Here’s how you can finesse your follow-ups and ensure that your query gets noticed—for the right reasons.

To learn about the business end of writing, our author found that it pays to reach out to the online writing community.

How a writer’s unwavering faith in her piece eventually gave it a life of its own—through reprint after reprint after reprint.

For Joe Meno, recently christened “one of the hottest writers in the country,” sometimes it’s the surreal and the whimsical that open up our understanding of the world.

An expert on low-res programs points out seven key considerations to help you decide.

A master’s degree in professional writing offers students a practical focus. Get the details.

A young writer pays tribute to a poignant novel that helped her grow up. Her essay took first place in the 2010 Sylvia K. Burack scholarship contest, named after the longtime editor and publisher of The Writer.

An award-winning author offers some basic ways to develop your narrative.

A television writer tells how he did just that for an episode of The Wonder Years. His advice applies to all types of writing.

We surveyed eight New York book editors to see what works for them and what doesn’t. If you’re shopping a book, or thinking of it, you’ll want to see what they have to say.

Lisa Cron, a longtime story consultant and agent, offers some strong views on where mainstream fiction writing goes right and wrong—and why it pays to read bad books.

A veteran tax attorney offers a primer (in plain English) for writers who want to keep the IRS happy. Plus, read freelancer Bruce W. Fraser’s sidebar on when the IRS came knocking at his door.

When a publication requires your supporting material for fact-checking, don’t send in a big jumble of stuff. Here are some editor-pleasing tips.

Whether you're just starting out or are in a slump, these techniques will help you find work.

A wide range of freelance opportunities make this specialty particularly lucrative.

This month’s spotlight is on the literary journal Third Coast, describing its tone, editorial preferences and contributors.

This month, a list of publication in the following areas: animals/pets; fitness; literary; sciences; and sports/recreation. Plus, information on agents, publishers, conferences and contests, and helpful tips from editors at Inventors Digest and Sky & Telescope.

For thriller writer Lisa Gardner, fiction ideas come easily right out of today's headlines.