On Publishing with A Small Press

By •

[BS: Yes, kids, another guest post. Must be the Internets way of celebrating Spring. This week, we are delighted to bring you Lucia Nevai, an award-winning author whose novel Salvation is due out from Tin House Books within weeks. Lucia, who delighted us with her line “when we all agreed that Salvation was the book it wanted to be…”, shares her experience with her editor, her agent, and her choice of point-of-view>] From three-page short story to 550-page novel My new novel, Salvation, began as a three-page short story, “Cannibals,” published in a literary quarterly a few years back. My […]

Wrapped Up In Books

Piracy, Uh, What Is It Good For?

By •

What do you fear more: obscurity or piracy? Seems to me most people fear the latter because we’re told that piracy is bad and must be stopped. 400,000 books were published/distributed in the United States in 2007, according to Rachel Donadio’s recent New York Times article (“You’re an Author? Me Too!”). If you’re trying to reach the surface and 399,999 other books are blocking your way, piracy might very well be the only evidence that you’re not totally obscure. When threatened with obscurity versus piracy, it helps to understand terms. Yes, you’ve been warned. Random, disconnected thoughts to follow. The

Square Pegs

On Misguided Notions

By •

Reading too much, my brother explained in his English-teacherly way, is a disaster for a writer. To immerse yourself in literature – particularly those of your contemporaries – makes your work derivative at worst, and unoriginal at best. To keep your voice pure, he suggested, you must retreat, Kasper Hauser-like, only to emerge later with a voice as clear as God intended. It was an argument that almost culminated in our first exchange of blows since 1994. Should writers be readers

Quote of the Week

Mentoring: The Writer You Guide Might Be The Future

By •

[BS: Yay! Another guest post. We’re really excited to feature Tara Yellen, author of After Hours at the Almost Home, a look at community and family and what happens when one person disappears from the mix. Tara, however, is looking at community of another kind: the importance of mentoring relationships for writers. Just loved this post!] Many years ago, in a graduate writing workshop, the professor—who has authored a long list of novels I admire—surprised us by beginning class with a warning. He instructed us to spend as little energy as possible on the classes that we taught. He told

Wrapped Up In Books

JK Rowling Is Wrong

By •

Last week’s JK Rowling/Warner Brothers versus RDR Books trial made me very uncomfortable. On one hand, I completely support an author’s right to protect copyright. It’s time this nation (world, really) learned serious lessons about copyright — what it is, how it’s applied, fair use (yes, kids, fair use is part of copyright). But there’s something, well, chilling about how this case has played out. And, as a fan, I’m particularly bothered by this case because, well, there has to be a better way to deal with your readers than suing them. Especially after you’ve blessed the website and admittedly

Square Pegs
Scroll to Top