Adventures in MFA Land

Earlier this month I was thinking about gifts for writers. I did what alot of my students do when they have important questions about life; I turned to about.com .  I don’t know anything about the writers at about.com. Well, that’s not true anymore because now I know that they have an excellent sense of humor. The gift suggestions are darkly hilarious. Among them: A magazine subscription. Like our desks aren’t *already* piled with words (ours and other people’s) we don’t have time to read. Books on writing. What you should actually get. Don’t writers only turn to those in times of horrible desperation? When they are convinced that they only wrote something decent by accident and they will never, ever, write anything good again? They turn to the how to write books in the hope that they might find a tiny something that will help them fake their way through whatever terrible, terrible manuscript they are currently ruining with their bad, bad writing....

I don't have any training in social media. I've formed my opinion from what I've heard at conferences, from other authors, and what I've pieced together from articles and stuff. Before I reworked my commercial fiction blog ,  I averaged 150 hits a month. Now I average over two thousand and it continues to go up. For me, I think social media ought accomplish to three key things : reinforce brand.  organize the brand. build and maintain buzz.    Reinforce Brand By reinforce the brand, I mean provide information on events and topics, whatever things are of interest to the audience. I know "reinforce the brand" sounds kind of markety or contrived, but all I mean is to think about who you are as an author, and provide whatever your audience needs or is interested in. In the case of an author, that will be anything connected to to the author's books and related topics. In the case of a writing program, audience would be prospective and ...

I was excited to receive notice that my proposal for next year's AWP conference has been accepted.   Title The Irony of the Internet: Reevaluating and Redefining Business and Creativity in the Digital Age Description The literary world is experiencing what the music industry has been for years: expanded audience access, revised distribution channels, and pressure from business giants. We all know business is done differently, but the digital age also requires us to think differently. This panel—editors, authors, and an agent—will explore these aspects of the digital age as well as how the internet and electronic media alter attitudes on creativity and the perceived value of artistic endeavors.

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/20/new-wizard-of-oz-cover-_n_2915750.html#slide=2242482 )

I recently returned from my second AWP conference . The constant, dense snow provided a fitting back drop for this particular event. I took this picture of the CITGO sign while walking to a reading at a pub near Fenway. Having arrived in the more literary than commercial world of AWP after spending many years in a more commercial than literary world , I'm still puzzling over some issues. This year, one of the things I spent time thinking about was the difference in being a literary author among other literary authors vs. being a commercial author among other commercial authors. I have a lot to say about that, but not today. Instead, I have this, some stuff somebody should tell you but doesn't. 1. When signing a book for a reader, the moment is about the reader not about you. Consider doing what you can to make the moment memorable for the reader. For example, write something specific and unique. The date? The city where you are? The name of the event? Or better yet, some...

Who doesn't like children's books? As a writer, they seem like the ultimate opportunity--you can write about anything, right? Writing for little kids sounds like fun, but of course, its serious business. Three of the most common questions new writers of children's books have are: should I pitch my project as part of a series?  should I hire an illustrator for my project? will I make more writing for children than adults? Multi-published author, Christine Taylor-Butler , shares her insights.   1. Submit a single text and keep the sequels in your back pocket. The "series" isn't what sells the book. It's the command of the language, the concept, and the execution that sells the book along with market potential. 2. DO NOT hire an illustrator.  If you don't have a name in the industry, publishers sometimes pair you with a known illustrator to boost market potential.  Also, the illustrator has to be well versed in publishing requirements....