Welcome to the first Top Picks Thursday of March! It’s been a busy week: March 4th was National Grammar Day, March 8th is National Proofreading Day, and Daylight Savings Time starts March 10th. Before you lose that hour, dive into the links below!
In honor of National Grammar Day, Robert Lee Brewer has the 12 most popular grammar questions and answers on Writers Digest.
We celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first novel by a Native American to win the Pulitzer Prize—House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday.
No one lives forever, so Leonard D. Duboff and Sarah J. Tugman discuss estate planning for writers.
Many writers wonder why their books don’t make it into libraries. Librarian Linda May explains why not every title makes the cut.
Feed your mind. Ed Nawotka explores how culinary bookstores feed local appetites.
Wondering what to read next? Emily Temple has what every astrological sign should read this month.
CRAFT
With the most recent plagiarism scandal, ghostwriters have come under scrutiny. Author and ghostwriter Shiloh Walker discusses the facts about ghostwriting and the difference between professional ghostwriters vs. author mills.
For those working on memoirs, Merryl Hammond has 6 tips to write a mesmerizing memoir.
Bringing your story idea to life is a huge task. Stavros Halvatzis talks about high concept in stories, Lori Freeland shows how to bring your book to life through setting, and Janice Hardy reveals one common way writers weaken their descriptions.
Beginning, middle, end…every part of your book must pull the reader in. Janice Hardy reminds us that you really get only one page to hook a reader, ProWriting Aid recommends starting your novel at the midpoint, Jerry B. Jenkins explores backstory through dialogue, Elizabeth S. Craig examines parceling out information in a story, and Jo Eberhardt discusses making the end matter.
Our characters are our bread and butter, and getting them just right is a monumental task. Peter Mountford analyzes the 3rd person limited point of view, Matt Gianni studies how to write emotion, Sacha Black tackles writing villains and heroes, Bonnie Randall explores what type of violent offender your villain is, and Jeanne Kisacky asks: what keeps your characters up at night?
In our initial drafts the words can pour out without much thought, but during the revision and editing phases we have to think about structure on a sentence level, even a word level. P.J. Parrish examines the powerful art of paragraphing, James Scott Bell ponders how long a sentence should be, Janice Hardy delves into choosing the right words for the scenes and revising unnecessary passive voice, and Orly Konig reveals the secrets to turning a lemon into a book.
Writers get nowhere without inspiration and discipline. Emmanuel Nataf shares 4 novel ways to find writing inspiration, Tiffany Yates-Martin tells us how to get un-stuck and avoid writer’s block, Roni Loren examines how training her brain for deep work is progressing, Shanna Swendson says to schedule for writing success, and Nathan Wade has 3 ways to cultivate discipline in your writing life.
BUSINESS
If you are one of the many authors thinking of putting together an anthology, Stephanie Chandler has some tips for compiling an anthology book successfully.
When you self-publish, one of the tedious jobs is uploading metadata to the various sales sites. Jo Van Every shares an easier way to upload metadata.
If you are searching for an agent, here’s some info to know: Sandra Beckwith has 6 free literary agent databases, Victoria Strauss warns to approach AMS Literary Agency with caution, Janet Reid tells us what ever happened to the New Adult category, and Steve Laube discusses etiquette when submitting a manuscript.
Are you ready for some marketing? Frances Caballo tests your marketing readiness with this quiz, A.D. Starrling tells us how to use our book cover to sell more books, and Joan Stuart busts 7 myths of using press releases to promote your books.
Most of our reader interaction is on the web these days. E.J. Wenstrom shows how to build your online audience and stay sane, Anne R. Allen tells us how to write good web content, and Rachelle Gardner answers the question: should all authors blog?
THE UNIQUE SHELF
Want a quaint writing retreat in New York? Philip Roth’s apartment is for sale for a mere $3.2 million.
Do you agree with this list of the 50 greatest literary TV adaptations ever?
Stephanie Gorton looks at 8 Gilded Age stories that predicted the future.
Examine the many attempts to trace the geography of The Odyssey with Elizabeth Della Zazzera.
That’s all for this week’s Top Picks Thursday! We’ll see you next week, a bit sleep deprived but with a new list of literary links for you.
The Author Chronicles 
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