MEET RACHEL MENARD, WINNER OF THE WD SELF-PUBLISHED E-BOOK AWARDS FUEL YOUR CREATIVITY GET BETA READERS FIND YOUR AGENT WD INTERVIEW JENNY LAWSON THE FURIOUSLY HAPPY AUTHOR SPILLS SECRETS ABOUT HER JOURNEY FROM BLOGGER TO BESTSELLING AUTHOR MASTER REVISION STRATEGIES 101 BEST WEBSITES FOR WRITERS MAY/JUNE 2020 WritersDigest.com CHRIS BOHJALIAN Critically acclaimed novelist Chris Bohjalian uses his gripping fiction to explore contemporary social issues and how they play out in the lives of ordinary people, as well as to shed light on some of the most important moments in history. He is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 20 books including The Sandcastle Girls, The Flight Attendant, Midwives, and The Red Lotus (March, 2020), and his work has been translated into over 35 languages. WRITER’S DIGEST ANNUAL CONFERENCE AUGUST 13-16 2020 NEW YORK, NY REGISTER NOW CENTRAL KEYNOTE SPEAKER WRITERSDIGESTCONFERENCE.COM LOCK IN YOUR BEST PRICE BY MAY 19! THE MOST TRUSTED GUIDES TO GETTING PUBLISHED AVAILABLE NOW WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD. 2 I WRITER’S DIGEST I May/June 2020 FEATURES 34 THE VOICE OF THE BOOK Veteran audiobook narrators reveal what it’s like to bring books to life for listeners—and how the industry has changed over time. BY JESS ZAFARRIS ON THE COVER 50 Meet Rachel Menard, Winner of the WD Self-Published E-Book Awards 22 101 Best Websites for Writers 57 Master Revision Strategies 44 Th e WD Interview: Jenny Lawson MEET RACHEL MENARD, WINNER OF THE WD SELF-PUBLISHED E-BOOK AWARDS FUEL YOUR CREATIVITY GET BETA READERS FIND YOUR AGENT WD INTERVIEW JENNY LAWSON THE FURIOUSLY HAPPY AUTHOR SPILLS SECRETS ABOUT HER JOURNEY FROM BLOGGER TO BESTSELLING AUTHOR Display until June 29, 2020 MASTER REVISION STRATEGIES 101 BEST WEBSITES FOR WRITERS MAY/JUNE 2020 WritersDigest.com 38 FIND YOUR NICHE IN CRIME From querying agents to shelving your book, knowing where your work falls in the web of crime is key to success. Here’s a guide to the subcategories of fi ction’s most popular genre. BY JANE K. CLELAND 22 THE 22ND ANNUAL 101 BEST WEBSITES FOR WRITERS Th e annual feature returns with more than 40 new websites. Fuel your creativity, get beta readers, fi nd your agent, and more with the top websites for writers. BY CASSANDRA LIPP WritersDigest.com I 3 INKWELL 8 FROM FACT TO FICTION: Graphic novelist Wayne Vansant transitions from creating graphic history books to novels with Katusha: Girl Soldier of the Great Patriotic War. BY DON VAUGHAN 10 PLUS: Worth a Th ousand Words • Ruthless Revisions • 5-Minute Memoir • Poetic Asides • 100 Years of Writer’s Digest COLUMNS 18 INDIELAB: Using Public Speaking to Increase Book Sales BY DIMA GHAWI 19 MEET THE AGENT: Heather Cashman • Storm Literary Agency BY KARA GEBHART UHL 20 BREAKING IN: Debut Author Spotlight BY CASSANDRA LIPP 52 FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK: Can an Agent Be Th eir Own Agent?; Will an Agent Negotiate My Option Clause? BY BARBARA POELLE 54 YOUR STORY: First Th ings First, Contest #102 60 TAKE TWO: Saving Money on Your Screenwriting Career BY JEANNE VEILLETTE BOWERMAN 62 NOTES FROM THE MARGINS: A Guide to Picking Comp Titles, Part II BY AMY JONES 64 PUBLISHING INSIGHTS: 8 Paying Online Markets for Writers BY ROBERT LEE BREWER 66 CONFERENCE SCENE: Port Townsend Writers Conference; Sun Valley Writers’ Conference • PLUS: Using Social Media at Writing Conferences BY KRISTY STEVENSON 72 POTPOURRI FOR THE PEN WRITER’S WORKBOOK � � � ŋ 57 BEGINNING YOUR STORY FIXING EFFORTS BY LARRY BROOKS 44 THE WD INTERVIEW: JENNY LAWSON Th e memoirist talks quitting her day job, making the journey from blogger to bestselling author, and her new Fantastic Strangelings Book Club. BY CEDRIC ROSE MAY/JUNE 2020 | VOLUME 100 | NO. 4 PLUS: 4 From Our Readers 5 Editor’s Letter 6 Contributors 50 STEEL HAND Th e winner of the 7th Annual Writer’s Digest Self- Published E-Book Awards talks about her winning YA fantasy, world-building, and writing anti-heroines. BY CASSANDRA LIPP Writer’s Digest (ISSN: 0043-9525, USPS: 0459930) is published monthly, except bimonthly issues in January/February, May/June, July/August, and November/December by Active Interest Media, 5720 Flatiron Parkway, Boulder, CO 80301. Postmaster: Send address changes to Writer’s Digest, P.O. Box 37274 Boone, IA 50034-0274. Periodicals postage paid at Boulder, CO, and at additional mailing offices. Subscription rates: one year, $24.96; two years, $49.92; three years, $74.88. Canadian subscriptions add $10 per year. Foreign subscriptions add $10. Remit in U.S. funds. Canadian Publications Mail Agreement No. 40025316. Canadian return address: 2835 Kew Drive, Windsor, ON N8T 3B7. Writer’s Digest, Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. Vol. 100, No. 4. ILLUSTRATION © WRITER’S DIGEST: