Hi friend,

It was so fun hearing from so many of you last week about the progress you're making on your writing goals. Here's what this little community is celebrating right now:

• Signed with an agent!
• Turned in your first draft!!
• Turned in your second draft!!!
• Reconnected with nature and got unstuck (hell yeah!)!!!!

Oh my goodness, what progress! This is so exciting, and I'm so happy to get to celebrate with you.

It's possible, though, that you might be thinking, "Well, what if I didn't make progress like that? What if I don't have much to celebrate right now?"

Today's article is for you. Because this week, I was not feeling worthy of celebration. I was in a big ol' funk, and I want to tell you about it - and what I learned about self-efficacy and motivation along the way.

I'm trying something new here today. Instead of just posting my article on my website and linking it here, like I usually do, I also recorded an audio file of me reading it out loud. I know sometimes I just want to listen, rather than reading. So if you're interested in hearing me read today's article, click on this link right here:

If you like it, please let me know if I should try it again. Otherwise, if you want to read the article, you can head over to my website like usual!

On the Hungry Authors Instagram

This week, I shared one of my FAVORITE writing tips and something I've been using a lot lately:

Making Microsoft Word read your manuscript out loud to you!

You've probably heard me and every other writing coach tell you that you should read your work out loud - especially if you've been staring at the same document for hours - because your ear will pick up on things your eyes miss. I do this often, but honestly, I did it more as a spot check when I was concerned about a particular sentence or paragraph.

Then I noticed the little "Read Aloud" button under "Review" and I thought, "Hang on - this thing will read out loud for me?!" Honestly, I don't know how I've lasted so long without it. Yesterday, I was able to stretch on my porch while listening to a chapter that I've been working on for a client.

To learn how to use it for yourself, watch my reel here.

More for You

Great advice for memoirists

Megan Febuary shared 8 pieces of advice for writing your memoir—and #7 is absolutely golden. This is advice I often remind authors of, and helps tremendously to avoid any sticky situations with exposing others or intruding on others’ privacy. Read all 8 tips here.

How often do you really look?

This article from Rob Walker challenged me. Because even though I preach to my clients all the time that they should be looking at and analyzing the books they read, I’ve honestly never thought to apply the same analytical skillset to anything other than books (or piano sheet music). In this essay, Rob is talking about using the exact same process to analyze images and photographs instead of writing—but the result is the same: a deeper understanding of the creators’ intentions, and a more thoughtful experience of making our own decisions for creation. Consider me schooled.

The most important decision you’ll make for your book

I don’t say this lightly: Genre is the MOST important decision you will make about your book—fiction or nonfiction. Lately, I’ve been intrigued by how people do (and don’t) think about genre, the assumptions many make about it and the misunderstandings that abound. But as Tim Grahl rightly says in this short and sweet video about genre, your genre will tell you what conventions your story/manuscript needs to follow—because those are the expectations that your reader will have going into your book. Watch the video here.

Shocking stats on literary agents

This week on Instagram, literary agent Carly Watters posted some numbers that stopped me in my tracks:

I mean, I know there are obviously fewer agents than prospective authors, but… 178,571 to 1?! Obviously, not all of those prospective authors are actively pitching their books, but a lot of them are. So if you are wondering why agents don’t respond to your queries, this is why.

More on Jane Friedman’s AI Nightmare

Last week I shared about how Jane Friedman learned that books created by AI were being added to her author accounts on Amazon and Goodreads—essentially, someone else was using the credibility of her name to pocket cash from these terrible books. This week, here’s an update from Jane on the situation and what authors can do if they find themselves in this pickle.

What really works to promote your book - from Kathleen Schmidt

Book publicity queen Kathleen Schmidt shared several great insights on what works and what doesn’t nowadays. Here is the TL;DR version:

• “Big publicity isn’t necessarily effective (the exceptions are Fresh Air, 60 Minutes, and CBS Sunday Morning)”
• A lot of reviews alone doesn’t sell books; instead, “A critical mass of reviews mixed with other media and marketing efforts can sell a book.”
• “Podcasts can effectively sell books depending on what the show is and its listenership.”
• Celebrity book clubs and TV segments are nearly impossible to get.
• Blog tours are useless.
• Instagram book tours aren’t worth the high prices.

If this is a little frustrating to you—because does anything work??—don’t worry, it is for me, too. I mean, how am I going to promote a book next year when all of the usual avenues suck and we’ll be combatting election propaganda?? Thankfully, this is only Part 1 of her post, so I’ll be sure to include Part II next time! Read Part I here.

What's Bringing Me Joy

I just finished reading Catch Me If You Can—yup, like the movie. Oh my gosh, it was great. I've always loved the movie, so when Frank Abagnale Jr.'s memoir came up at book club, I jumped at the chance to read it. I honestly don't know why I love this story so much. I'm not exactly the rule-breaking type myself—but maybe that's part of the attraction. There's so much I admire here: his audacity and carefree-ness (is there a word for this?!), his adherence to his own private code of ethics, and also his willingness to (mostly) face the consequences of his actions. Plus, it's just a great story. I mean, seriously - how does a teenager impersonate a pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer and actually get away with it for five years?!

If you've made it this far, hit reply and let me know what you like best about this newsletter. I'm really trying to improve it and make it a super useful tool for you each week.

Happy writing!

Ariel