NaNoWriMo 2017 has officially ended. Some folks scrambled to finish, others finished ages ago, and then there are some who simply threw their hands up in defeat sometime in the middle. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, let us offer our congratulations on your hard work and dedication. Even if you didn't quite... Continue Reading →
The NaNoWriMo challenge Can you write a novel in one month? Every November, authors all over the world come together, both physically and virtually, to meet one challenge: write a novel (defined as 50,000 words in this situation) in 30 days. On November 1, the challenge starts anew for 2017, and three of our authors... Continue Reading →
Author Jove Belle dusted off this previously published short story, turned it loose to Dirt Road Books' editing team, and now proudly presents the newly polished version. Visit our website to download your free copy.
Hard on the heels of the May International Sappho Women's Festival, we have not one, not two, but three separate women’s writer events: A Swedish writers retreat, a South African writers retreat, as well as the reader/writer workshops I (Gill McKnight) organise. All these events happen within three weeks of each other (and all in... Continue Reading →
Pride Month has just ended, and it makes me wonder, what does that mean to all of you? To some LGBTQ people, Pride is filled with love and joy. It’s a chance to celebrate our community and ourselves. To others, Pride feels like a painful reminder of a bad breakup or an unsupportive family. To... Continue Reading →
You just finished your draft and though you’ve gone through and proofread it 93 times, try doing it one more with these three quick tips to help you put your best proofreading foot forward. Let your draft sit for a few days Seriously. Once you’ve got your draft done, give it at least three days... Continue Reading →
In my last blog here at DRB, I talked about how to use the 5 senses to enhance your writing. This time, I’d like to talk about the 5 flavors to enhance your writing. For some writers, like me, food looms large in their fiction. It’s either a central theme, a motif used allegorically, or... Continue Reading →
Every author needs a website. Once the design is in place, your work begins. 5 focal points to creating a user-friendly and engaging website: Navigation Content Clutter Voice Keeping it current Navigation The key to easy navigation is starting with an intuitive sitemap. Simply put, think like a user. Your site should be simple and... Continue Reading →
So, you want to build a website: 5 tips to help you along the way Commerce in the internet era is different than anything that came before. Regardless of who you are and what you’re doing, a website that communicates effectively is essential to your success. There is much to consider and it’s easy to... Continue Reading →
Being a part of any community means knowing what kind of contribution you’d like to make and then taking steps to make that contribution. That is universally true, regardless of the community. With lesbian fiction, there are readers, reviewers, book sellers, libraries, authors, editors, proofreaders, graphic designers, publishers, and many many more contributing to the... Continue Reading →
Chances are if you’re reading this, you love books. This is, after all, a blog post for a publishing company. What is it about a book that makes it one of your favorites? And conversely, what makes you put a book down before you’re 20 pages in? To a certain extent, these answers come down... Continue Reading →
So you’ve got your manuscript ready to go and you want to send it in to a publisher you’ve researched that you think will be interested. Most larger houses only take manuscripts via agents, but smaller houses – including lesfic – don’t require that. You can send it in all by yourself! But you need... Continue Reading →
