I started this substack in the summer of 2025. Since then, I’ve written almost-weekly posts about craft, publishing, and the writing life.
I write about whatever obsesses me in a given moment, so the archive of my posts is wildly out of order. But I’ve done my best to cover every step of the publishing process—and for those steps that are missing, I promise to write up a post about them soon.
In the meantime, here’s a master list of everything I’ve written about, grouped by stages of the writing process. If you’re not a subscriber, I hope this can point you to the content that will be most useful to you. If you are a subscriber, you probably deleted some of these when they hit your inbox (another 4k-word manifesto?), so here’s a second crack at them.
Everything I’ve posted is free and will remain free. I’ll keep updating this post and checking the comments, so if you have any requests for topics you’d like me to cover, please let me know!
Figure out what size idea you have.
Come up with a high-concept premise.
If you can’t make yourself write, figure out why.
Don’t make these common mistakes in your opening.
Write a great first paragraph.
Finish the draft at all costs.
Avoid these 4 common craft mistakes.
Communicate genre in your sentences.
Understand the difference between literary and upmarket fiction.
Prioritize telling a story over impressing the reader.
Address the biggest issues first, then work your way to the smaller stuff.
Ask for feedback from the right people.
Edit your work as if it’s someone else’s.
Know when your work is ready to send out.
Choose the right agents to query.
Understand that every agent will have strengths and weaknesses.
Make yourself an easy client to work with.
Go into the first phone call prepared.
Don’t tell agents anything that will lessen their enthusiasm.
Make yourself an easy author to work with.
Help develop a great book cover.
Focus on what you can give to people.
Pitch nonfiction: essays, articles, op eds, reviews, criticism.
Choose between traditional publishing and self-publishing.
Learn how to interpret silence.
Leverage your status as a “debut author.”
Learn from an unsuccessful submission.
Assume the worst, hope for the best.
Translate editor rejections into actionable feedback.
If you’re avoiding your writing, figure out why.
Don’t get fixated on one submission. Send out widely.
Prioritize tasks according to your enthusiasm for them.
Make concrete resolutions based on effort, not outcome.
Don’t look for a quick-fix writing life hack.
Against publishers’ search for a “sure bet.”
A call for requests—tell me in the comments what you want me to write about next!
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