about the Novel Incubator program

By Katrin Schumann

Editors often see projects at radially different stages of development. Truthfully, we sometimes see writing that is really, well, bad.

But does this mean it’s hopeless? When do you know if something is too "bad" to be worth fixing?

Of course, "bad" is a highly subjective term. Writing might seem "bad" to one reader, while another reader loves it

By Katrin Schuman

All writers are a crazy mixture of egotistical, manic, single-minded, optimistic on the one hand and sensitive, catastrophizing, scattered and pessimistic on the other - at least all the ones I know. How do we live and produce work in a world filled with such extremes? Especially now when our political and physical reality is so chaotic?

I'm amazed by writers who stop reading in their genre while writing their own books. The majority of them seem to be worried about becoming overly influenced by the voice, themes and even plot of the book they're reading.

Personally, I can't imagine not reading fiction for the many years it takes me to complete a novel. And in terms of being influenced: I'm actively looking for inspiration and ideas. I want to be influenced.

By Katrin Schumann

Today, March 4, is the official Boston launch of my second novel, This Terrible Beauty. It's a momentous occasion for me for many reasons, not least of which is that I feel proud of finding what I think is the right balance between fact and fiction.

What I mean is, I had so, so, SO much material for this book