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• Know Your Audience

  2711 readersWriters need to have an understanding of the potential audience for their writing. Whether self-published, by a small traditional press, or under contract to a large publisher, the basic question will be asked: Who is your reader and how do we reach them? This is one question you need to give serious consideration and be

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  GalleyCat Readers Pick the Most Beautiful Words

  8289 readersWhat’s the most beautiful word in the English language? We asked that question recently, receiving hundreds of suggestions in tweets, comments, and Google+ posts. We’ve rounded up some of our reader responses below, but follow this link to read the complete list. We will conclude this short summer series with a curmudgeonly quote from our reader, Arthur

• do you need an MFA?

  1892 readersSo here’s the question: do you need an MFA? Answer: No. (Score! Shortest. Column. Ever.) But here’s what happens if you ask the question in a slightly different way. Question: Could you benefit from an MFA? Answer: Almost definitely. A little background: My senior year of college, I applied to the most selective MFA programs in the country. They politely rejected me. The following

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  Are You Good Enough to Write Professionally?

  997 readersIt’s not a question anyone really wants to ask themselves – but it is the most necessary question in professional writing. And if the quality of writing around the web is any indication, it’s a question very few writers ask themselves. Most people starting out as professionals will receive the following advice: write. Just write. Keep writing. I

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  eBook Pirates Blame eBook Prices

  983 readersOver the weekend, a reader on the Reddit discussion board complained about how print copies of The Kite Runner and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest were all cheaper than the eBook editons–prices set by the publishers under agency mode...

• Using the Question Mark

  1660 readersAlthough often taken for granted, the question mark can be used for more than ending a direct question. Really? Yes. Original Post: Using the Question Mark Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook.

• The Conversation on Getting Started

  5291 readersI was having lunch with a friend recently. I asked him how his job was going—not good, apparently. After telling me a few hair-raising stories about his boss and coworkers, my friend told me something I’ve been hearing a lot of lately—“really, I want to be doing what you’re doing.” And then it came—the “how

• Dealing with critique feedback

  9394 readersA reader of my blog, Flogging the Quill, asked a question for my new Monday “FtQ&A” feature that I thought I would explore here and expand there next week. (This Monday it was answers regarding my self-publishing efforts.) This writer asked, “When faced with differing opinions about how to fix your writing or plot or

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  Should Professors Assign Their Own Books?

  1432 readersDo you think college professors should assign their own books in the classroom? It’s an interesting publishing question. On the one hand, the book will reflect the subjects the professor knows the best; on the other hand, these assignments will d...