Writer's Digest March 2020

1 “I work in a tree. I started years ago when I had a house full of kids who needed me to be nearby and our house did not have space for a room of my own. I’ve kept using my treehouse office every spring, summer, and fall because I love being outside and there’s something about fresh air and trees and the company of birds and squirrels that I find very inspiring.” —Roseanne Parry 2 “I can pretty much write anywhere at any time.” — Ledezma Dreiss 3 “I set up the mobile office because the Outback is where I do most of my writing, but the area is a little large so my desk has to be mobile and as usually there is no accommodation, I have to…

Hello dear readers. Welcome to our March issue. The theme is chaos. And as I write this to you, it is less than a week until Christmas. I’m listening to Joni Mitchell’s Blue again (“It’s coming on Christmas, they’re cutting down trees …”—“River”) and thinking about all the stuff I have yet to do; the list is long. I’m overwhelmed and hoping Joni can help. She usually does. It may seem odd to mention Christmas in our March issue, but in the magazine world, we work far in advance. In fact, I am actually behind schedule in getting this letter written, due to the (dare I say it?) chaos of the past month or so. Actually, the chaos of the past year, if I am completely honest. I’ve learned over…

JONATHAN MABERRY JonathanMaberry.com is a New York Times bestselling multi-genre novelist, five-time Bram Stoker Award winner, and comic book writer. His vampire apocalypse novels and comics, V-WARS, are a Netflix original series. His novels include Glimpse, the Joe Ledger thrillers, The Wolfman, Ghostwalkers, Mars One, and many others. He is the editor of many anthologies, including TheX-Files, Aliens: Bug Hunt, and the hotly anticipated Don’t Turn Out the Lights, which is the official tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. His comics include Captain America, Bad Blood, Black Panther, Punisher, Road of the Dead, Pandemica, and more. AMY COLLINS is the founder of Best Seller Builders and president of New Shelves Books NewShelves.com Collins is a trusted expert, speaker, and recommended sales consultant for some of the largest…

Spend enough time in the freelance trenches, and you’ll find yourself working for an eclectic array of editors. If you’re lucky, the majority will be talented individuals who have your best interests at heart, work hard on your behalf, and use their skills to make your words shine. Unfortunately, not all editors epitomize the ideal. Some are quirky, difficult to work with, and sometimes just plain weird. Here’s a guide to the different kinds of editors you’re likely to encounter in the wilds of freelancing and how to work with them. 1. THE WITHHOLDER. Typically short on details when making an assignment, the Withholder can be among the most frustrating editors a writer will work with. Even if they know what they want, they have difficulty conveying it, frequently leaving…

This past fall I was once again in Cincinnati’s Mercantile Library to hear an author speak about her new book. I went in with no real expectations—I hadn’t read any of Susan Jane Gilman’s books yet; I just take any opportunity to hear writers talk about their work. When Gilman began, I was struck by how warm and downright hilarious she was. She gave wonderful advice on how to get better at this brutal gig we call writing and made us all laugh out loud. I started with her latest novel. Donna Has Left the Building (Grand Central, 2019) follows a woman in midlife and on the brink—she wakes up one day in a world she no longer recognizes and it sends her on a chaotic two-week journey from Detroit…

In the early days of our marriage—before kids, before I was a serious writer—my husband invented a little game he called the Flower Challenge. The goal was for me to make floral arrangements out of 20 or so mismatched flowers he’d plucked from the dregs of the florists’ discount buckets near his downtown office. These were the flowers that didn’t get sold during the week, the ones that would probably wilt before the florists opened again on Monday morning. At home, my husband would proudly present a ragtag cluster that looked like fodder for the compost bin and the Flower Challenge would begin. This is what it’s like to write memoir. I’ve had cool things happen to me in my career as a professional ballet dancer and tragic things happen…