Real Talk for Writers

When I work with authors who are struggling with burnout--or generally feeling apathetic or uninspired about their careers--one of the first questions I ask is: How often do you celebrate?

Spoiler: for almost every single author, the answer is: "not nearly enough." 

Some authors don't celebrate be...

Welcome to the third in our four-part series of essential skills for published novelists!

As a reminder, the overall categories are:

• Essential Writing Skills
• Essential Marketing Skills 
• Essential Emotional Skills (today's post!)
• Essential Business Skills

Before I share the essential emoti...

Congrats! You did the thing!

You finished your novel and sent it off to a critique partner, your agent, or your editor. 

Now what? 

For many authors, the time between projects can feel strange. You might feel unmoored, adrift, or--most insidious of all--lazy for not having an active project goin...

Regular celebration is essential to crafting a burnout-free, sustainable fiction career.

Yet celebration is also the most commonly skipped -- or delayed -- parts of the process I teach.

Authors will tell me that it's "too soon" to celebrate when they get a new book deal because it's not "officia...