Writer Unboxed

Not so long ago, “being a writer” might have cost us our sanity, consumed countless hours each day and caused us to opt out of paying jobs, but it didn’t actually require spending money. Those days are over. A veritable writing industry has emerged in the wake of the digital revolution, complete with webinars, seminars, [...]

17 Comments »

Update: Congratulations to Mari Passananti, winner of Christina’s book! Therese here. Today’s guest is the original Writer Mama, Christina Katz, author of three books for writers, including The Writer’s Workout: 366 Tips, Tasks & Techniques, out in print as of this past Tuesday. The Writer’s Workout joins Get Known Before the Book Deal and Writer Mama [...]

32 Comments »

When we talk about writing, we talk about paper. We talk about facing a blank page, or putting pen to paper; we talk about compelling books as page-turners; and we talk, of course, about judging a book by its cover. But we all know by now that writing and publishing have changed so much in [...]

25 Comments »

I wish they taught this skill to students in high school or college. Creative writing students especially need to spend a semester on it, but never do. You’d think publishers would deliver a 101 guide on it for their authors, though I’m not sure the publishers themselves always know anything about it. The skill is [...]

57 Comments »

from Barbara O’Neal:  I am delighted to have had the chance to interview my friend Barbara Freethy, who has experienced a truly astonishing trajectory as an Indie publisher this year. A traditionally published author for two decades, Barbara started experimenting with indie publishing late last year. Listen in as she talks about her journey, her [...]

25 Comments »

Kath here. New York Times bestselling author Barry Eisler made headlines when he turned his back on a six figure deal to self-publish his highly anticipated thriller THE DETACHMENT as an Amazon Kindle exclusive. Barry, a former CIA covert operative, had been appearing on the bestselling lists for years with his nailbiting thrillers. His handshake [...]

29 Comments »

Therese here. Today’s guest is the delightful Rebecca Rasmussen, who’s here to talk with us about her experience with publicity and how it’s impacted her–personally and professionally–since the release of her debut novel, The Bird Sisters. Rebecca’s novel releases in paperback today, and if you haven’t yet picked it up, now’s the time. Said the [...]

28 Comments »

Whether you’re a debut author about to launch a book (congrats!) or a writer trying to get published (good luck! I hope you do!) or a sophomore or seasoned author who’s thinking of biting the publicity bullet (yes, you should!), there are things to know about publicity in advance. I love the phone calls and emails I get from authors and [...]

23 Comments »

Well, another month has passed. Another month of beating my head against sales and promotion when I’d rather be beating my head against words on the page. Another month of wrangling with production tools that, to say the least, don’t play to my strength. Another month of refining my new entrepreneurial model of selling my [...]

7 Comments »

Therese here. Today’s guest is Sarah Jio, whose second novel, The Bungalow, releases on December 27th. Sarah’s debut, The Violets of March, sold very well and was a Target “Emerging Author” pick. It was while watching those sales that Sarah happened upon something…strange. She’s here with us today to tell us all about it. Enjoy! I Found [...]

19 Comments »

Therese here. When I learned that Donald Maass recently brought a new agent into his fold at DMLA, you know my first thought was to interview her here at WU. I’m so glad that Katie Shea took the time to answer a few questions for us and let us get to know her and her literary tastes [...]

9 Comments »

Six years ago, when we—Kath and Therese—dreamed up a blog called Writer Unboxed, we never would’ve imagined writing a post like this. Our initial goal for our little blog was pretty simple: Discuss the craft of writing fiction with other aspiring writers, and pick the brains of any publishing professional who would allow us to [...]

50 Comments »