In early 2025, a group called Must Read Magazines (MRM) acquired a suite of six well-known genre fiction magazines: Asimov’s Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, The Magazine of Fantasy &...

Are you using setting to its greatest effect? Julie Glover addresses how to use setting to reveal and challenge your characters.

I notice it in many manuscripts: following the opening, a downshift in tension akin to a speed bump in the road. Momentum drops. The trudge of the middle begins. Listen to authors and the middle is…

In Publishing News this week, publishing trends in the future, AI steals signatures, and what books changed your mindset.

Nonfiction authors are advised to offer a free lead-magnet book. Here's how to present that book most effectively

When your story feels broken, and neither you nor your beta reader can pinpoint the problem, Jaime Buckley shows four steps to fix the problem.

How do you name a character? Use these 10 practical tips to choose character names that fit their history, personality, setting, and story.

Learn how to describe a character in POV without using mirror scenes. Discover natural ways to reveal appearance through memory, emotion, and relationships.

Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing a shorter paged story by Devney Perry – Picture This. Delylah is a photographer from Montana, living in New York. She’s headi…

Nonfiction authors are advised to offer a free lead-magnet book. Here's how to present that book most effectively

Lots of AI and publishing news last month. Another high-profile author is accused of using AI to write his award-winning novel. There’s a push to talk more about AI at writing conferences. No…

Scenes are the muscles that move stories forward. That's their function. Learn how to write powerful scenes that engage your readers in part two of this series.

In Publishing News this week… money, opinions, and craft.

You've heard of the hero's journey. What about the villain's journey? A strong villain drives your story for the first half of a novel.

Meet this year's Resident Writing Coaches, who will be sharing advice here at Writers Helping Writers to help you grow your skills!

Remember when there was a great deal of talk in writerly circles about crafting morally gray characters? Seems like I hear less of it these days. Makes me wonder if it’s due to the fact that we’re …

Publishing … and Other Forms of Insanity Newsletter: October 2026 My name is Erica … and I’m a blogaholic It all started when print publishers got sideswiped by Amazon. I was finishing a book …

Thinking about using AI for creative writing, i.e., fiction, poetry, plays, essays, has prompted several questions. (Technical and academic writing and content creation are different enough that I …

Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing a short story by Pamela Crane – A Fatal Affair. This book is a prequel story depicting the main character in her ‘Mental Madn…

Public Domain Pictures

One of the things I often hear from writers whose inboxes are crammed with incredibly personalized marketing or book club or editor impersonation emails–you know, the ones that make it seem the sender...

I attended my first high school reunion recently, and it was lovely to see classmates I hadn’t kept in contact with since graduation. I recognized almost everyone, although with a handful of faces,…

The founder of the long-lived Writer's Group WriteOn Joliet tells what makes a healthy Critique group for Writers.

Earlier this summer, I got a text from a friend saying she had just finished a popular new book and had a “major need to process.” Another wrote to say she felt “offended and justified and angry an…

In Publishing News this week… KDP changes, reading telethons, and finding your ultimate reader.

The founder of the long-lived Writer's Group WriteOn Joliet tells what makes a healthy Critique group for Writers.

Jo Lallo shares his method for writing short stories with Variations on Theme, Intro, Climax, and Concept. These ideas can really shake up the writing process.

Querying can change how you see a book you once believed in. Learn how Jenn protects her confidence in her story through the query process.

Raymond Love just wanted to publish his children’s book with a trustworthy self-publishing company. Instead, he found a scam that took his money and delivered nothing of value. For most authors in thi...

Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing Calamity Spain by Alison J. Moore and Charlotte Moore – sisters. A fun memoir about a woman who wants to buy a home in Lanjaron, Sp…

The founder of the long-lived Writer's Group WriteOn Joliet tells what makes a healthy Critique group for Writers.

Raymond Love just wanted to publish his children’s book with a trustworthy self-publishing company. Instead, he found a scam that took his money and delivered nothing of value. For most authors in thi...

Email readers, heads up! For the full effect, pause after the excerpt and decide if you would turn the page? Vote and then scroll for the reveal! Trained by reading hundreds of submissions, editors…

What Are Redundancies? These nuisances are superfluous words or phrases also known as pleonasms. Rather than augment writing, they slow action scenes and increase word count — without adding constr…

From “alot” to “nucular,” here are 25 grammar and word-choice mistakes that make writers reach for a red pen.

I have been known to call myself the Queen of the Overthinkers. When life presents a problem, my brain goes into overdrive, throwing up an endless series of “What if…?” scenarios.…

Another way to promote your book is through a public appearance at a writing conference. Writing organizations, colleges and other groups offer a wide variety of such programs. Typically, they…

Kris Maze shares a book marketing strategy that fits both her budget and launch goals for book exposure: a Goodreads Giveaway.

In Publishing News This Week, the fallout from THAT COURT CASE settlement and other AI news.

Scams prey on our emotions. Rachel Warmath shares how to spot scammers before they can separate you from your hard earned funds.

You've heard of the hero's journey. What about the villain's journey? A strong villain drives your story for the first half of a novel.

Scams prey on our emotions. Rachel Warmath shares how to spot scammers before they can separate you from your hard earned funds.

Maybe ten years ago, I was golfing with my wife and her dad. Throughout our round, my father-in-law, who’s an avid golfer, had been giving my wife random tips that were meant, obviously, to improve…

A paid newsletter is having a moment and looks like easy recurring income. But is it? Penny Sansevierei shares the possibilities.