I’m the first to admit I love doing things trial by fire. Such a masochist! But it’s true: I love being thrown into a tank full of sharks and then yelling, “COME FOR ME!” while simultaneously trying to figure out how the flipper to get out of there. (Haha, funny/sad?) I learn best this way—and […]
Last week I asked: what questions do you have about the publishing process? Since I’m in the thick of it, and you’re my ride-or-die crew, I thought I’d bring you along on the journey. (Picture me holding the keys to a Ferrari. Except instead of a Ferrari it’s more like a tank. Can you imagine […]
There are approximately ELEVENTY HUNDRED SURPRISING THINGS I’ve learned about book deals and the book publishing process that I never, ever, ever, ever knew. Take the hour-long call I had with my editor at Penguin, yesterday, as we discussed my manuscript and agreed on final edits. One of the things she wants me to do? […]
Not being able to say what it’s about IN ONE SNAPPY “AH HA!” SENTENCE. In other words, the pitch. Oh, the pitch! I know, I know, you’re groaning already. But here’s the deal: you need to frame your work around a tight, contained hook that instantly makes sense to other people—and you have to do […]
It’s Friday and I have so many things to tell you! First of all, have you ever read Caitlin Moran? Because if you haven’t, you need to. She’s funny as fuck. And she’s smart as fuck. And she’s British as fuck. Annnnnnnnnd, the real reason I’m telling you this is because I met with my new UK […]
For those of us who have found ourselves stuck in a cycle of hustling to prove that our life is good enough, over and over again. For those of us who have this nagging, crazy little itch on the inside of our minds, but keep worrying that it isn’t going to earn enough money, or it isn’t practical, or it’s […]
Remember that one time I wrote and said that I’d soon be sending you an email full of exclamation points as our bat signal when I had THE BIG NEWS to share? Well, here we go, team. Here it is! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! […]
Raise your hand if you grew up going to Barnes & Noble, sitting there like a TOTAL EFFING CREEP right on the floor of the aisles, not so much reading, as much as fantasizing, as you flipped through countless different paperbacks, poring over their pages, fingering their covers (the ones with the raised bumpy texture were […]
I know your dirty little secret. (Not that one. God forbid anyone on the internet finds that one out.) You want to write a book. This means three things: You’re paralyzed with fear that it’ll suck. It’ll suck so bad that the entire world will snub you and right after that, they’ll revoke your social security […]
