October Promotion #1: Spooooooktober!

WBN Coaches' Corner

A couple of years ago, with my inbox flooded by writers thrilled with their book coaching experiences, I was struggling mightily with my own writing. So I decided to flood someone else's inbox: "Tom," I wrote. "This is potentially awkward, but do you want a new coaching client, and... do you want it to be me?"

Since then, Tom Andes has been my writing coach, my reading guide, and the only person who manages to keep me accountable. From our monthly (or so...) sessions I always come away with fresh insight into my work and a list of new stories and books to read.

"Tom has to be the most patient person on the planet," says WriteByNigher Sophia Annis, whose Tom-coached debut novel is due out in February. "He is pretty awesome."

But did you know Tom is also a musician? Over at Bandcamp you can check out his 2022 album, Static on Every Station, whose title track keeps scratching an itch I never even knew I had.

WBN Former Coaches' Corner

The other day I was wandering around one of my local bookstores (Books Are Magic) and out popped Rainbow Rainbow, former WBN coach Lydia Conklin's recent story collection.

Published by Catapult, Rainbow Rainbow was a June Indie Next pick and hailed as "a work of activism and a literary triumph" by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Congrats, Lydia! We can't wait to read it. 

October Promotion #2: More FREE Chatting!

Sign up for book coaching, private instruction, or writer's block counseling in October and receive a $50 CREDIT toward your second session. That's the equivalent of the 60-minute discussion, on us.

Nothing spooky about this one. Just some October love. And a chance to show off our brand-new coaches. (No spoiler alert here: Stay tuned!)

This Week's Most FAQ

Should I self-publish or try to find an agent?

We get this one all the time. And it's a heavy question! Because it's a heavy decision. What to do with the book you've devoted so much time and love and despair to?

Self-publishing allows you an element of control you don't have with so-called traditional publishing. And the timeline is far quicker -- the finding-an-agent process itself can take forever, whereas with self-publishing you can finish a book and have it ready for readers within a week.

But! Readers need to know the book exists. With self-publishing, that duty lands squarely on your shoulders. Or on the shoulders of the publicist you hire. Either way, you're spending time, money, or both.

And speaking of money, self-publishing... costs it. Trad publishing doesn't.

Those are merely the basics! Thankfully we're here to help you navigate these choppy waters. A publication consultation is an excellent first step. And if you opt for the agent/publisher route, our pitch package takes an enormous amount of work off your hands (and brain).

WriteByNighter of the Week

After a lot of Amazon-related hiccups and struggles, Jackie TuLight's debut memoir, Jackie Strong Self, is now available! In it, Jackie bravely re-wades through the horrors and trauma of her upbringing in our shared hometown of Milwaukee.

It's not a book for the faint of heart. But strong-hearted Jackie worked with strong-hearted Marie Curran and Alex Myers (who also wrote the flap copy) in developmental editing and Michael Bible and Adriana Cloud in line editing and proofing, and, as Jackie tells us, "I think we finally got it right."