Home > Blogs > SFWA Blog

SFWA Blog

Writing While Parenting

by P.G. Galalis Here’s a ten-step guide to writing while parenting: 1. Make some coffee or tea. Head to your special writing place. Close the door and boot up your computer, put a fresh ribbon in the typewriter, or select the perfect pen and creamy paper for your current work in progress. Summon the muse. […]

On Keeping a List of All the Books I’ve Ever Read

by Dan Brotzel

I have a list of all the books I’ve ever read.

Well, not ever. But since 1993 at least.

It began with a red spiral-bound exercise book. At first, I didn’t just write the names and authors at first. I had pretensions of becoming a literary journalist and was ambitious enough at the time to think I would write a review of every book I wrote.

Waking up to Productivity: Robin Sharma’s “The 5 AM Club”

by Deborah Walker

A few months ago, I began to hear great things about Robin Sharma’s bestselling, new book, “The 5 AM Club.” Sharma is a productivity guru whose work is ’embraced by rock stars, royalty, billionaires and many celebrity CEOs’. When I heard the glowing testimonies from more ordinary folk (albeit productivity types), I was quick to order a copy from my library.

Lovable Predictability: The Pleasures and Challenges of Writing a Children’s Fiction Series

by Alex Woolf

“Why do we always have to reinvent the wheel?” my editor once asked me.

When a new book is launched, it’s like introducing a stranger to a largely disinterested world. Potential readers know nothing about its characters or the kind of plot they might expect. Publishers are forced to spend a great deal of money on marketing to give the book a comforting, pseudo-familiar feel. The title and cover design will be reminiscent of other, similar books that readers might already have enjoyed.

Good for Your Career? Evaluating Events for Writers

by Catherine Lundoff

“You should go to this – it’ll be good for your career” is a phrase that you’ll hear more than once as you start getting published. The phrase gets applied to conventions, conferences, writing workshops, book festivals and classes, just to name a few things. The “good for your career part” can refer to networking opportunities, the chance to meet editors and agents, some opportunity to gain new readership like doing a reading or being on a panel, or honing your craft.