Writer Unboxed

I’ve been writing the same book for ten years. Well, OK. I wrote it once, and since then I’ve been continuously rewriting it. Now there are those who write a passage and it’s beautiful, and they never have to edit. I’m not one of those. I’ve been known to have over a dozen drafts to get [...]

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As writers, we’re used to having the last word. (“The End,” right?) In fact, we’re used to having every word. In our stories, we get to give voice to all of our thoughts, opinions, and experiences – be they fictional or otherwise. We hold the mic, and we don’t have to share. Until we want [...]

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Therese here. Today’s guest is Janet Skeslien Charles, an American author who has lived in Paris for over a decade. But there’s much more to Janet than that: She recently became the first American to win Britain’s Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance for her debut novel, Moonlight in Odessa. Here in the states, Publishers [...]

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Today’s guest is Crystal Patriarche, publicist for BookSparksPR. Crystal has spent time on both the agency and corporate sides, doing PR, corporate communications, corporate philanthropy as well as social media marketing and content for a variety of companies and media outlets. She runs her own virtual PR agency, CPVA, supporting companies across the nation by providing client facing [...]

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Today’s guest post is by Rebecca Hargreaves. Rebecca was a finalist in our contributor search. We loved her post, so we invited her to share it with us. Enjoy! Sometimes, for no reason at all, I become aware of my breathing. I notice how my lungs expand and contract with each breath. I enjoy the [...]

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Therese here. Please welcome today’s guest author Jenny Nelson. Jenny’s debut novel, Georgia’s Kitchen, released on August 3rd. Though she hasn’t been a published author for long, she has still been able to gather some lessons and is here today to share them with us. Enjoy! 5 Things I Learned After Publication Now that my [...]

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Because I advocate writers be very entrepreneurial in their efforts to market and promote their work—and engage in some form of content marketing—eventually I hear or receive something like this: “You’ve said to post content, or to give content away, which to me means post chapters or sections. How can I do this to good [...]

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Therese here. Please welcome today’s guest, Shawn Klomparens, author of two novels: Jessica Z and Two Years, No Rain. Shawn is here to share what he knows about the query writing process with us. Enjoy! How to Write a Query Letter in Five Easy Steps No major publishing house will even think about looking at [...]

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It is Monday morning and I’ve just pulled together my lists. The first is a task list for this week, written in four different colors of neon ink on a blackboard. There is a book club on Tuesday, this blog plus another to write, some revisions on a project in process, and the rehabilitation walking [...]

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If you are a Twitter user, you may have noticed #SpeakLoudly trending over the last 48 hours. That’s because Laurie Halse Anderson’s highly-regarded YA novel Speak, which was awarded a Printz medal of honor, is the target of banning. Yes, my friends, ALA’s Banned Books week (Sept. 25 – Oct. 2) is coming up, and [...]

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He would become the most powerful wizard in the history of Britain—Merlin. She would become Britain’s most storied sorceress—Morgan le Fay. But before they were legends, they were young. And they were lovers. Together, in the sunlight of one day long ago, they saved a kingdom. My second book, Dark Moon of Avalon, was released [...]

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I recently had an idea for a fantastic essay about writing. It would prove controversial, but hold merit; it would change the world, or at least help my post hit a high retweet number. (Which to honest, because I’m terminally competitive, would scratch a persistent itch.) Problem was, I couldn’t nail the voice. I knew [...]

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