I occasionally get questions from people about the process of selling one’s first novel, so here’s a quick and dirty explanation. I’ll go into further detail in future posts. First and foremost, you need to have written the novel. This may seem obvious, but it’s very common for aspiring writers to have an idea for a novel they’d like to sell, but an idea is not sellable, at least not to publishers of fiction when your name isn’t Stephen King […]

Categories: Advice for Writers

Anne Lamott’s brilliant book on writing, Bird by Bird, reminded me last night about the importance of the shitty first draft. There is no such thing as getting it perfect–or even nearly perfect–the first time around, so give yourself permission to write stuff you’ll never show the outside world. I was a much more productive writer when I kept this in mind daily. I don’t let anyone see my writing in first draft form. I barely let anyone else even […]

Categories: Advice for Writers

When you’ve made the momentous decision to write a novel, you may or may not know what kind of novel you want to write. The conventional wisdom is to write what you love to read, and the mercenary wisdom is to write what sells. You may at this very moment feel yourself pulled in one direction or the other, based on the loftiness of your literary aspirations or the emptiness of your bank account. One thing is absolutely for sure […]

Categories: Advice for Writers