Last year, I didn't make any New Year's resolutions. Frankly, I was tired of pushing myself so hard, and I thought: hey, how about I just try my best this year? It felt like a gentle enough goal given that I had just started a new job and my first novel was about to be published. While I knew quite a bit about what was ahead (I'd published nonfiction before), I had very little idea about whether the outcome for this book would be good, bad or indifferent, and how I would end up feeling about it all

The first time you publish a book, it’s a pretty surreal experience. First you wallow deliciously in the dreams and hopes that have built up inside you for years. Eventually, you learn to deal with the inflated expectations that breathless articles about the writing life have created in you. And then, when you make a sale, you have to wade through a lot of conflicting information: reconciling what your publisher promises with the sometimes demoralizing advice you get from other first-time authors (who often just don’t seem quite as happy as you think they should be).

With an eye to ...

The November 2019 edition of "Writing Life Essentials," a monthly hand-curated list of contests, grants, scholarships, submissions calls, and awards, with a focus on opportunities that are at least one of the following: local, free to apply, and/or committed to celebrating and supporting writers from historically marginalized communities. We do the research, so you have more time for what matters: the writing. Or, stuffing tofurkies. That matters too.

The October 2019 edition of "Writing Life Essentials," a monthly hand-curated list of contests, grants, scholarships, submissions calls, and awards, with a focus on opportunities that are at least one of the following: local, free to apply, and/or committed to celebrating and supporting writers from historically marginalized communities. We do the research, so you have more time for what matters: the writing. Or, slaying zombies. That matters too.

With the arrival of October, we're looking forward to jacket season, caramel apples, and all the discounted candy after Halloween. Don't miss out on these November 3-hour seminars and 6-hour weekend workshops: 
 

• The Hook & the Book: An Intensive Two-Day Workshop On The Query and The First Five Pages (11/1 & 11/2)
• Novel Essentials: Arcs and Endings (11/1)
• The Joke’s on You: The Serious Work Of Using Humor in Your Writing (11/1)
• Love Letters and Recipes: Sources for Setting Your Scene (11/1)
• Creating Community Projects  ...