iWriterly is your go-to resource for all things bookish. Learn how to write and edit your novel, query literary agents, all about the book publishing process, and updates about the book community—including book reviews, book hauls, bookshelf tours, and more—on the iWriterly YouTube channel. Meg LaTorre will take you through novel writing: from concept to the bookshelves (and everything in between).
New videos are posted every Wednesday.
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Check out the latest videos!
Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, knowing when to show and when to tell is critical to keep a reader engaged. In this AuthorTube video, we will discuss what is showing vs. telling, examples of each, practical steps to show (vs. tell) in your writing, as well as exceptions to the rule.
Are you looking to improve your time management skills as a writer? If you are struggling to hit your writing goals or stick to a writing schedule or if you need a way to better manage your author platform, stay tuned for this special collab with Jenna Moreci.
This time management collab is broken into two videos:
Have you written a manuscript, but you’re not sure if it’s ready for the query trenches? Or maybe you have queried literary agents and you have yet to receive a partial or full request on your manuscript. Or have you self-published a novel and aren’t getting the reader reaction you’d hoped for?🚩 In this episode of iWriterly, we will discuss nine red flags in editing, and why editors, literary agents, or readers might be rejecting your manuscript.
Characters can make or break a novel. Modern-day readers often look for compelling characters who drive the plot through his or her actions. In other words, characters who have agency. “Character agency” is when a character (usually a protagonist) is more proactive than reactive to situations in a story.
In this video, you will learn:
- What is character agency?
- What does the lack of character agency look like?
- How characters can take action and still not have agency.
- Examples of characters with and without agency.
- How to identify if your character has agency.
- A few tips and tricks to give a character agency.
Whether you are writing historical fiction, nonfiction, or anything in between, being able to find credible sources to do research for your book is key.
Join Meg LaTorre for this exclusive iWriterly author interview with debut author, Seth Augenstein, all about how to research for your novel and finding credible sources.
Topics discussed in this video:
- Where can writers begin their research?
- How can writers identify credible sources?
- How can writers identify if a publication is reputable?
- Are there hidden messages in the source material? In other words, why was it created?
- Who are the authors? Are they respected or well-known in their field?
- How much does the publication date of the source material play into a source’s relevance?
- If you find a book or another source you think is fantastic, how can writers quickly check for credibility?
- What are immediate red flags that a source isn’t credible?
- How much do publishers double check a writer’s research leading up to publication?
- How can writers navigate working with an indie press without an agent to negotiate contracts?
- What is marketing like for authors publishing with indie presses?
Querying writers have quite a few hurdles to jump through to secure literary representation with an agent in order to be traditionally published. Many aspiring authors will write several books before they get a literary agent, which means years of work and persistence. Now, imagine you spend years writing and editing a book that an agent (and publisher) doesn’t want.
Join Meg LaTorre as she celebrates hitting 3,000 YouTube subscribers with wine and a live event. In this livestream, she will answer your questions about:
- Publishing insiders
- Querying
- Writing tips
- Weird facts about Meg
- And more!
An employee from Scribendi reached out to the iWriterly team to see if we would be interested in reviewing the company’s editorial services in exchange for a free critique. Learn what we thought of the popular Canadian editing company in this iWriterly video.
Today’s video will be broken down into two parts:
- A review of Scribendi’s first chapter critique
- A review of Scribendi’s editorial packages and pricing
Due to time constraints and our specialties at iWriterly, we will only review the following editorial packages: manuscript critique, manuscript editing, manuscript proofreading, and query package creation.
Elliot Brooks, indie author of Peace and Turmoil (book one of The Dark Shores series) and a BookTuber/AuthorTuber, joins iWriterly for an author interview. Meg LaTorre asks Elle questions about:
- The decision to self publish
- Publishing process
- Selecting and working with a freelance editor
- Formatting, cover design, character art, choosing titles, and more
- Author platform
- Choosing book distributors
- Critique partners and beta readers
- AND MORE
Are you hoping to write your very first book? Or maybe you have several books under your belt, but you’d like to approach your next one differently or more strategically. Learn the five tips to set your next book up for success in this iWriterly video.
