Magical Memoir Moments
Waking Up to the News In Lake Wobegon and What I’m Learning About Op-Eds: the Backstory
Today is Hillary Clinton’s 69th birthday. I’ve been thinking about writing a letter to her ever since last February when I visited the Sir Edmund Hillary Museum in New Zealand. I tell the backstory of how I published an Op-Ed about her birthday in the Minneapolis StarTribune.
Interview with Carol Bodensteiner, Memoirist Turned Novelist
Meet Carol Bodensteiner. Pershaps you already have. Fellow writer Janet Givens refers to her as my twin! That’s because both of us wrote memoirs about being country girls and growing up on dairy farms. But only one of us is a blonde. 1. Your first book was about growing up on an Iowa dairy farm…
Three Reasons to Read Your Memoir in New York City
Some writers leave the provinces and yield to the siren call of the city in their youth. My favorite author Willa Cather did that. She was published by Alfred A. Knopf, a powerful imprint designating quality, so powerful it has survived many mergers and is part of Penguin Random House, one of the Big Five…
On the Road Again: Coming to a City Near You?
Forty-five years ago, these two merry wanderers decided to set off on the journey of life together: We used the image of the Conestoga Wagon to dream together, having been influenced by the story that a Mennonite invented the wagon, and having read lots of Little House on the Prairie books, we somehow associated freedom,…
Are You a Pantser or a Plotter? Approaches to Memoir Writing and Life
Among writers, the question is this one: Are you a pantser or a plotter? When I first heard this question, I immediately linked it to my graduate adviser at the University of Texas at Austin. After I passed my Ph.D. exams, he said, Just think of finishing your dissertation this way: put your seat in…
Learning from Rachel Held Evans: A Book Tour Pro
Do you know Rachel Held Evans? If not, you should. She’s a barrel of laughs. She’s also a bestselling author and a courageous leader among Christian Feminists online. She’s helped many people bridge between faith and doubt. Read this blog post about World Vision and see how much energy (over 600 comments) she generates! My…
What's the Best Way to do a Book Tour? A Hybrid Approach Between Virtual and "Live"
Book tours have gotten a bad rap lately. Publishers seldom sponsor them except for their A-list authors in A-list venues in large cities. In fact, back in 2011 Anne R. Allen advised authors to celebrate their demise in a post titled RIP the Author Book Tour. She preferred BLOG tours and social media, which, three…
Do You Remember December 1, 1969? Another Chance to Publish Your Story!
I’m beginning to think about my college years, 1966-1970, since that’s where my memoir Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World ends and where a second volume could begin. So I was very interested in the new memoir just about Denis R. O’Neill’s senior year of college at Dartmouth: WHIPLASH: When the Vietnam War…