What should fiction writers blog about?

Question from a Quora follower: What should fiction writers blog about? It depends upon your audience, but readers tend to be interested in the writing process and particular challenges you’ve faced in your writing life. I also try to blog about other authors...
Online Novel Writing Course 2017

Online Novel Writing Course 2017

Do you want to write or finish your novel in 2017? Then the Book Doctor’s online novel writing course Plot Like a Pro is for you. Learn how to plot and structure your novel in this eight-week online course. You’ll get 20 video lectures, written lectures,...

6 Essential Tools for Writers

Thank you for signing up for my weekly writing and publishing tips. You’ll find  6 Essential Tools for Writers in your inbox. Be sure to add Bay Area Book Doctor to your contacts list so your weekly writing and publishing tips don’t disappear into the...

A Writer’s Confession

I was doing an annual authors’ dinner at a Bay Area library a couple of nights ago. It was a beautiful event organized by the Friends of the Library, with a cocktail hour, silent auction, nice meal by candlelight, good company, etc. During the pre-dinner reception,...

5 Habits of Highly Effective Writers

Be a reader. Read widely and well. Read in the genre in which you are writing, but also break away from it. Read essays, crime fiction, flash fiction, poetry. Read investigative journalism. Read diaries from the nineteenth century. Read a book you remember from...

How to Write a Novel : 10 Steps

Michelle Richmond The first thing you need to know about writing a novel is that there are no easy answers. The second thing you need to know is that, if you’re anything like most of us, it’s going to be quite difficult. There’s no magic formula for novel-writing....

How to Start a Story

One of the questions I hear frequently from aspiring writers is, “How do I start a story?” Even seasoned writers have days when the story won’t come. Talking to a reporter for Interview Magazine in 1995, Martin Amis said of novel-writing, “If I...
How to Publish My First Book

How to Publish My First Book

Share One of the questions I hear most often from aspiring writers is, “How do I publish my first book?” While there’s no easy path to publication, with a good story, a very thick skin, and  a great deal of patience, you can get there. I began...