Writer's Digest January/February 2020

Writer’s Digest posed the question to readers on our blog, “What are your 2020 writing goals?” Our readers responded: “My goal for 2020 is to find the agent or publisher willing to give me a shot. And I believe my work is really close to being ready now.” —Joe L. Law “My writing goal for 2020 is to allow myself to make mistakes; it’s how one grows. I am my harshest critic. I have to let my love of writing take over and not be afraid of failing.” —Mikita5510 “This year, I’d love to complete my current novel, find a publishing home for the one I finished last year, and get published in one or two literary journals. (All while pursuing my doctorate degree.) I’d also like to nap more.”…

I am thrilled to share with you our supersized January/February 2020 issue. If you read my letter in our last issue, you know that 2019 was a challenging year for Writer’s Digest. It feels good to ring in a new year, and more than that, a new century for WD. 2020 is finally here and the celebration of our 100th anniversary is kicked off, officially! We chose the theme of this issue—New Beginnings—with intention. A new year is a chance to start over, set new goals, and open a fresh page. In this issue you will find columns on how to get started writing when it seems you have no inspiration, start a freelance writing career, write killer openings, and pick up a piece of writing you’ve abandoned and begin…

LARRY BROOKS is the award-winning USA Today bestselling author of six novels and four writing craft books, including the bestselling Story Engineering and the new book Great Stories Don’t Write Themselves: Criteria-Driven Strategies for More Effective Fiction (Writer’s Digest Books). He is the creator of a widely respected craft-building website for fiction writers and frequently teaches at workshops and conferences nationally and internationally. He lives in Chandler, Ariz. with his wife, Laura, who is an artist. He can be reached through StoryFix.com Through speeches, workshops, and executive coaching, DIMA GHAWI shares her leadership story to motivate others to reimagine their potential. She draws from two decades’ experience leading teams and developing future leaders. She has worked across the U.S., Europe, Asia, Middle East, and Africa for several Fortune 100 companies.…

So you wrote your article or essay and feel ready to click send. Not so fast. Once you have written a piece, it’s important to edit yourself and revise. As an editor, writing coach, and adjunct writing professor at New York University, I teach my students these tips on how to get their work ready to send out the door. 1. HAVE YOU ELIMINATED THROAT CLEARING SO YOU HAVE A STRONG INTRO? A powerful opening brings your reader right into the action through dialogue, surprising statements, or questions posed to the reader. If any words don’t move the story forward, scrap them. For example, one student wrote in a fiction piece, “I woke up, had coffee and then looked out the window. It was a beautiful day, the sun was…

Selling books is a challenge. Seasoned authors know this and new authors quickly learn it. If a piece is missing from the marketing puzzle, successful sales can be difficult to achieve. What many writers overlook is that people buy from people, not from book covers, titles, or descriptions. So it is important to be able to articulate who you are and express your personal brand. Some authors create an image to hide behind. Others never stop to consider how readers see them. After all, most authors aren’t celebrities. Their focus is writing. Authors need to devise a personal brand to accompany their publishing and book brand. This builds a closer rapport with readers. Many thriving businesspeople know the importance of an effective marketing strategy, but that is only the first…

AWD contributor and one of my favorite writers, Simon Van Booy, recently tweeted of the heroes of World War II’s D-Day: “These men died so that we could live free. They gave up their chance to be fathers and husbands so that we could be fathers and husbands. For God’s sake don’t forget them; they are the silent architects of our happiness.” It prompted me to reflect on what veterans have done, suffered through, and lost for us. People throw around the phrase, “support the troops”—but what does that really mean? One organization working to support returning veterans and their families is the Veterans Writing Project (VeteransWriting.org), a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit. VWP provides free creative writing and songwriting workshops for veterans, service members, and their adult family members, in addition…