SPOTLIGHT: PUBLISHING 101

Your Step-by-Step Guide to the Publishing Process
BY JERRY D. SIMMONS
Here’s how it works, why you need to know and how you can play an influential role in your book’s success.

What Not to Expect When You’re Expecting
BY ELIZABETH SIMS
A veteran author tells you, writer to writer, what getting published is really like—and confronts the seven biggest myths.

Your Publishing Survival Guide
BY PATRICIA HOLT
An industry veteran reveals how to stay true to yourself—and champion your writing—in the madness that the book business has become.

Hindsight’s 20/20
WD readers who are published authors share what they wish they’d known about the process going in—and help you see your own book’s future more clearly.

[FEATURES]

THE WD INTERVIEW: ANNE TYLER
BY JESSICA STRAWSER
With a body of work spanning five decades, a Pulitzer Prize and membership in the Academy of Arts and Letters, Anne Tyler is a testament to the best kind of longevity—and the purity of the written word.

Keep on Writing
BY ZACHARY PETIT
Wanderlust, business savvy and a “magical, all-alone private Stonehenge”: How Rick Steves became the world’s most trusted travel writer.

The Purple Elephant in the Room
BY MELISSA HILL
The winner of the WD Popular Fiction Awards knows how to make an unforgettable suspense story stand out in a crowd. PLUS: The top 5 winners in each category.

The Facts on Fiction Collaboration
BY J.A. KONRATH
Partnering up can help you write smarter, work faster and engage new readers—and it’s a lot of fun, too.

[EDITOR’S PICK]

MFA Insider: MFA vs. Ph.D. BY BROCK CLARKE
A prospective student’s guide to taking sides (or not) in the battle of the terminal creative writing degrees.

[COLUMNS/DEPARTMENTS]

InkWell
EDITED BY ZACHARY PETIT

• Confessions of a Plot Junkie
• From Screed to Screen
• You Are What You Read
• Annual Poetry Contest
• 21st Century Writer Tip: Google Alerts
• The Roeder Report: Going Out on (the Way to the) Top

Ask the Pro: Cheryl Klein, Senior Editor at Arthur A. Levine Books
BY KARA GEBHART UHL

First Impressions: Luck and Method
BY JORDAN E. ROSENFELD

Questions & Quandaries
BY BRIAN A. KLEMS
Historical fiction, word clarification and cover letters.

Your Story: The Key
BY LARRY PETERSON

Nonfiction: 10 Tips for Profiling the Pros
BY SUSAN SHAPIRO

The Conference Scene: The Lesley University Writers’ Conference
BY LINDA FORMICHELLI

Celebrating 90 Years of WD: American History

[WRITER’S WORKBOOK: STORYTELLING]

Hook Readers With a Strong Beginning
BY LES EDGERTON

Use Braiding to Layer Your Story Line
BY HEATHER SELLERS

Keep Your Story Moving at the Right Pace
BY JESSICA PAGE MORRELL

PLUS:

• CONTRIBUTORS
• EDITOR’S LETTER
• READER MAIL