First, you may enjoy listening to my podcast. Writing Excuses is a quick-paced podcast about writing and how to produce sf/fantasy stories. You can listen through your browser or use a function that downloads podcasts, like itunes. It’s a weekly podcast and the website has an archive of all previous…
Beta readers are people who can read a draft of your writing and give good feedback. I wouldn’t recommend family because they tend to tell you they love everything and don’t give you enough criticism. I’ve found that author friends can be really helpful. You can meet these people in…
I recommend that you look at books that you like that are most like your work and find out who edited that book. That would be a good contact. Or you can check out the Writer’s Market and find that editor and submit your work. Make sure that you mention…
The answer to your question is going to depend a lot on what kind of children’s book it is. Is it a picture book? A chapter book? A middle grade? A young adult? Is it fiction or non-fiction? Each of these will have slightly different advice to them, though the…
Jan 8, 2007 Articles The desire to write this essay came when I received a clump of emails from readers who asked variations of the following questions: “Why are hardbacks so expensive?” “How much do you make off of a book?” and “If I could buy two or three of your…
Short answer: Yes. I had a lot of questions like this myself during my days trying to break in. Everyone told me it wasn’t possible to make a living as a writer–that, like an actor or a musician, I’d spend my life poor and obscure. One of the big turning-points…
So I’ve finally finished writing that novel, and I’m pretty proud of it. How do I get from there to a hardcover book in my hands? We’ve discussed this issue several times on our Writing Excusespodcast. For instance, here are a number of podcasts about publishing, finding editors and agents,…
If you can’s attend my creative writing class at Brigham Young University, then you can find the lectures for a few years recorded and posted online. The 2020 lectures are on this playlist on my YouTube channel, and it’s likely that I will post more there in the future. The…
Can I take the class if I’m not a BYU student? Every year we have a few students who don’t currently attend BYU apply and get accepted. The application process is the same from our end. In the application, where it asks for your year in school, write “Continuing Education.” You…
Tell me about your BYU Creative Writing class Click here for application dates and instructions I teach a Creative Writing class at my Alma Mater, Brigham Young University each year. It’s always winter semester, one evening per week. It should generally be Thursday at 7:00 pm but not necessarily. The class name…