The Underpublished: August 2022

Weekly News Round-Up (August 26, 2022)

Howdy race fans and welcome to another installment of your favorite weekly festival of writing-, publishing-, and book-related news and information. The good news is that, once again, I've managed to do this on Friday, as I'm supposed to. The bad news, aside from the fact that my audience is still minuscule, is that I may not have to do any more of these because, low and behold, there is an article in this week's batch that provides the legend to the map, the keys to the vault, and the secret to the proverbial sauce. That article (under "The Business") is "How to Get Published," and it really does tell you everything you need to know about how to get your foot in the door (e.g., get an agent and have him or her open the door for you). Of course, before you can get an agent, you have to write something, so maybe my work isn't done here just yet.

Well, that's it for now. To coin a phrase, keep in touch and do good work.

We'll leave the light on for you.

WRITING ADVICE & TOOLS:

Mary Gaitskill on the Challenges—and Risks—of Writing Political Fiction

Harrison Christian on the best piece of writing advice he's been given

How to write like the best-selling author of all time - Jamie Bernthal

Alan Moore's Incredibly Underrated Writing Guide

10 Tips for Writing an Engaging Blog Post

PanWriter: Cross-platform writing tool runs on anything and outputs to anything

THE BUSINESS:

How to Get Published

A Trial Put Publishing's Inner Workings on Display. What Did We Learn?

The PRH Trial Has Revealed a Barely Hidden Scorn for Independent Publishers

Interview with an Indie Press: And Other Stories

How to Learn About the Publishing Industry With Reedsy's Resources

Amazon Stands by Books

MISC:

This Educator Is Bringing Clemente High School's Library Back To Life

Strangers can write a book together on the Infinite Chapters website

Cheryl Strayed on the 1995 Pacific Crest Trail Thru-Hike That Changed Everything

Missing Pages: the podcast revisiting jaw-dropping literary scandals

Weekly News Round-Up (August 19, 2022)

Hello and welcome to the August 19, 2022 installment of the Underpublished's Weekly News Round-Up!

You know, I just mistakenly typed hello as "hellow" and now I'm wondering why we don't spell that word that way all the time. Anyway, as usual, we I have cobbled together a collection of pertinent and useful writing, publishing, and book- and/or literature-related articles for your (and my) edification and enjoyment. I hope you have as much fun reading them as I did finding and collecting them.

WRITING ADVICE & INSTRUCTION

How I published a bestselling book at 23 without agent + best tips

7 Tips for Fictionalizing Real Historical Characters

How To Write and Research a Local History Book

Sidik Fofana on Crafting Distinct and Unforgettable Literary Voices

Roselle Lim: On Resting in the Writing Process

How a Teenager Found Her Writing Voice

THE BIZNEZZ:

Fast-Growing Independent Publishers, 2022

Filling the Void

Is the consolidation of publishing houses good or bad for authors?

LinkedIn Pages Can Now Publish Newsletters

Publishing startups want to use web3 and NFTs to sell shares in books

MISC:

School librarians in Missouri pull books as new law allows charges for 'explicit' material

The great American novel according to Hunter S. Thompson

Are literary festivals doomed? Why book events need to change

Weekly News Round-Up (August 12, 2022)

What's up writing, book, and publishing peeps? Somehow, I've managed to post this week's installment of writing-, publishing-, and book-related news and opinion is on time and I'm (somewhat inexplicably) happy about that.

There are some real gems in this week's batch of articles and op-eds, including some tips on self-publishing your work and some thoughts on writing-related tech. Personally, I believe the only "tech" one needs is a good pen and a notebook, but what the hell do I know?

Enjoy ... and if you do enjoy this, be sure to share it with your writing-, publishing-, and book-inclined friends.

WRITING ADVICE & INSTRUCTION

On Writing Intentionally and Infusing Meaning Into Genre Writing

Dwyer Murphy on How to Write About a City

How to Use the Novelist App to Plan and Write Your Book

Can “Distraction-Free” Devices Change the Way We Write?

Writing Advice: How to Get the Feedback You Need

THE BIZNEZZ:

How to get your own book published: a step by step guide

The Write Stuff: Tips on Self-Publishing a Book

Penguin Random House's CMO on the Future of Publishing

Making Money As A Professional Writer Is Hard, Here's How To Succeed

Why We Need Independent Publishers

The possible effects of the Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster merger

MISC:

Writer's Digest Presents: A Competition Announcement, 6 WDU Courses, and More!

What We Gain from a Good Bookstore

Town Defunds Library After Fight Over LGBTQ Novel

Writers help transform old Burlington trail into new poetry path

Weekly News Round-Up (August 5, 2022)

Okay, this is getting to be a feature rather than a bug, but seriously, I was away again last weekend. I mean really away. I went to Milwaukee and Chicago, by way of Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, all of which are kinda far from Maryland. It was a whirlwind trip, and I saw a lot of wonderful things. Best of all, I didn't have a computer with me, so spent very little time looking at a screen, save for that of my phone when I needed directions. For the record, I did try to download the blogger app for my phone, but I couldn't get it to work so, blah, blah, blah.

Anyhoo, that explains why I wasn't able to to get this thing out on Friday, but seeing that I don't have any readers, it really doesn't matter and all this explaining I'm doing is for nothing. So, for all of you non-existent readers out there, here is this week's round-up of writing-, publishing-, and book-related news. Enjoy.

WRITING ADVICE:

To Write Fiction with a Psychotherapist's Mind

Mary Ruefle on Bringing Joy to Your Writing Practice

3 Tips for Writing a Second Chance Romance

How to Master Needed College Writing Skills | Education | US News

Five Things Readers Wish Every Writer Knew (From Script)

THE BIZNEZZ:

What's at stake as book publishing merger faces antitrust trial

Penguin Random House-Simon & Schuster Merger “Must Be Stopped,” Justice Department Attorney Tells Judge As Antitrust Trial Of Publishing Giants Begins

Stephen King Testifies in Simon & Schuster Antitrust Trial

Are Ebooks on the Decline Again?

MISC:

Opportunities for writers, poets and publishers for August '22.

The New York Times has found its next Books editor

If You Want to Ruin Bookstores for Yourself, Become a Writer

Weekly News Round-Up (July 29, 2022)

I know, I know ... I'm later than ever with this week's installment of The Underpublished's Weekly News Round-Up, but unlike my last episodes of lateness, I actually have a good excuse this time. I was out of town! Really, I was 5 hours from home in Parkersburg, West Virginia, for a little R&R with my partner-in-crime, main squeeze, and wife of 24 years. We had a great time--and one of the reasons I enjoyed myself is that I didn't bring a computer.

So, without any further adieu, here is this week's round-up of writing-, publishing-, and book-related news and opinion for all you wordnicks out there. Enjoy!

WRITING ADVICE:

Verlyn Klinkenborg on Writing More Clearly

I wrote my first book in 30 days. Here are 11 tips and tricks to writing a novel.

Shop Talk: Dwyer Murphy on Writing Routines, Superstitions, and Reading Elmore Leonard Like a Bible

6 Things My Career as a Travel Writer Taught Me About Writing a Memoir

How To Write a Friends-to-Lovers Romance (When You’re Addicted to the Enemies-to-Lovers Trope)

THE BUSINESS:

Your chance to be a top author: Today the Mail gives you the chance to have your novel published

[Note: The deadline for this has passed, but I’m including it here because I find the whole thing interesting….]

Authors Are Starting to Use AI to Quickly Churn Out Novels

A major publishing lawsuit would cement surveillance into the future of libraries

Stephen King goes to bat for U.S. gov't in case against book publishing mega-merger