Article Archive: The Practical Writer

The author chose to share her memoir draft with family and friends and face their varied reactions to her recollection of the past—reactions which ultimately made the book richer.

The agent representing Chris Belcher, Kate Broad, Delia Cai, Duy Doan, and others offers advice about working with a coauthor, changing a memoir to fiction, why agents don’t consider previously published work, and how to become an agent.

Nikki Peoples describes how she self-published her sci-fi novel, The Station. An editor and a publicist give their advice on reaching more readers, leveraging the power of social media, and finding the right team of publishing professionals.

Copy editors are adapting to increasing cultural awareness of racial injustice and new approaches to representing identity on the page. How can their work can help or hinder social change?

The critic on how she began writing reviews, how she and the Times staff pick books to cover, and how social media affects her work. 

The critic on combining book reviews and cultural criticism, exposing readers to challenging views, and reading multiple books at once.