Writing Communities – Interview with Poet Patricia Spears Jones
We met Patricia Spears Jones at Rutgers Writers Conference and knew we had to share her wisdom with you. She talked with us about poetry, writing communities, and her advice for writers.
Filmed at Rutgers Writers Conference 2019.
RELATED VIDEOS
Author Wayétu Moore on Publishing | When Art & Commerce Meet
Author Brad Parks on Journalism, Literary Agents, and Publishing Award-Winning Thrillers
Joshua Mohr on Writing and How to Publish a Book
PATRICIA SPEARS JONES
Patricia Spears Jones is the recipient of The Jackson Poetry Prize, one the most prestigious awards for American Poets via Poets & Writers, Inc.
Spears Jones was named in Essence.com as one of its “40 Poets They Love” in 2010. In 2018, her poem “Seraphim” is listed in The New Yorker’s Year in Poems.
She is author of the poetry collections: Painkiller and Femme du Monde from Tia Chucha Press and The Weather That Kills from Coffee House Press and five chapbooks including Living in the Love Economy. Her fourth collection: A Lucent Fire: New and Selected Poems from White Pine Press (White Pine Press Distinguished Poets series) which features her 2017 Pushcart Prize winning poem, “Etta James at the Audubon Ballroom.”
Learn more at https://psjones.com.
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for tips on how to successfully publish your book.
Our book, The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, takes you through the entire process of conceiving, writing, selling, marketing and promoting your book.
Writing Advice from Grant Faulkner, NaNoWriMo Executive Director
We met up with our dear friend Grant Faulkner, executive director of National Novel Writing Month, at BookCon. Grant talks about fostering the right creative mindset, building a writing community, and his writing advice.
Filmed at BookCon 2019.
WHAT WE COVER
0:15 What is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)?
2:14 NaNoWriMo success stories & NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza winners
3:43 Opening up the publishing gates: NaNoWriMo crashes through the gatekeepers and encourages everyone to embrace their identity as a writer.
5:58 Writing advice: writing is about persistence and practice, not natural talent.
6:42 What is the editing process after NaNoWriMo?
10:30 Why should writers connect with other writers?
12:49 Should writers be envious of other writers?
13:10 Grant shares his advice for writers.
RELATED VIDEOS
Author Wayétu Moore on Publishing | When Art & Commerce Meet
Author Brad Parks on Journalism, Literary Agents, and Publishing Award-Winning Thrillers
Joshua Mohr on Writing and How to Publish a Book
NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing.
On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.
Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel. Find out more at http://nanowrimo.org
GRANT FAULKNER
As a boy, Grant spent his allowance on all sorts of pens and paper, so there was never much question that he would become a writer. He received his B.A. from Grinnell College in English and his M.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. He’s also the co-founder of the journal 100 Word Story.
He has published short stories in dozens of lit mags and placed essays on creativity in The New York Times, Poets & Writers, Writer’s Digest, and The Writer. He recently published a collection of one hundred 100-word stories, Fissures, two of which are included in The Best Small Fictions 2016. His book of essays on creativity, Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Prompts to Boost Your Creative Mojo, is out from Chronicle Books.
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for tips on how to successfully publish your book.
Our book, The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, takes you through the entire process of conceiving, writing, selling, marketing and promoting your book.
When Art & Commerce Meet – Interview with Wayétu Moore
Wayétu Moore, author of SHE WOULD BE KING and founder of the nonprofit One Moore Book, shares the publication journey for her debut novel and reflects on art, writing craft, commerce, and more.
Filmed at Succeed2gether’s Montclair Literary Festival 2019.
WHAT WE COVER
0:35 Writing a draft of SHE WOULD BE KING and exploring identity as an African in America and as an African-American
2:19 Pressures writers put on themselves, writing craft, and not resenting your art
3:26 Writing discipline and respecting your art
4:01 Publishing industry trends
4:23 Wayétu Moore’s next novel is about mermaids
5:32 Publishing SHE WOULD BE KING
6:00 Meeting literary agents at conferences
7:06 Editing a manuscript with a literary agent and making a book as strong as possible
7:54 “If you’re writing for yourself, keep a journal, but if you do commit to writing for others and being mindful and considerate to the sensibilities of others, then you do need to be conscious of what readers would be in to, how they would process your work. . .”
8:23 Shopping a manuscript to publishers, dealing with rejections, and the reality of when art meets commerce
9:14 Publishing SHE WOULD BE KING through Graywolf and the benefits of being with an indie press
12:00 Cover design and avoiding cliches designers use for African, Islamic, and Indian narratives
15:04 The meeting of art and commerce as well as time and capacity in Big Five publishing
15:59 Versify, an imprint by Kwame Alexander, and One Moore Book, a nonprofit serving children who rarely see themselves in print
RELATED VIDEOS
Author Brad Parks on Journalism, Literary Agents, and Publishing Award-Winning Thrillers
Versify: an Imprint from Kwame Alexander
Joshua Mohr on Writing and How to Publish a Book
WAYÉTU MOORE
Wayétu Moore is the author of She Would Be King, released by Graywolf Press in September, 2018. Her memoir is also forthcoming with Graywolf.
Moore is the founder of One Moore Book. One Moore Book is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that encourages reading among children of countries with low literacy rates and underrepresented cultures by publishing culturally relevant books that speak to their truths, and by creating bookstores and reading corners that serve their communities. Her first bookstore opened in Monrovia, Liberia in 2015.
Her writing can be found in The Paris Review, Frieze Magazine, Guernica, The Atlantic Magazine and other publications. She has been featured in The Economist Magazine, NPR, NBC, BET and ABC, among others, for her work in advocacy for diversity in children’s literature.
She’s a graduate of Howard University and the University of Southern California, and is currently a Margaret Mead Fellow at Columbia University Teachers College, where she’s researching the impact of culturally relevant curriculum and learning aids in elementary classrooms of underrepresented groups. Moore is an Africana Studies lecturer at City University of New York’s John Jay College and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for tips on how to successfully publish your book.
Our book, The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, takes you through the entire process of conceiving, writing, selling, marketing and promoting your book.