DANIELLE LOWERY COVER PHOTO © JENNY LAWSON 4 I WRITER’S DIGEST I May/June 2020 FROMOURREADERS PHOTO © GETTY IMAGES: YAYASYA Watch our blog (WritersDigest.com/Online-Editor) for the next question we ask, and answer for a chance to be included in a future issue of Writer’s Digest! “People now enter my home, and I enter their homes. Th e opportunity to interact with other writers, publishers, and fans is endless, virtually. Th e world is my neighborhood. Alas, with opportunity comes great power to distract … and be distracted. I wouldn’t give it up for a second.” —dabester “Th e internet is an infi nite library full of answers or distractions at our fi ngertips. Imagine having imme- diate access to readers and their feedback, writers and their suggestions, or direct contact with authors and their personal or professional experiences; also imagine the magnitude of temptation to chase down any fl eeting, passing curiosity that might fl oat by or linger in the back of the mind. Th e internet, then, rewards or destroys what could be the most ageless and essential skill of any writer: focus.” —Dan Drafke “Th e internet lets me research subjects and ideas that I want to write about in my spare time (I write poetry mostly!) without censure.” —Tracey Davis “Th anks to the internet, I was able to make my dream come true my own way. I self-published my debut book of poetry detailing my life with congenital heart disease.” —David Sanford We asked readers on WritersDigest.com and Twitter to tell us how the internet has changed the way you write and publish. Here are some of their responses. WritersDigest.com I 5 MAY/JUNE 2020 VOLUME 100 | NO. 4 EDITOR’SLETTER “’Lo, Goodbye” Hello, dear readers. Welcome to our annual 101 Best Websites issue! I recently read somewhere that the fi rst message sent over the internet was “lo”—a failed attempt at “login.” I like to think of it as a shortened form of “hello.” Since that fi rst message, how many scads and oodles more have there been? We login to our accounts and communicate endlessly now. If you want at least some of that web time to be productive, do we have a list for you! Writer’s Digest has been rating the best websites for writers for 22 years. In this year’s roundup, we’ve assembled a fresh array of sites to help writers do just about everything—from beating writer’s block to fi nding new markets for their work; from fi nding a supportive writing community to revising their manuscripts; and all things in between. Th is issue also presents the winners of our Self-Published E-Book and Popular Fiction competitions. I love the work WD does to bring as-yet- undiscovered writing talent along this way. For example, this month’s “IndieLab” columnist, Dima Ghawi, was last year’s Self-Published Book com- petition’s Grand Prize winner. She is an accomplished public speaker, and she shares her tips for increasing your book sales via speaking engagements. We also have a couple of great features for you this month, from regular WD contributors Jane Cleland and Jess Zafarris. Jane off ers a deep dive into how to maximize your success writing crime fi ction. And I think you’ll have as good a time reading what Jess discovered about what it’s really like to be an audiobook narrator as we did. (Fun fact: Th is particular article was born from a Twitter conversation—the internet’s answer to the old days of publishing’s three-martini lunch? Perhaps.) It has been a year since I fi rst sent a message to you in this letter, in our May/ June 2019 issue. And so it is perhaps fi tting that I am saying goodbye to you here now. I am leaving the editor’s chair at WD to write full time. It has been quite a ride, as I’ve shared with you in these letters. I will miss my work here, but I am very much looking forward to slipping back into a quiet life of writ- ing. And fear not—I am leaving you in the most capable hands. I want to thank every one of you who read the magazine, who loved it, who hated it, and who told me so during this past year. Th ere is no WD without you, dear readers. So goodbye, Godspeed, and keep writing! EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ericka McIntyre SENIOR EDITORS Jeanne Veillette Bowerman, Robert Lee Brewer, Amy Jones MANAGING EDITOR Cassandra Lipp ART DIRECTOR Wendy Dunning ILLUSTRATOR Danielle Lowery EDITORS-AT-LARGE Tyler Moss Jessica Strawser CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jane K. Cleland, David Corbett, Bob Eckstein, Jane Friedman, Steven James, Barbara Poelle, Elizabeth Sims, Jeff Somers, Kara Gebhart Uhl, Don Vaughan, Kristy Stevenson MARKETING DESIGNER Samantha Weyer COMPETITIONS MANAGER Tara Johnson V.P. GENERAL MANAGER Taylor Sferra GENERAL MANAGER Peter Miller WRITER’S DIGEST EDITORIAL OFFICES 4445 Lake Forest Dr., Suite 470 Cincinnati, Ohio 45242 (513) 531-2690, ext. 11241;