Letters From Libby James

A lot of quality memoirs, at least what I consider to be great memoirs, are those where the author is brutally honest. Often, the look is not good the entire time, but honesty can be a good look for an author's career. Vulnerability sells, and then you get that all off your chest. It is therapeutic and humbling. It is also relatable, and often readers are looking for that and only that: to feel a little less alone in their own shame. So maybe you admit in your art to drug use like Cheryl...

There are writers, especially those new to the publishing world, who believe they need to go out and get an MFA in creative writing to become a published author. It’s an understandable assumption, especially because the MFA has become such a visible credential in literary fiction circles. But when you actually look at what is happening on the New York Times bestseller list at any given time, that assumption starts to fall apart pretty quickly. If you take a current look of the top 10 books...

When you self-publish and use only print-on-demand, there is no “print run” so you don’t have to think about this, but if you are trad publishing this is going to come up whether your publisher outright talks with you about it or not. Publishers set print runs for a book based on a mix of sales projections, account commitments, and distribution ability. Sales teams present the book to retailers months in advance. Orders come in with varying levels of confidence. Some accounts order...

Someone recently sent me the description of Emma Straub’s new book American Fantasy and said, "This reminded me of you." The book is about a newly divorced woman who goes on a cruise with a 90s boy band. The reason for this recommendation was that I had recently confessed to buying tickets to see the Backstreet Boys at the Sphere. I was perfectly content to go by myself, as I am no longer making choices out of fear or waiting around for someone to do things with me, but my friend Becky agreed...

If you’re wondering how someone like Joanna Penn can tout that they are running a business completely by themselves, it’s because they invest $200 a month in the most advanced AI systems and are going very heavy on asking for AI assistance in all things marketing, planning their books, and designing their book launches, eliminating a job that used to be someone else’s. It’s now accessible for other writers to be able to do all that on their own. The robot is cheaper than a human, and that’s...

I love a good period piece. I have seen more than one adaptation of Wuthering Heights, my favorite being the one with Tom Hardy that is like a million hours long. I was curious when the new Margot Robbie adaptation was being released. They used words like “fever dream” to describe it, and the actors went around acting like they were smitten with each other. I did not really buy it, and neither did the public, and the movie got ripped apart by a lot of people. Yet I was still curious, so the...

Writers, critics, teachers, and readers have debated whether stories possess the ability to create meaningful change for centuries, often arriving at dramatically different conclusions. Some maintain that fiction exists primarily to entertain and provide an escape from the pressures of life. Others argue that literature carries a deeper responsibility, serving as a way to preserve memory, challenge injustice, and help readers better understand the societies in which they live. While I am not...