Getting Published

Debut Novelist Gabrielle Sher on Writing Practice, Relentlessness, and Community

Debut Novelist Gabrielle Sher on Writing Practice, Relentlessness, and Community

By Gabrielle Sher My debut novel, Odessa, comes out today.  I’ve wanted to be an author all my life, and I’ve been working toward that goal for as long as I can remember.  I definitely had unrealistic expectations about the publishing process, and it’s taken…

Getting in the Game: All About Writing Contests

Getting in the Game: All About Writing Contests

by Christina Kapp, TWC Outreach and Development Coordinator When I was in high school I won a sweater in a raffle. Long-sleeved and cropped, it was made of white angora on one side, black wool on the other, with a braided seam down the middle.…

My Hybrid Author Journey: A Progress Report

My Hybrid Author Journey: A Progress Report

by Kris Waldherr, author and TWC instructor As I shared earlier this year here, after three decades as a traditionally published author, I decided to do something very different for my next novel: I set up a small publishing house to self-publish it. In other…

Publishing My Debut Novel

Publishing My Debut Novel

TWC Instructor Katie Barasch talks about the ups and downs of launching her debut novel As I write this, it’s been a whirlwind month since my debut novel, A Novel Obsession, was published by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House. The novel follows an…

Growing as an Author by Going Hybrid

Growing as an Author by Going Hybrid

TWC instructor Kris Waldherr discusses her journey from traditionally published to hybrid author I’m one of those lucky authors who was able to get published almost immediately out of college. My first book came out in 1988 with an imprint of Putnam Books, one of…

Mergers and Acquisitions and Consolidation, Oh My! 

Mergers and Acquisitions and Consolidation, Oh My! 

We’re excited to welcome publishing pro and author Rachel Kempster Barry to our teaching staff.  Rachel knows this business inside and out and will help you get a handle on how publishing runs and how you can strategize for the good of your own writing. …

Launching in the Time of Covid: A Debut Novelist Speaks

Launching in the Time of Covid: A Debut Novelist Speaks

by Mally Becker, TWC Outreach Coordinator A few authors tell me that I’ve missed out on the “real” book launch experience because The Turncoat’s Widow (Level Best Books 2021), my debut mystery, was published during the Covid-19 shutdown. I can’t compare my experience to anyone…

Literary versus Commercial? Art versus “Drivel?”

Literary versus Commercial? Art versus “Drivel?”

by TWC Founder/Director Judith Lindbergh A student recently asked a great question that I think many writers ponder and even worry about: What separates “literary” from “non-literary?” How do you suggest we strive to create “literature,” or not, as my creative writing teacher in college…

Jane Friedman Comes to The Writers Circle (virtually!)

Jane Friedman Comes to The Writers Circle (virtually!)

We’ve been working on it for years, but it took the global pandemic to make it possible: bringing a crowd of nearly 100 (tiny digital faces) to The Writers Circle to learn from publishing expert Jane Friedman. “The Foundations of Getting Published” was just that—an…

RECAP: Dirty Little Secrets: How Publishing Really Works with Phil Sexton

RECAP: Dirty Little Secrets: How Publishing Really Works with Phil Sexton

by Mally Becker, TWC Outreach Coordinator “How’s the soon-to-be-published author?” someone teased me as I entered MONDO-Summit last Sunday. Thrilled and clueless. That’s how I felt. I had signed a three-book contract with Level Best Books just weeks earlier, with my debut novel, The Turncoat’s…

Title Hell

Title Hell

by TWC Director Michelle Cameron This is one of a continuing series as TWC Director Michelle Cameron goes through the publishing process with hybrid publisher, She Writes Press. When Brooke Warner, publisher of She Writes Press, said these dreadful words during an author call, my…

Publishing Trends and Why My Book Didn’t Sell to the Big Five

Publishing Trends and Why My Book Didn’t Sell to the Big Five

by Michelle Cameron This is one of a continuing series as TWC Director Michelle Cameron goes through the publishing process with hybrid publisher, SheWrites Press. A number of my SheWrites Press (SWP) Spring 2020 cohort have commented on how much they are learning about their…