By Katrin Schumann

I've been on submission many times over the years. It's fun, until it's not. Or... it's fun and then gets a lot more fun. Here's what I've learned.

1) Create a serene environment around you. Preferably light a candle first thing in the morning. Not one of those scented things called Enticing Aroma's Fall Festival or, god forbid, Pumpkin Spice. Something classy and reeking of intelligence, just like you.

By Katrin Schumann

My friend Stephen had an incredibly interesting life. When he died at age 50, he left behind a small family and lots of burned bridges. One thing he didn’t leave behind—something so important that its absence is a tragedy—was any kind of cogent record of his life or work. 

There are pictures and half remembered stories. There are paintings and sculptures, covered in Saharan dust, the details of their provenance lost forever

By Katrin Schumann

The best advice comes from people who have been in the trenches. Battled the highs and lows, enjoyed successes and perhaps been disappointed--or delighted--by the unexpected.

I recently asked some of my writer colleagues, friends, clients and former students--all now published--for advice they wish they'd known before launching into the process. Here are the top twenty tips:

By Katrin Schumann

Instead of feeling grateful I was annoyed. My husband and I were wandering among the 18^th century gravestones, talking books. 

He was excited. “And then you can have the guy, it’s set in modern times, maybe he’s an international spy or a drug lord or something big, and he’s thinking back on what happened with his mother and that’s how you tell the Ibiza story?”

GrubStreet runs on coffee, printer ink, and community. This series features just some of the Grubbies who make our community strong. In this edition, meet Grub instructor Stephanie K Brownell. Stephanie has taught at Boston University, the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, The Eliot School, and the Urbano Project