Columns

Your Book Has Been Optioned For Film/TV—What Happens Next?

February 21st, 2022

Header image by Roberto Nickson By the grace of some deity out in the cosmos, I’m currently sitting on three media options—my novel The Warehouse was optioned for film by Imagine Entertainment, The Paradox Hotel was optioned for TV by Working Title, and the Ash McKenna books have also been optioned, by Village Roadshow. It’s a fun, sometimes confusing, sometimes scary, sometimes frustrating process.

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Writers Lifts: Sharing the Love or Twitter Pyramid Scheme?

February 17th, 2022

When you see the hashtag "WritersLift" it should smack you across the face the same as when you see the word “LuLaRoe.” Writers lifts are a pyramid scheme—excuse me, “multi level marketing” scam. They take advantage of you, suck you dry (in the bad way), and leave you with no benefit. Allow me to explain.

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15 Underrated Love Poems

February 14th, 2022

There are plenty of lists of love poems on the internet. But while most feature timeless classics that should be essential reading, these lists crowd out some lesser-known poems that seek to depict the state of love with an edge of the contemporary, or with a heartbreak or whimsy that won’t qualify for lists geared towards Valentine’s Day crowds.

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14 YA Romances To Help You Celebrate Valentine's Day

February 11th, 2022

It’s February, the Month of Love (for the first half, at least. After the 14th it becomes the Month of Cheap Convenience Store Chocolate, which, let’s be real — is a form of self-love all on its own).

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Defending Romance Novels

February 8th, 2022

People say a lot of mean things about romance novels, romance readers, and the romance publishing industry. I’m going to say some mean things back. Romance novels aren’t real books!

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Writers: Focus On Your Own Page

February 7th, 2022

Header image via Rodnae Did you see that post from that writer who just got a new literary agent? The same literary agent that you’ve been querying? Or, did you see that one announcement from that one writer who signed with a major publisher, your dream publisher, in a multi-book deal at auction? 

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The Final Gong: The Legacy of Bizzong!

February 4th, 2022

Frank Edler, known as Mr. Frank of the Weird and Wacky Fiction Podcast Bizzong!, created an important fixture in the bizarro community when he started podcasting years ago. As the podcast comes to an end and Mr. Frank moves on to other ventures, this is a good time to explore what impact and legacy the podcast left behind in an often underappreciated subgenre of fiction.

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Could Spider-Man Have Saved David Foster Wallace?

February 3rd, 2022

Here’s a totally out-of-context Chuck Palahniuk quote about a dead guy:

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Top 10 Insane Things No Writer Has Done But Someone Should

February 2nd, 2022

Image via Gustavo Fring  Writers are always looking for a way to improve their careers. Most of their ideas are terrible. Maybe these ideas will revolutionize your career or the writing industry, but probably not. Few are daring enough to try. I want to live in a world where these things happen, but I’m afraid I may not see it in my lifetime. Still, there might be hope. Writers do a lot of crazy things.

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The David Foster Wallace Trap

February 1st, 2022

David Foster Wallace wrote Infinite Jest, and he trapped himself in pretty spectacular fashion. What does that mean? Caught Up If this can happen to him, it can happen to you. Before you get all caught up, yes, I know David Foster Wallace had some problems. I know he was a complicated man. Nobody is looking to make light of DFW’s hard row.

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