Remember all the furor about E.L. James’s bestselling trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey and its unabashed origins in Twilight fanfiction? That series started a healthy debate among writers and fans alike about the concept of fanfiction. Some of us read it, others hate it, and then there’s a number of us (more than you might think) who […]
When it comes to the question whether or not you should pursue an MFA in creative writing, you’ll get ten different responses from ten different people.
One guy will tell you only the big programs—Iowa Writer’s Workshop and its ilk—are worth the effort. The next gal will tell you that you get much more personalized attention at smaller, […]
Language is power, and to that end we at The Editorial Department have come up with a glossary of commonly-used terms and abbreviations in the book publishing industry. This is a quick, handy guide (in no particular order) to many of the terms that writers will come across during all stages of editing and publishing. Enjoy and […]
I’ve recently worked through a post-holiday backlog of submissions, and stumbled on some recurring themes and – naturally – some recurring pet peeves. Agents are as diverse in their taste for query letters as they are in their tastes for reading material, so please know my advice comes from personal preference. But I hope these rules will […]
When I relocated part-time to the UK last year, there were many mysteries to figure out: Why so many tea breaks, and how does one brew it in the Orwell fashion? Where does one find canned pumpkin come Thanksgiving? What’s a knees-up, and what does it mean to get trolleyed there? […]
If you’ve never seen Gordon Ramsay in action, think of him as a drill instructor for chefs. His restaurants have earned a total of 16 Michelin stars, he was awarded the OBE, and he’s had eight different television series in the UK and US combined. The guy not only knows food, he knows the business of food. […]
