October 2003

The Writer

The essential resource for writers

Join thousands of successful writers when you subscribe to The Writer magazine. Each month The Writer is full of features you can use to improve your writing, including before-and-after examples of improved writing, more literary markets than ever before, practical solutions for writing problems, selected literary magazine profiles, tips from famous authors and hands-on advice.

Features

Is a small publisher a good fit for your manuscript?

By Tom Bailey, Gary Fincke

Sometimes your book may be better suited to a small publisher, the authors say. Here is their advice for finding and working with one.

Undercover FBI agents: True lives revealed

By Alicia Hilton

Calling all suspense writers: A former FBI agent turned writer spills the goods on what undercover work is really like.

Sara Paretsky's risky business

By Elfrieda Abbe

Sara Paretsky has broken new ground in the detective novel with her 11 books about V.I. Warshawski. Her main characters don't play it safe, and neither does she.

Fast track: Literary contests and book publication

By Katherine Perry

The odds of winning a writing contest are steep, but if you're among the fortunate ones, success offers a completely streamlined route to publication.

Think like a teen

By Barbara Shoup

Young adult novels can be just as serious as adult novels. Here are one writer's tips on reaching the hearts and minds of young people.

To boost your creative output, write more

By Lee Tobin McClain

Complete more projects and you'll get published more frequently. Here are eight tips on improving your productivity.

Departments

Editor's notes

Letters

Miscellany

Some discoveries in the garden shed of the late Roald Dahl, remembering the heavy breathing in 1944's Forever Amber, and other literary notes.

Breakthrough

Making the most of a setback

By Wanda James

When illness abruptly ended her job, the author discovered an undeniable desire to write.

Dear Writer

A few words of advice about protecting your words and ideas, from the WritersX4 writing group.

Syntax

Tense counts!

By Arthur Plotnik

Picking the right tense for your story is an important decision, and one likely either to enrich -- or drag down -- your writing.

Net//Working

Promote your book online

By Moira Allen

The first of two columns sharing authors' suggestions on how to promote a book on the Web.

Poet to poet

The influence of place

By Patrick Moran

The often stark poetry of Lorine Niedecker has much to teach us about the use of landscape.

Bottom line

Time to freelance full time?

By Kelly James-Enger

There are some important questions to ask yourself if you're considering full-time freelancing.

WriteStuff

Reviews of the "wonderfully accessible" new book The Modern Library Writer's Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction by Stephen Koch, and On Teaching and Writing Fiction by Wallace Stegner

Market focus

How to break into the 'Gray Lady'

By Irene S. Levine

Landing an article in The New York Times remains a benchmark for many freelance writers. A writer who's been there gives you a brief tour of the place and how to break in.

Market listings

This month, a roundup of 133 small presses, ranging from Graywolf Press of St. Paul, Minn., to Boston's Beacon Press.

Market update

The small-press option

By John F. Baker

A look at the pros and cons of peddling your book to a small press versus a big publisher.

How I write

Barbara Parker

For hot mystery writer Barbara Parker, contructing a scene is like writing a short story.