Dear Purposeful Prose, Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of published books and book deals come through because people go viral online or do well on fanfiction websites. I’ve also seen self-published authors get picked up by publishing houses after doing their work. How are decisions like this made and why do authors choose to go with traditional publishing houses even after building their audience? While I won’t be able to answer this question comprehensively, I will be able to

Dear Purposeful Prose, I wanted to share something I’ve been observing lately. I know that, years ago, women used to have to publish under men’s names to get taken seriously in the literary world. Additionally, there have been years worth of pen names from authors who didn’t want to get recognized. I understand that, sometimes, famous authors pivot to pen names when they’re trying new genres as well. None of that bothers me. In the age of the internet, it feels like everyone

If you feel unworthy, as though your words will never be adequate for your audience, as though you will never be like those you idolized who have published before you, you are not the only one or an exception to a rule. Every person who has an affinity for writing started when they learned to form their own ideas about the world around them and worlds they saw, heard about, or were otherwise exposed to through people and media.  Intuitively, you’ll know that you’re a differen