<![CDATA[Running of the WIPS]]>

<![CDATA[Running of the WIPS]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IAvt!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2ff23c98-2d5f-4f6b-a9c2-8898b7503aa9_1080x1080.pngRunning of the WIPShttps://runningofthewips.substack.comSubstackFri, 15 May 2026 10:49:53 GMT<![CDATA[Well... that's it!]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/well-thats-ithttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/well-thats-itFri, 06 Jun 2025 12:02:18 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

WOW.

Y’all… we did a thing. It’s been bananas. I’ve learned so much presenting this material this way, and I hope you learned a lot following it. I hope that you had a good time, and I hope that you learned not just about writing, but about yourself as a writer, and how you can embrace that creative part of yourself with love and enthusiasm.

…

]]><![CDATA[Writing a synopsis]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/writing-a-synopsishttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/writing-a-synopsisWed, 04 Jun 2025 12:01:23 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

We are at the synopsis portion of the program and… well… there’s good news.

It’s simple.

That’s the good news; the bad news is, it’s boring.

The purpose of your synopsis

Remember how the query letter was all about the hook, getting attention, marketing yourself and your book?

Well… the synopsis is the polar opposite of that. Your synopsis is bas…

]]><![CDATA[Writing a query letter]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/writing-a-query-letterhttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/writing-a-query-letterMon, 02 Jun 2025 12:02:46 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

We’re getting into the writing part of the program that is less fun than writing the actual book; query letters.

Just so you know, there are loads of really great resources out there for query letters. Definitely do your research. I’m going to share with you what I know, but this is not my personal strength. Remember how I told you I’m terri…

]]><![CDATA[Self-Publishing: The practical]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/self-publishing-the-practicalhttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/self-publishing-the-practicalFri, 30 May 2025 12:02:33 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

Now that we’ve run through the ups and downs of self-publishing, it’s time to consider it as an option, and be realistic about what we’re getting into.

Illustration of a cute cartoon elephant wearing a striped tank top, holding an open book. The words "Next Steps" are written in large, playful letters behind the elephant on a teal background.

View the rotWIPs schedule

]]><![CDATA[Self-Publishing: The bad]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/self-publishing-the-badhttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/self-publishing-the-badWed, 28 May 2025 12:01:33 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

All right, we made it; the not-so-great things about going on your own and becoming your own publisher.

Illustration of a cute cartoon elephant wearing a striped tank top, holding an open book. The words "Next Steps" are written in large, playful letters behind the elephant on a teal background.

View the rotWIPs schedule

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Self-Publishing: The good]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/self-publishing-the-goodhttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/self-publishing-the-goodMon, 26 May 2025 12:02:39 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

So last week I took all the fun and excitement out of traditional publishing, and this week, I hope to add some fun and excitement to self-publishing. Many authors reject self-publishing out of hand because of that word… self… as in, the person who does all the work is myself.

No. Thank. You, many writers say out of hand, and I get it. But l…

]]><![CDATA[Traditional Publishing: The practical]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/traditional-publishing-the-practicalhttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/traditional-publishing-the-practicalFri, 23 May 2025 12:01:53 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

So, this week I got you all excited and then dashed your hopes; sorry about that. However, all that said, remember that no approach to anything is absolutely perfect. You just need to find the approach that aligns best with your values and ambitions.

With everything I said about traditional publishing, I just sent my revision to my agent, an…

]]><![CDATA[Traditional Publishing: The bad]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/traditional-publishing-the-badhttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/traditional-publishing-the-badWed, 21 May 2025 12:01:47 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

So Monday we talked about the good parts of traditional publishing, which are plenty. Today, we’re going to talk about the less good aspects of traditional publishing that you may want to consider before making the jump.

Illustration of a cute cartoon elephant wearing a striped tank top, holding an open book. The words "Next Steps" are written in large, playful letters behind the elephant on a teal background.

View the rotWIPs schedule

]]><![CDATA[Traditional Publishing: The good]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/traditional-publishing-the-goodhttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/traditional-publishing-the-goodMon, 19 May 2025 12:02:50 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

So we’ve talked about our change in perspective going from the craft to the business, and we’ve considered the possibility of not publishing at all.

If you’re still here and still reading, I’m presuming you’ve decided to continue considering your options; good for you. You should consider everything before you make a choice.

So this week, we’…

]]><![CDATA[What if you didn't publish... at all?]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/what-if-you-didnt-publish-at-allhttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/what-if-you-didnt-publish-at-allFri, 16 May 2025 12:02:40 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

So, you wrote a book. Or are still writing a book… whatever. Wherever you are on this journey is valid. But since we’re here, and we’re talking about what to do with a book once it’s done, let’s talk about that.

You can self-publish. You can traditionally publish. You can give it away.

You can… do nothing.

Let’s talk about that.

Illustration of a cute cartoon elephant wearing a striped tank top, holding an open book. The words "Next Steps" are written in large, playful letters behind the elephant on a teal background.

