Everything I Know About Marketing I Definitely Did NOT Learn from AWP
“Yes!” said a young woman at the AWP conference for writers, rounding the corner to my all-the-way-in-the-back-corner booth. “This is where those
Writers Get Wild: Creating Your Own Self-Run Writing Retreat
My rent is $350 for the next three months, and I can’t tell whether it’s that or the physical space around me,
10 Things I’ve Learned in 10 Years of Writing the Personal Essay
From my first essay nearly published a decade ago to the viral essay that got a million readers to the little goof essays I write now, here are 10 things I've learned about writing powerful personal essays
Your Writing Career Will Not Survive on “Please”
We stood on a closed-off street at a music festival, near midnight, third or fourth beers in hand, when the musicians on
The Most Important Thing Most Writers Never Do
I’d be driving and think, “Oh damn it, I never followed up with Susan.” I’d be shopping and realize it had been
Why I’m Learning Grammar: Grammar Foundations Class Review
My coaching student scoffed. “Why are you learning grammar?” A part of me was with her, scoffing at grammar that meant memorizing latinate
5 Ways to Write The Cliché Experience Fresh
I’m looking up Narratively’s instructions on how to pitch, and I see this from their editor, Lilly Dancyger: “In case you’re wondering,
Everything a Writer Needs to Thrive: Craft, Business Skills, Personal Finance, & Joy
When I decided to start a blog as a follow-up to my book Welcome to the Writer’s Life, I knew I needed
Conferences are Essential (and Expensive)
In 2018, I went to six conferences, which is, according to my bank account, too many conferences. Today I have a new
The Luxuries of Freelance Writing Life
My favorite music genre being Sad Guy With A Guitar And a Story To Tell, my favorite band is naturally Bon Iver.
10 Office Supplies Every Writer Needs at Home
I don’t know why it took me so long to realize I could buy things for my home that I’d only used
Why (And How) We Should Talk About Money
Every month, I have a dinner party where we talk about the most forbidden of fruits as far as conversation topics go:
All the Tools I Use To Run My Freelance Writing Business
I bartered with another business owner to help her design her systems, and we were deciding which electronic signing service to go
Bria, How Did You Save Up To Write For A Year?
On the latest episode of my podcast, I get to talk with my coaching student, Bria, about how she saved up to
How To Compost Artistic Envy Into Inspiration
I am feeling feelings about Kristen Arnett’s book, Mostly Dead Things, an absolutely fabulous and hilarious novel set in Florida. Psst: This
Using Affiliate Links, Feeling Kinda Weird About It
As we walked down the beach one day, my mom and I saw two anchored boats cracking against each other in the
Read This to Learn That: Tara Conklin’s “The Last Romantics” and The Family Saga
I just finished Tara Conklin’s book The Last Romantics on a plane, and I wanted to call, “Attention: People in the emergency
Obsession
My Favorite Writers’ Favorite Books: John Hodgman
Like Will Ferrell or Amy Sedaris, it seemed like John Hodgman was creating a new kind of humor. We had no idea
Read This to Learn That: Gaby Dunn’s “Bad with Money” and Starting as a Writer from Nothing
One thing I know about the writing life is that you get better at the thing by doing it. I started out
Why a Writer Might Want to Care About Frugality
I’m doing Liz Frugalwoods’ Uber-frugal challenge this month, and I don’t like it. I mean, I like her and her challenge, but
I Don’t Want to Be Frugal, But I Want to Be a Writer
It’s spending season. The sun shines upon Seattlites at University Village as I run to the Amazon book store, because it’s the
My Favorite Writers’ Favorite Books: Michelle Obama
Is there anyone classier, smarter, and more of a person I might be tempted to put a photo of on my mantel
My Favorite Writers’ Favorite Books: Anthony Bourdain
Before my trip to South America, I looked for places he’d been. I had 24 hours in Cali in Colombia, and he’d
10 Beach Reads
“In my mind, a beach read is something that’s “unputdownable,” whatever that means to you,” says Susan Kehoe, managing partner of Browseabout