Fearless Fiction: Mindy McGinnis on Rape Culture, Universal Emotions and Strong Female Protagonists
A prolific Edgar Award–winner, Mindy McGinnis’ stories cross subgenres of young adult fiction, from fantasy to dystopian to contemporary. Here, WD talks with her about the unique aspects of her work, including the way she addresses rape culture and incorporates strong female protagonists.
Curation & Community: Inside the Online Literary Magazine Women Writers, Women’s Books
The owner and managing editor of the online literary magazine Women Writers, Women’s Books, Barbara Bos discusses growing the community—and how to submit.
You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Bookshelf: 9 Under-Read Book Recommendations from Literary Agents
We asked publishing insiders to share book recommendations that they hoped more people would read, period. Here is a selection of their recommendations, beyond those of the authors profiled in print in our May/June 2018 “Roar” roundup.
#DVPit Showcases Pitches from Historically Underrepresented Voices in Publishing
With Twitter-based pitch events such as #PitchWars and #PitMad so immensely popular, it’s only fitting that #DVpit has now joined their ranks. Created in 2016 by agent Beth Phelan, the hashtag aims to “showcase pitches from marginalized voices that have been historically underrepresented in publishing.”
Literary Agents of Color: Empowering Authors & Agents to Succeed
Penny Moore’s brainchild is the new online directory Literary Agents of Color — which includes bios and submission guidelines for around 50 such agents, and growing.
Industry Spotlight: Literary Agent Eric Smith on Conference Scholarships
When writing conferences invite Eric Smith of P.S. Literary to join their roster of attending literary agents, he’s usually happy to comply, pending one request: a guest pass, so that he can bring along a marginalized writer from the surrounding area.
James Han Mattson: LGBTQ Literature, Finding Your Voice and Addressing Gun Violence in Fiction
In Iowa Writers’ Workshop–graduate James Han Mattson’s acclaimed first novel, The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves, the cyber-bullying of a gay teen leads to a multi-victim shooting. Here, he discusses related topics, including LGBTQ literature and writing about gun violence.
From CBS’s Cold Case to Kick-Butt Cozies: Kellye Garrett Discusses Screenwriting and Black Women in the Mystery Genre
Kellye Garrett discusses her years as a Hollywood screenwriter (with the CBS drama Cold Case among her credits) and the representation of black women in the mystery genre.
Embrace the Power of Imagination: Ashley Hope Pérez Talks Latinx Literature and Contemporary Global Issues
The author of three novels for young adults, Ashley Hope Pérez’s most recent work, Out of Darkness, has received national acclaim. Here she discusses the representation of latinx literature in the discussion of global lit.
Mental Health, Feminism and the Future of YA Fiction with Kelly Jensen
Kelly Jensen’s background as a teen librarian influences her own writing (she is a popular essayist, and author of It Happens: A Guide to Contemporary Realistic Fiction for the YA Reader) as well as her editorial career, in which she now covers YA fiction for Book Riot.
New Territory: ‘The Nightingale’ Author Kristin Hannah Discusses Her New Alaska-Set Novel
The latest from bestselling 'The Nightingale' author Kristin Hannah transports readers to remote 1970s Alaska. In this interview from the February 2018 issue of Writer’s Digest—including outtakes that didn't appear in the magazine—Hannah discusses the real-life influences that inspired 'The Great Alone,' and preaches the power of a tight-knit writing circle.
From One Writing Dream Job to Another
Our editor-turned-novelist Jessica Strawser on finding a better life balance, putting writing first, and leaping into the next chapter.
Inside the Agent-Author Relationship
When you sign with an agent, you’re choosing a partner for your career—which means it’s important to choose carefully. We asked subscribers to share the best parts of their agent relationships, showing both what’s important and what’s possible. Let the stories below be a guide as you seek the right match—and...
5 Things All Writers Should Know When Writing a Second Novel
Here in the writing community we talk a LOT about how to break in with a novel—whether breaking in means signing with an agent, landing a deal with a publisher big or small, or self-publishing well enough to make a splash. That makes sense, of course—because breaking in isn’t easy. More...
Remembering Richard Nelson Bolles, Self-Pub Pioneer
BY JESSICA STRAWSER Richard Nelson Bolles was one of the earliest examples of indie-author success. Before his hit book What Color is Your Parachute? spent a whopping 288 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, Bolles distributed photocopies of the book by hand to friends and family. With the passing...
Almost Missed You Debuts Today! Get One Last Look Behind the Scenes
After a lifetime of dreaming, it’s finally here. My novel, Almost Missed You, is out and available in bookstores today! And I have you to thank.
4 Short Lessons on the Subject of Short Stories
What do short fiction editors really look for? What's the secret to great flash fiction? Are anthologies the most overlooked markets around? The answers may just jump-start your career.
Smart Ways to Get Organized and Be Productive
Take it from me: The moment it dawns on you that you’re failing at something is not a good time to start keeping track of your efforts. And the moment it sinks in that you’re succeeding? Well, that’s not a great time to get your act together either. Bad form though...
An Easier, More Meaningful Approach to Your Writing Resolutions
I’ve never been big on New Year’s Resolutions—not because I don’t believe in trying to make a change or to work toward a goal, but simply because I don’t believe in waiting to flip a calendar page to do it. I’m just as likely to reboot my writing routine in the...
Talking Rejection With Debbie Macomber
Occasionally, my favorite moments of an author interview are the ones that don’t entirely make it into print. With Debbie Macomber, the cover star of the January 2017 Writer’s Digest, the moment came when the conversation turned to rejection. Read any interview with Macomber, and you’ll see how relatable her early...
Liane Moriarty: Bonus WD Interview Outtakes
Liane Moriarty is a tightrope writer—her characters and plotlines striking a near-impossible balance between the likeable-relatable and the magnetic-eccentric, the irresistibly humorous and the unbearably tragic. That she writes from Australia lends a certain exotic quality to her myriad foreign editions (not many American readers have spouses who say things like,...
Answers to Your Novel Writing Questions
I’ve interviewed enough authors over the years to know this: Even the most successful among them can remember with vivid clarity the tentative tingling of first sitting down to write a novel and feeling as if they had no idea what they were doing. In fact, some of them still experience...
What No One Tells You About Page Proofs, Blurb Requests and More
We’ve all heard the middle of a manuscript referred to as “the muddle in the middle”—a nod to the challenge in sustaining momentum between the opening hook and the exciting conclusion. What you don’t hear as often is that the “muddle in the middle” applies just as aptly to the publishing process itself. For the...
Debbie Macomber on Writing Romance: “I’ve never felt alone”
Warm and uplifting, yet undeniably real; comforting and familiar, yet surprisingly fresh; relatable and entertaining, yet comically self-deprecating; generous and humble, yet unabashedly successful: If Debbie Macomber herself seems like a living, breathing extension of the heartwarming romance and feel-good women’s fiction titles that have become her trademark, it’s no accident....