Publishing
What we talk about when we talk about editors
I teach creative writing in a men’s prison, at monthly workshops in Princeton, and via email. I’ve taught at universities and writers’ conferences. Everywhere I teach, and no matter whom I teach, at some point the subject of editors inevitably pops up. I mentioned to a student recently that part of my job as a…
Read MoreDon't worry about the other horses.
I recently had an email exchange with an artist whose work I admire greatly. She’s an accomplished photographer whose work, in recent times, she feels is getting lost in the swamp. It seems everybody with an eyeball is snapping away with their digital cameras and calling themselves professional photographers these days, just like everybody with…
Read MoreThe Loneliness of the long distance writer
The other day a young woman asked me what I did for a living. What an interesting question. If I had to live off the money I make from writing, I’d be living in a garden shed. On the other hand, it is through writing that I live. So, in a very real sense, when…
Read MoreRat Medicine on Kindle
I admit I’m excited about this. My first collection of short stories (the book that stared it all), RAT MEDICINE & OTHER UNLIKELY CURATIVES, is now available in Kindle format. (I have one of those, and like it much more than I thought I would.) This book was written in early sobriety. The Globe &…
Read MoreExamined on the Examiner
Maybe I should travel more often! I’ve had some lovely things happen while I’ve been away these past two weeks. One was the interview I did with poet Diane Lockward on www.Shewrites.com, which I linked to in the preview blog, and now this: Renee Miller, at www.Examiner.com has written a beautiful review of THE RADIANT…
Read More5 Questions
I am writing from beautiful Stow-on-the-wolds in England — cheerful beyond measure by splendid countryside and cream teas. While I’ve been away, the folks at the social networking site for women writers, Shewrites.com, have kindly posted a feature on me, called “Five Questions for Lauren B. Davis.” This week poet Diane Lockward asks award-winning novelist…
Read More10 things I wish I'd known before I published
A long time ago, I was standing in my kitchen with my friend, Michael. Michael a big Guyanese guy with an easy smile and a laugh to fit his size, asked me if I had a piece of gum. I said I did and handed him one, but forgot to mention it was a new…
Read MoreYou don't know what you don't know…
This week a friend called me, her tone a bit tightly-wound, and asked if I had a few minutes to talk. My friend is a writer, someone I’ve met only recently, and she’s just published her first book. It’s done pretty well. A few nice reviews, a bit of attention. She should be happy. But…
Read MoreNewsflash — nobody has a clue
Before I published, I had this fantasy that somewhere, perhaps on the top floor of a glittering skyscraper in New York City, at the end of a long corridor lined with books and the portraits of famous writers, was a room in which stood a heavy oak table surrounded by high-backed leather chairs. In these…
Read MoreWhy are you doing this?
It’s hard not to be overwhelmed by bad news these days. Financial problems, health care ‘debate’ incivility, bombings in subway stations, natural disasters…. it’s grim, and seemingly ubiquitous. Writers and booksellers are no stranger to dire predictions and this week two articles were brought to my attention. One was a blog post from New York…
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