Everybody has a story, and every memoir has a plot structure. We break down five styles you can choose from when you want to tell your story!

Ten Days remain to enter your book into the Cygnus, Ozma, and Shelley Awards! If you have a great work of speculative fiction, we want to celebrate it!

A rescue crew discovers a mental weapon on the dead space station Perun. The Quantum Mirror unravels their secrets as Perun's orbit decays toward a fiery grave. Highly recommended!

Natalie Musgrave Dossett's book, Sarita, is a 2024 CIBA Grand Prize Award. We're excited to share her journey to becoming an award-winning author.

Rathuun: King of the Prairie is a buffalo of unique vision and responsibility. He returns to lead his herd through the violence and change of Western expansion. Highly recommended!

Aurita Maldonado, the CIBA award-winning author of The Zen of Dancing in the Rain, will be honored at the Smithsonian Museum through their inclusion of her bullet-ridden Army backpack and water bottle...

The market continues to make gains, with publishers reporting 750,000 active titles last year, a 43% increase from 2024. Overall, an estimated 58% of Americans 18 or older have listened to an audioboo...

A free email newsletter is the better strategic choice when it comes to long-term career development. Blogging works better for reaching new readerships.

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today’s guest is publishing expert, author, and newsletter pioneer Jane Friedman, a 25+ year industry veteran and the author of https://bookshop.org/a/85623/9780226838656. She talks candidly about how the publishing industry has transformed in the creator economy era—and why building a sustainable writing career today requires far more than just landing a book deal. In this episode, Jane breaks down the transformative shifts reshaping publishing, from the rise of Substack, TikTok, and direct-to-reader marketing to the growing legitimacy of self-publishing and hybrid publishing models. We get into why entrepreneurial authors are thriving, how video platforms are driving book sales in surprising ways, and why newsletters and email lists remain one of the most powerful tools for writers. We also talk about platform building, ownership and rights, bestseller lists, audiobook strategy, and how today’s authors are thinking differently about control, distribution, and long-term career sustainability. Plus, Jane shares her nuanced take on AI’s growing role in publishing—from the ethical outrage surrounding copyrighted training data to the practical ways writers are already using AI for research, brainstorming, and marketing support, and why writers who completely ignore AI may eventually put themselves at a disadvantage. Subscribe to Jane's industry newsletter https://janefriedman.com/the-bottom-line-janes-publishing-industry-newsletter/. Follow her on https://www.instagram.com/janefriedman/ @janefriedman, and buy your copy of The Business of Being a Writer on https://bookshop.org/a/85623/9780226838656, https://amzn.to/49zvYwu, or wherever books are sold! Get your copy of Courtney's debut memoir Girl Gone Wild from https://bookshop.org/a/85623/9781949487541 or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3M7EYR5. The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on https://www.instagram.com/courtneykocak/ and https://bsky.app/profile/courtneykocak.bsky.social. For more, check out her website https://courtneykocak.com/links. Courtney is teaching some upcoming classes you might be interested in: - https://writingworkshops.com/products/how-to-build-a-platform-for-writers-who-shudder-at-the-thought-zoom-seminar: https://writingworkshops.com/products/how-to-build-a-platform-for-writers-who-shudder-at-the-thought-zoom-seminar - https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-a-newsletter-to-supercharge-your-platform-network-business-zoom-seminar: https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-a-newsletter-to-supercharge-your-platform-network-business-zoom-seminar - https://writingworkshops.com/products/memoir-in-essays-incubator-nonfiction-writing-workshop-online-june-2026: https://writingworkshops.com/products/memoir-in-essays-incubator-nonfiction-writing-workshop-online-june-2026 - https://writingworkshops.com/products/land-big-bylines-by-writing-for-columns-zoom-seminar: https://writingworkshops.com/products/land-big-bylines-by-writing-for-columns-zoom-seminar - https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-podcast-workshop-courtney-kocak: https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-podcast-workshop-courtney-kocak - https://writingworkshops.com/products/edit-elevate-revision-intensive-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocak: https://writingworkshops.com/products/edit-elevate-revision-intensive-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocak - https://writingworkshops.com/products/the-multi-passionate-writers-life-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocak: https://writingworkshops.com/products/the-multi-passionate-writers-life-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocak

And finally, the Overall Grand Prize Winner Celebration Post for the 2025 Chanticleer Int'l Book Awards! A huge congratulations to the wonderful Michael J. Cooper!

