AmWritingTag
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April 03, 2025
How to Avoid Blank Page Syndrome: The Jar Method
When I’m editing, there are specific problems to tackle, and I find I have a clear to-do list. Even if there’s a lot to do, I have a road map, but at the beginning of a project, I get so easily daunted ...
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March 28, 2025
10 Self-Care Tips for Writers
Self-care is more than a long candlelit bath and chocolate—it’s prioritizing your mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. As someone with anxiety and chronic depression, I’ve learned the hard ...
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March 24, 2025
Finding a Press for Your Poetry Manuscript
In one of my first columns as an Open Book columnist, I shared my process of realizing I had a full-length poetry manuscript. Since then, I’ve written a number of columns about how to go about preparing ...
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January 28, 2025
Grant Writing 101: Support Material
When I’m not writing books, I write grants for artists and non-profits and if my inbox is any indication, nothing says the new year like applying for grants! Let’s start 2025 with some grant funding!!!For ...
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January 17, 2025
Why Does Your Story Matter?
It’s the start of a new year, and many of us are taking stock. We’re thinking about what we’ve been through and maybe looking forward with hope and interesting ideas. Whether you have a to-do list ...
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November 21, 2024
Preparing a Poetry Manuscript for Submission
In my last column, I wrote about preparing a cover letter for your poetry manuscript submission. Well, what about preparing the actual manuscript?As I mentioned in the last column, most poetry presses ...
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November 18, 2024
Writing Lessons from Joni Mitchell
I often look to books for inspiration, but I just got back from seeing Joni Mitchell play in L.A., and as I was sitting at the Hollywood Bowl, with the moon rising over the hills, I realized how much ...
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July 02, 2024
Promoting Your Book Online: Avoiding Burnout
Does anyone else remember back in the mists of time when you didn’t know your favourite writer had a book coming out until you saw it on the shelf? You may have attended a reading or read an interview ...
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June 24, 2024
In Praise of Chapbooks
The first time I heard the word “chapbook” as a new poet, I was pretty sure I misheard things. It was a word that everyone working within poetry seemed to know—and because of that, I felt shy asking ...
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June 17, 2024
Mentorship: Part II - Author Roundtable
After chatting with Rudrapriya Rathore, the founder and manager of the Flying Books Mentorship Program about the value of having a mentor, I turned to fellow authors to chat about what mentorship has ...