Donald Trump plans to cut the funding for the NEA, the National Endowment for the Arts. The budget for the NEA is $150 million annually. To the average person, $150 million a year sounds like a lot of money. But since $150 million is actually only .006% of the annual budget of the federal government, it’s actually quite […]
As a writer, I’ve attended my fair share of writing conferences: AWP (many times), Bookexpo, Squaw Valley Writers’ Conference, and many more. So this year I decided to attend a business conference instead, and it was a wise decision. I attended the GO Summit by Fastermind, an intimate, 100-person conference, and it was revolutionary. In fact, […]
Welcome to the New Year! Have you made your writing goals yet? Writing goals are one of those things most writers either shy away from or slouch into. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Let’s look at 3 typical writing goals, and I’ll show you why they’re bad goals and how you can improve […]
Looking for a great gift for a writer in your life? Look no farther. This post offers ideas for bookends, writing software, books about how to write, magazine subscriptions, professional editing services and more! (and some are affiliate links — thanks for supporting Bookfox!) Each category comes with at least 4 or 5 suggestions for […]
Writers, as a group, are usually bad at taxes. That’s because we’re not numbers people. But you’ve got to get better at your taxes, because it’s costing you a fortune. Writers pay about 30% of their income for taxes. And that’s after an agent takes 15%, or after several publications don’t pay you for freelance […]
So much of our culture stokes our desire and our greed, because that’s what fuels the economy, not thankfulness and gratefulness. The books below are defiantly counter-cultural, because they will help you to feel satisfied and whole. Sure, there’s longing and striving inside these books, but I think overall the reader will walk away from […]
In the golden days of publishing, every writer got a developmental editor. Not anymore. Editors today are inundated with manuscripts and are looking for manuscripts that require little polishing. Every publishing house still employs proofreaders, to ensure the text is free of glaring errors, but many books are published without the insight of a developmental editor. […]
What would you do if a writer emailed you saying they were going to commit suicide? It happened to Cynthia McCabe, a journalist at the Washington Post. She was in bed one night, checking her email, and read an email from a complete stranger named Dennis Williams who said that he’d published one novel that no […]
With his new Random House release, “How to Write Like Tolstoy: A Journey into the Minds of Our Greatest Writers,” author Richard Cohen shines a light on history’s greatest storytellers. This spectacularly written how-to is not your average road map to becoming a pro. Throughout the pages of this delectable dish of writing advice, Cohen delves […]
Some writers hate outlining while others think it’s a godsend. Which kind of writer are you? And have you tried the other side? Those who are against outlining usually say they enjoy the discovery process they experience as the story unfolds. They learn more about their story, their characters and their own selves as a result […]