View the rotWIPs schedule

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Give it away, give it away, give it away now]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/give-it-away-give-it-away-give-ithttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/give-it-away-give-it-away-give-itWed, 14 May 2025 12:01:34 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

In 2022, I finally published the book that ended up representing, in total, two decades of work for me.

That book? How Story Works.

My agent and I took it to submission in 2021, and the response was universal: Great book, the market’s too flooded. There are too many people out there writing books about writing, and we just can’t compete.

So, I…

]]><![CDATA[The third option]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/the-third-optionhttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/the-third-optionMon, 12 May 2025 12:03:21 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

As we’re moving away from the craft of writing and into the business, I wanted to take some time to talk about how the various options you have in front of you, but the first one I want to talk about is how you don’t have to do anything.

Illustration of a cute cartoon elephant wearing a striped tank top, holding an open book. The words "Next Steps" are written in large, playful letters behind the elephant on a teal background.

View the rotWIPs schedule

]]><![CDATA[Writing that isn't fun writing]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/writing-that-isnt-fun-writinghttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/writing-that-isnt-fun-writingFri, 09 May 2025 16:10:22 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

Next week, we’re going to talk about how to write queries and loglines, and the week after that, we’re going to talk about how to write synopses.

Spoilers: It will not be fun.

Illustration of a cute cartoon elephant wearing a striped tank top, holding an open book. The words "Next Steps" are written in large, playful letters behind the elephant on a teal background.

View the rotWIPs schedule

]]><![CDATA[Money vs. Meaning]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/money-vs-meaninghttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/money-vs-meaningWed, 07 May 2025 12:02:15 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

Look, I know that I’m all free-wheeling about the creativity and the meaning and the story, but now we’re at the point where we’re talking about selling our work, and that means… we kind of need to talk about money.

So… let’s do it.

Illustration of a cute cartoon elephant wearing a striped tank top, holding an open book. The words "Next Steps" are written in large, playful letters behind the elephant on a teal background.

View the rotWIPs schedule

]]><![CDATA[What's next?]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/whats-nexthttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/whats-nextTue, 06 May 2025 15:49:04 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

Well, here we are! Whether you’re here when this post goes up, or you come to it later, this is a big pivot point. You’ve done the creative work, and now you’re about to shift sideways into an entirely different portion of the program.

The path you take to find your readers.

Illustration of a cute cartoon elephant wearing a striped tank top, holding an open book. The words "Next Steps" are written in large, playful letters behind the elephant on a teal background.

View the rotWIPs schedule

]]><![CDATA[It takes how long it takes]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/it-takes-how-long-it-takeshttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/it-takes-how-long-it-takesFri, 02 May 2025 12:01:05 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

When we come back on Monday, we’re going to be moving into the last four weeks of rotWIPs, where we’ll talk about the next steps once you’ve finished your draft. That’s when this class becomes less of a creative venture, and more of a roadmap for where you want to go next.

But before we do that, I wanted to hop in to say that if you’re not d…

]]><![CDATA[Finding beta readers and critique partners]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/finding-beta-readers-and-critiquehttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/finding-beta-readers-and-critiqueWed, 30 Apr 2025 12:00:26 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

When I started rotWIPs, I talked about the value of community, and what it means to us in every element of our lives, not just as writers.

But the thing is, writing is all about community. Writing is communication, which you might notice, shares the same root word with community. It’s about sending a message from one mind to another. When yo…

]]><![CDATA[How you feel matters]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/how-you-feel-mattershttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/how-you-feel-mattersMon, 28 Apr 2025 16:15:23 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

Now that you’ve gone through two critiques, you’ve gotten a sense of how critique works, how it benefits you, and how you can best help other writers with their work.

On Wednesday, we’re going to talk about how and where you find other writers working at your level to do beta reading swaps with, but today, we’re going to stay home, and focus…

]]><![CDATA[Putting feedback to work]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/putting-feedback-to-workhttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/putting-feedback-to-workFri, 25 Apr 2025 15:01:00 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

After you’ve gotten your critiques back and have put them in the drawer for a minute comes the next step in the process: figuring out what feedback is actually helpful, and what’s not.

This is where things can get tricky, especially if you’ve been conditioned to treat every note as something you have to fix. I used to do that. If someone did…

]]><![CDATA[How to give critical feedback]]>https://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/how-to-give-critical-feedbackhttps://runningofthewips.substack.com/p/how-to-give-critical-feedbackWed, 23 Apr 2025 12:00:41 GMTGet your free copy of How Story Works

Hey, Runners!

We’re in the feedback phase, which means you’re now shifting into a new role—not just writer, but reader. Specifically, a reader with insight, compassion, and enough presence of mind not to give notes while hangry.

Seriously. Eat first.

Giving feedback is a creative act. It’s not just about identifying what works and what doesn’t; it’s about …

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