A Wannabe’s Guide to Literary Fiction Success

How can a wannabe become a literary fiction writer? Traditional commercial print publishing is becoming less reliable source to find readers of literature and online publishing has yet to establish what the future will provide for authors. Still, the future is clearly becoming the present when the internet can provide a writer’s works’ content free or at low cost to millions of international readers instantly, an opportunity never before imagined. Will those authors similar to Chekov and Flaubert and Melville, who have given us lasting literary fiction, emerge today through traditional, costly, inefficient print publishing or through the new internet … Read More…

Letter to a Student: Career Advice

Dear Patricia, I’ve made no comments on The Tangerine Affair, a delightful story that you’ve presented very well. To critique it would imply something is wrong with the novel or the writing. Consider your novel finished. Put it away or send it out. Don’t tinker with it anymore and give full attention to your next work. As your career progresses, you’ll change and you’ll look back at this as an early piece and you might find things you would have done differently. But that’s okay. That’s what making your career as a writer is all about—continuous improvement. Don’t get trapped … Read More…