In late November, members and friends of the GrubStreet Writers of Color Group met with editors from local literary journals and magazines to talk about the publishing process, the concerns facing writers of color when they submit to magazines, and what journals can do to improve representation of writers of color. Group member and GrubStreet instructor Daphne Strassmann gives us the key points of the discussion, including what both writers and editors can do differently when it comes to submissions.

Writers wrestle many demons of insecurity when it comes to submitting work for publication. For some authors, like myself, …

By Katrin Schumann

I write a lot about writers’ insecurities because for 99.9 percent of us, fear lurks behind the brave faces we put on. Depending on where we are in our careers, we may all be afraid of different types of failures, but these deep-seated anxieties rarely go away completely.

Most artists learn to live with fear—and some learn to use it to drive toward better work. I might even dare to say that if you don’t experience doubt or fear, you should be worried. Overconfidence usually doesn’t serve writers well.

By Katrin Schumann

Media marketing experts agree that maintaining a robust newsletter is one of the best ways for an author to build a core audience--a group of people who will be more interested and committed to you and your work than, say, that stranger lurking on twitter or the random people liking your Instagram shots.

In late August, members and friends of the GrubStreet Writers of Color Group met with award-winning author Celeste Ng to talk craft, process, and publishing. Celeste's debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, has won multiple awards and was a New York Times bestseller, Amazon's #1 Best Book of 2014, and on the Best Book of the Year lists of over a dozen outlets. Her second novel, Little Fires Everywhere, was released on Tuesday. Writers of Color Group members Kayti Lahsaiezadeh and Shirley Jones Luke reflect on the experience.

Members of GrubStreet's Writers of Color Group, including Kayti Lahsaiezadeh …

This summer, GrubStreet instructor Jonathan Escoffery found much more than a workshop at the Kimbilio retreat for writers of the African Diaspora. Describing that transformative week to his white peers, however, was not always a positive experience.