Go On, I Dare You! (Sound Familiar?)

by | Jan 28, 2016 | Authors & Other Writers

Somewhere around the early seventies, I was regaling a hugely motivated friend with some wild story pertaining to my recent life experience. She said, “You know what drives me crazy about you? You dissipate all this talent talking out stories over the kitchen table. I...

Short Saturday: Anne Tyler On Writing

by | Jan 9, 2016 | The Writing Craft

I was doing a little research the other day and discovered this 2012 interview in the Guardian with Anne Tyler, who is, and has been, one of my favorite authors. It’s a good read, and I was caught by the description of her process: For a writer who is so protective of...

And You Think You’ve Had a Bad Year …

by | Jan 7, 2016 | The Book Biz

In the summer of 1994, I lost my publisher, Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, as the sales figures for Reed’s Beach, my latest novel, sucked. … My editor had already bought the next two books after Reed’s Beach, a story collection and a memoir, but...

Telling the Truth

by | Dec 14, 2015 | Your Editor Says …

You know I have a thing about truth-telling, right? I question everything (everything) I read in a manuscript … and then I check it. I know my authors get tired of me leaving notes like: Actually, he didn’t say that. It’s been proven here. Or: I can’t verify that...