Blending fact and fiction isn’t a new idea in business books and management literature, but here Chris McGoff offers a multifaceted approach to story-telling, graphic illustration, and practical advice.

It's time to meet another author who got a literary agent & book deal -- so we can learn from their path to success. This interview is with J.C. Carleson, a former undercover CIA officer. She spent nine years conducting clandestine operations around the globe before trading the real world of espionage for writing about espionage. She is the author of the nonfiction book, WORK LIKE A SPY: BUSINESS TIPS FROM A FORMER CIA OFFICER (Portfolio, Feb. 2013). Success said the book will "make you more versatile, shrewd and savvy, whether you’re a job seeker, salesperson, manager or CEO." Publishers Weekly said "This quick and enjoyable read offers plentiful nuggets of information, which can be put to good use by any career-minded reader."

Is your goal is to launch a new career for yourself as a copywriter or to improve your copywriting skills? Breaking into Copywriting, a new course from Writers Digest University, can fuel your creative desires.

Last month I found myself in a little cafe in Brussels with four artists, discussing an upcoming art exhibition at which I was going to do a reading. One of the artists asked me whether I agreed with the view that once a writer has committed creative ideas fresh from his brain to paper, he should leave them in this raw state. It was on the tip of my tongue to retort that my agent would have a heart attack if I did this! I didn’t say it, however, because I was pretty sure that the artists would be shocked at the suggestion that creative work be polished for the marketplace. Guest column by Helen Grant, who was born in London. Her first novel, The Vanishing of Katharina Linden was shortlisted for both the Booktrust Teenage Prize and the Carnegie Medal in the UK. She now lives in Brussels with her family and two cats. Delacorte Press will publish her second novel, The Glass Demon, in 2011.