One of the main ways that people get a book of poetry published, particularly a first book, is by winning a poetry book contest. There are dozens of these book contests out there. A few years ago, I read for one of them, helping to make the first cut of submissions. It was not an anonymous contest, and the applicants provided short
Author: Bryn Donovan
Once in a while I’ll hear somebody ask this question. Many writers prefer publishing under their real names, taking full credit and full responsibility for what they spent so much time creating. And that makes a lot of sense! But there are many good reasons to use a pen name, and here are a few of them. If you’re deciding
Soon after I began this blog, I wrote about ways I have kept depression at bay for years. I thought people might be interested in ways to treat depression besides meds, although for some cases of depression, drugs are needed. Then I deleted the post. Like many people, I feared that if I talked about past mental health struggles, people might
A friend of mine suggested I write this post. The other day, she called me because she was feeling embarrassed about an awkward meeting. When she first got to the meeting, she introduced herself to someone who turned out to be a high-ranking executive — someone she maybe should have recognized. He said they had met before, although they had
Here are the books I’ve read and enjoyed lately! I sometimes feel a little self-conscious about how eclectic my reading tastes are, but that’s not going to change, so I should just get over that, right? The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss . I saw Mr. Rothfuss talk at a nerdy convention a couple of years ago, and
Hi friends! It’s the first Wednesday of the month, which means it’s time to share a little of your work in progress (IF you want to!) Remember, it’s absolutely fine if it’s rough. Mine always are! Although encouraging comments are welcome, this is just for sharing and not for group critique. In March, I made great progress on book two of
When I’m not working on this blog or writing fiction, I’m mostly either sleeping or at my full-time office job. I’ve always worked a lot. When I was sixteen, I started working at a library, 30 to 36 hours a week during the school year and full time in the summer. I worked similar hours through college, though a little