Aside from trying to get published, writer’s block is a common challenge among writers. An issue that often prevents people from even writing at all is self-doubt, something romance novelist Devyn Bakewell has noticed through her visits and work with younger writers. “The advice that I’ve really been asked a lot for is this belief in your own voice,” the Greater Love and Greater Life (New Degree Press) author tells … Read the rest
When you write a story, you not only hope it will resonate, you also hope that those involved in the creative process will do it justice. So, how did children’s book author John Bray feel when he could not communicate with illustrator Josh Cleland during the development of The End (Starry Forest Books, September 13, 2022)?
“It was nerve-wracking because you’re handing over–kind of a child–a thing that … Read the rest
When Absolution creator Rachelle Storm writes the supernatural series, is she exclusively writing for longtime fans of the genre or also hoping to attract new fans? The novelist, who released the second book Revelations earlier this month, reveals it has been tricky to even categorize it due to the books’ various elements. At times, the four-part story leans into fantasy and romance and at times it does not.
“It’s this … Read the rest
What would legendary book editor Maxwell Perkins (F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe) tell his great-granddaughter, public relations guru and debut author Jane Owen today? “I think he would say ‘Keep working at it,'” she tells So Booking Cool. “I definitely don’t think that I’ve done my best work yet. I’m very, very proud of the book that I’ve written. I think that it’s great; I actually read … Read the rest
It took award-winning journalist, writer, and book collaborator Jeannine Amber twenty years to figure out too many details in writing can hurt a project. Journalism writing is no exception. The former Essence senior editor spontaneously sets the scene to provide an example: She’s interviewing someone in their home and upon entering, she sees there are a million things going on. There are books. The color of the sofa stands out. … Read the rest
When asked for advice about what authors should look for in agents, editors, and publishers, award-winning and Charming As A Verb (Balzer + Bray, October 13, 2020) author Ben Philippe, encourages finding industry professionals whose emails they are unafraid to receive. “I have friends who are also writers, they have that fear of their own editors and publishers,” he tells So Booking Cool. “They’re like ‘Oh, I made too … Read the rest
The advice Booki Vivat, author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling series, Frazzled, has for other authors and illustrators is to not discredit their creative work. “… Doodling, I totally dismissed it as not being creative,” she tells So Booking Cool. “I grew up writing fanfiction, and I thought, ‘Oh, that’s not writing, that’s not really writing.’ But it is. And all of these things people … Read the rest
It’s no secret that publishing is full of collaboration, from the authors, agents, editors, and illustrators to the marketers, publicists, salespeople, reviewers, and influencers, etc. Then there are the professionals who help authors tell their stories by way of memoir: book collaborators. Multi-award-winning journalist, writer, and co-author, Jeannine Amber, who recently collaborated on I Tried to Change So You Don’t Have To: True Life Lessons (Hachette Go, June 23, … Read the rest
For some of us, books are more than words on a page; they do more than tell stories. When emerging author and entrepreneur, Crown Shepherd, aka Crown the Writer, found black authors, her writing soared. Her love for reading and writing, which had gone dormant for about ten years, was resurrected thanks to Octavia Butler and Jesmyn Ward, who is among the black authors of Shepherd’s book club … Read the rest
Author and previous ESPN sports content researcher, Jeremy Bhandari, wants to inspire youth with his debut book, Trust the Grind: How World-Class Athletes Got To The Top (Mango Publishing, April 14, 2020), an Amazon Teen and Young Adult Sports multi-category bestseller since its launch. The intention was to create a successful-habit template for children no matter their career path. He also wants young people to understand the importance of … Read the rest
