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...
4 Free Extras From the New Writer’s Digest
Did you know every single issue of Writer’s Digest includes bonus online exclusives? And they’re not just for subscribers—they’re for everyone! We must have been feeling extra inspired when we put together the November/December 2016 Writer’s Digest, because we rounded up even more extras than usual. Learn what really drives Robert...
Why EVERY Writer Is a “Writer for Hire”
I’m in the midst of potty-training my toddler, so when I awoke this morning, in the dark dawn before my alarm, to the sound of her screaming “POO!”—well, needless to say I jumped out of bed a smidge faster than I usually do. “POO!” she screeched as my fingers scrambled across...
33 Common Words & Phrases You Might Be Saying Wrong
This infographic is courtesy of Jennifer Frost of GrammarCheck. Visit them online at grammarcheck.net or check out the free online grammar checker at grammarcheck.net/editor for proofreading help. Baihley Grandison is the assistant editor of Writer’s Digest and a freelance writer. Follow her on Twitter @baihleyg, where she mostly tweets about writing (Team Oxford Comma!), food (HUMMUS FOR PRESIDENT, PEOPLE), and Random Conversations With...
Preparing for Unknowns in Your Agent Search
If you’re on the cusp of trying to get a literary agent, or you’re trying to decide if you need one at all, or you’re right in the thick of your queries, or you have an agent but aren’t making forward progress together, enter our latest “Get an Agent” issue, the October 2016...
4 Tips to Improve Your Writing Instantly
If the “Pro Tips & Techniques” theme of the September 2016 Writer’s Digest sounds a little vague, I’ll fess up: That’s by design. Our most reliable contributors have a way of occasionally pitching outstanding articles that just don’t happen to fit with any of our issue themes. And as I was...
Write a Standout Chapter 1
We all know the importance of starting our stories strong: Without a beginning that draws the readers in (whether those readers are agents, editors or bookstore browsers), they may never make it to the middle. Enter the July/August 2016 Writer’s Digest: An entire issue devoted to helping you make your Chapter...
A Writer’s Guide to the Web
The May/June 2016 Writer’s Digest is your guide to making the most of the Web—and avoiding the worst of it. Most writers I know have a love/hate relationship with the Internet—and all that comes with it. Some days, we marvel at the capability to connect with writers and readers the world over, to publish...
Look! Mommy Can Write! A Look Back at Women in Writing
Before our office moved further north of the city, we used to get visits by the most delightful retiree, a former Writer’s Digest editor who would occasionally come by to dig a clip out of the archives, tell us she enjoyed a recent issue, or just say hi. Her name? Well,...
A Proper Sendoff for “Reject a Hit”
It’s always hard to say goodbye to a dear friend. Even when you know it’s time for them to go. I first had the idea for what became WD’s Reject a Hit column back in 2010. We’d been combing through the crumbly, leather-bound Writer’s Digest magazine archives, which date back to 1920, in...
The Best Tips on Writing for Kids and Teens
What are the most common problems in picture book submissions? What are the most important differences between middle-grade and young adult stories? What makes for standout writing for young readers? Top literary agents who represent writing for kids and teens delve deeply into their best craft tips and industry insights to answer all...
3 Ways to Increase Your Daily Word Count While Away From Your Computer
ATTENTION NEWSLETTER READERS: If you clicked through from the newsletter for The New Way to Write Your Life Story: The 10 Themes of Legacy Writing, I goofed and attached the wrong link. Sorry about that. Here is the correct link: The New Way to Write Your Life Story: The 10 Themes...
Tips and Inspiration to Write a Book in a Month
One of the things I love about working at Writer’s Digest is the excitement each time a new issue hits newsstands. And it’s especially true with the November/December 2014 Writer’s Digest–because this special guide to Writing a Book in a Month arrives just in time for November’s National Novel Writing Month challenge....
How to Write for Writer’s Digest (… Even if You’ve Never Written for Magazines Before)
Yesterday we updated the Submission Guidelines for Writer’s Digest magazine (just some routine tidying—adjusting links, adding a couple sections, overanalytically tweaking a word here and there, then immediately changing it back, etc.). Which got me thinking. A few years back I did what I wish more editors would do—I wrote about...
Get an Agent: 25 Literary Agents Looking for New Clients
Even if you’ve done your homework and prepared your query letter and other submission materials by the book, the task of finding out everything you really want to know about how to get an agent to represent you can be surprisingly intimidating. That’s why when it came time to put together...
Remembering Gore Vidal: 10 Quotes on Writing
The legendary Gore Vidal died yesterday at age 86. Here, we remember him with some stirring quotes from an interview we printed in 1975, showcasing him at his most “prolific, elegant and acerbic” (as The New York Times aptly described him earlier today). Rest in peace, Gore. * “You can improve...
Meet the Real Andre Dubus III
He did not set out to follow in his famous father’s footsteps, nor is he as dark and brooding as his own House of Sand and Fog. And those are just the first of many things that will surprise you about the bestseller.
Free contest! Can you write an opening line to a story based on this photo? (Get published in WD)
Up for a writing challenge? We want to see Your Story. … Or at least the first line of it. In our Your Story contest, we give our readers a chance to get published in Writer’s Digest magazine by responding to a prompt with either a full story, or, in this case, a...
Why “Show, Don’t Tell” Is the Great Lie of Writing Workshops
I’m honored and excited today to be bringing you a guest post by critically acclaimed novelist and writing instructor Joshua Henkin. I first discovered Henkin’s work years ago when I received an advance copy of his novel Matrimony at Book Expo America, and I later enjoyed having him contribute a thought-provoking...
What’s the single best piece of writing advice? Harper Lee, John Steinbeck and Carl Sandburg weigh in
Every week, I spelunk into the Writer’s Digest archives to find the wisest, funniest, or downright strangest moments from our 92 years of publication. Harper Lee’s birthday is tomorrow, so today I went on a hunt to find some Harper Lee quotes somewhere in our archives. I didn’t exactly troll up an entire interview (no...
How to Outline (the Easy Way) Like Janet Evanovich
Every week, I spelunk into the Writer’s Digest archives to find the wisest, funniest, or downright strangest moments from our 92 years of publication. Today: Here’s to Janet Evanovich (and that we all might one day hit it as big as Janet Evanovich). The author of the bestselling Stephanie Plum series celebrates her birthday this...
The Best New Advice for Getting Published
You can always tell when it’s officially springtime here at the WD offices. Everyone is smiling because of the sunshine. Everyone is sneezing because of the pollen. And everyone is buzzing about the release of our most popular annual list: The 101 Best Websites for Writers. (There are also some unruly...