Here's everything I know about improving your writing, publishing it electronically and in print, and promoting it after the sale. Two questions you should ask: (1) What will it cost me? (2) What does this Michael LaRocca guy know about it? ...

One of the nice things about being an author is that we can break any rule we want. (I just did.) It's part of our job description. Language changes through usage -- definitions, spelling, grammar -- and authors can help it do this. But on the other ...

One of the nice things about being an author is that we can break any rule we want. (I just did.) It's part of our job description. Language changes through usage -- definitions, spelling, grammar -- and authors can help it do this. But on the other ...

As a student of Spanish, my goal was to think in Spanish. Skip the word-by-word translation so I'd have the necessary speed to speak and listen. I know words in Spanish that I'd be hard pressed to translate. Usually profanity, I confess. Chingow! ...

The big question. Do you submit directly to publishers, or do you find an agent who will do that for you? Based on anecdotal evidence I've heard, it can work either way. Many publishers refuse to read unagented submissions, but on the other hand Tom ...

A major "character" in Mark Salzman's first autobiography is his father. Sometimes his father paints. But his father hates painting. He likes it when his painting is done. He likes having painted. But the act of painting itself is, in his opinion, a ...

The Internet will not replace traditional promotional efforts, but it can enhance them. Before I go into the Internet, I want to talk about the old-fashioned marketing methods, because they're still your best source of readers. BOOKSTORES...

Most books aren't rejected because the stories are "bad." They're rejected because they're not "ready to read." In short, minor stuff like typos, grammar, spelling, etc. I don't mean places where we, as authors, deliberately break the rules. Those...

Don't they drive you nuts? You can visit all the rules of style you want, and you can read all the books and articles you want. You'll still be confused. You'll see inconsistency. You'll see experts who don't agree with each other. And you'll pull...

According to one of my previous articles, whenever a Southerner says "Y'all watch this," get out of the way because those are probably the last words he will ever say. Well, I'm a Southerner. I used to live in the southeastern United States, but I...