Omniscient POV might be resurging, thanks to some recent bestsellers. To use it well, remember three C’s: clarity, consistency, and control.

Transitioning away too often—to a flashback or a new scene—risks losing the depth of storytelling that readers get from living inside a scene.

Give a round of applause (or a romantic swoon) for these Winners of the 2025 Chatelaine Book Awards for Romance Fiction! Congratulations to these authors!

In Tsarina’s Jewels, Mary and Simon protect their new family from a specter of the past, while Simon's brother betrays England to the Turkish Nationalists. Highly recommended!

A repeated word, phrase, motif, symbol, or image can create tension for your readers in small, barely noticeable increments.

In Wisdom From My Grandmothers, Jo Ann Fawcett communes with her ancestors through a spiritual channel, sharing the struggles and lessons of their lives. Highly recommended!

In Fireflies in Paradise, Jane, Nellie, and Ebb form a resilient trio as they survive and find new purpose against the backdrop of late 19th century Kansas. Highly recommended!

In The Risk of Sorrow, Holocaust survivor Helen Handler tells of the human cruelty she walked through, and of how she found purpose in honoring that history. Highly recommended!

Join us at CAC26 on April 16–19, 2026 in Bellingham, WA for expert workshops, craft classes, publishing insights, and the Chanticleer Book Awards celebration.

Cleo Gallier is Chasing Czars across the slopes of St. Mortiz. But the enigmatic oligarch Sergei comes with treacherous secrets which sweep up Cleo's family.

Everything writers need to know about AI, copyright, and current case law, in one regularly updated, fact-based guide.

In this interview, Kaelynn Partlow shares the inspiration for her book, what surprised her about publishing, and more.

The Life & Times of Sarah Good, Accused Witch is a tale of public pressure festering into hysteria, and the vulnerable woman who was made into its scapegoat.

W is for Winnipeg takes young readers on the wings of an owl to see the architectural wonders of Winnipeg, from A to Z, historical to contemporary.

Anna Carner raises Blossom the Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury, a fawn. Her love for Blossom leads to clashes with local hunters and reckonings with her childhood. Highly recommended!

Audiobooks, podcasts, radio plays, oh my! Marissa DeCuir breaks down all of your options when turning your book into audible media.

Discover Jana Richards' time-travel romance, 'I'll Be Seeing You', blending love and history during World War II. Uncover poignant family stories.

The program, which launched in beta for Guild members in 2025 and certifies titles as written by humans and not AI, is now open to any author whose books are published in the United States.

Sofia-Elisabete hopes for familial comfort at Pemberley. But in Something About Lizzy, her extended family's secrets give power to a menacing man from her past.

Simon infiltrates the Russian aristocracy as a British spy, but in Tsarina's Crown, the erupting revolution forces him to flee with two of those aristocrats.

Welcome to our fifth lecture in Brandon Sanderson's writing series. Despite a snowpocalypse in Utah, we're coming to you live from Dragonsteel HQ's cozy training room, where Brandon is pacing between ...

At our September 27 webinar, Artificial Intelligence: Revolution and Opportunity in Trade Publishing, panelists offered firsthand accounts of how the technology is impacting three core publishing oper...

There are a lot of publicists out there. How can you pick the right one? This is a crucial decision, so it needs to be approached with care.

Clear the cobwebs from your writing process with these spring cleaning tips for your workspace, digital environment, and creative mindset to enhance focus and productivity.

We're here to welcome in the year of the Fire Horse! Goodbye to the year of the Wood Snake, and let's dive into this new year of opportunity!

Rick, emotionally fractured from a traumatic childhood, can only Thank God for the Sinners as he cloaks himself in a life of chaos, danger, and dubious ethics.

Using subtle hints to develop your characters will help your readers connect with your story and give you an avenue to illustrate the character development arc.

This year’s report, based on 726 responses to our annual survey of publishing professionals, reveals that the industry is becoming increasingly diverse—and increasingly skeptical of AI

The Legend of Valentine is one of epic historic transformation as he treads the fracturing Roman Empire, and human yearning as faith and love pull him forward.

This is a fictional story of a day in Istanbul, one of the world's most ancient cities. Journey along to see the what this ancient city offers.

Edith's son is diagnosed with cancer, caused by the US government's nuclear secrecy. In Then Came the Summer Snow, she fights to reveal this injustice. Recommended!

Learn the essentials of author taxes in 2025, including Schedule C, deductions, new IRS rules, and tips for managing writing income.