Looking to work with critique partners (CPs) to improve your book manuscript? Learn what a CP is, the best etiquette for working with them, and where to find them in this iWriterly video.
Learn a few examples of different types of character arcs in this iWriterly AuthorTube video with Meg LaTorre.
Meg LaTorre of iWriterly and Mandi Lynn team up in this two-part collab all about goals: how to pick and achieve your author goals. Part one will be on Mandi’s channel, which is all about selecting goals. This video is part two, where we discuss how to achieve your goals.
Whether you are diagnosed with clinical anxiety or you suffer from chronic bouts of anxious thoughts about your writing or publishing career, all writers have to manage their anxiety—and in a publishing landscape where we often lack control. Learn what writer anxiety is and ways we can cope with it in this iWriterly video. In this video, we will talk about 1) how common anxiety is, 2) the definition of clinical anxiety, 3) anxiety as a writer, and 4) the thirteen things we writers can do to cope with anxiety, regardless of whether you have clinical anxiety.
Regardless of what social media platform you are on or if host your own blog or website, if you share your creative work with the world, you are bound to get some haters. Learn how to deal with haters in this iWriterly collab with Lisa London. We will discuss 5 tips for how to deal with haters in this video, and Lisa will discuss the other 5 tips in her video. Be sure to check out her channel after you’re done watching our video!
Are you looking to write your book faster? In this iWriterly video, we discuss 14 tricks to finish your manuscript sooner.
Are you looking to write more words in each writing session? Learn 16 ways to increase your writerly output in this iWriterly video.
All writers want our prose to read smoothly and have the reader fully engaged without being pulled from the story. In order to do that, it’s important to cut back on filler words, which make sentences read clunkier. Learn what words to use less frequently in your novel in this iWriterly video.
Are you looking to hire a developmental editor to work with you on your manuscript? In this iWriterly episode, we will discuss when writers SHOULDN’T work with a freelance developmental editor.
If you’re looking to launch your very own freelance book editing career, learn the steps to becoming a professionally-qualified developmental editor in this iWriterly video.
Are you looking to hire a developmental editor to work with you on your manuscript? Or maybe you’re hoping to launch your very own freelance book editing career. In this iWriterly episode, Meg LaTorre will discuss what a developmental editor is and how they fit into today’s publishing landscape. This is the first video in a new series all about book editing, specifically developmental editors.
Tired of getting form rejections from agents? Or, perhaps you haven’t started querying yet and you’re looking to stand out in the query box. Learn how to write specific vs. vague conflict in a query in this iWriterly video.
Are you looking to take your author platform to the next level and ramp up your social media content and engagement? Learn more about how to use Twitter and Instagram in this special iWriterly collab with Brittany Wang.
Being an author no longer means only writing. Learn how to take your author platform and social media presence to the next level—without losing your sanity—in this iWriterly video.
Do you aspire to make writing your full-time occupation? Learn the eight ways you should treat your passion like a job to make that dream a reality in this iWriterly video. If you aren’t looking to make writing a full-time career, this video can teach you how to improve your creative productivity and online presence for even greater success as a modern-day author.
If you’re a writer trying to get your work published, you’re likely all too familiar with the feeling of rejection—from literary agents, editors, contest hosts, or literary magazines. If your work is published, then you may be used to receiving a rejection in the form of bad reviews from readers. Regardless of your publishing status, all writers receive rejections at some point. Learn how to cope with those rejections in this iWriterly video.
Literary agent Kaitlyn Johnson of the Corvisiero Literary Agency answers our questions on querying, how many clients an agent takes on each year, submission (the process, types of materials sent, how many editors are reached out to at once), author platform (and how that impacts publication goals), and what the author-agent relationship looks like.
iWriterly and Wolfshot Publishing join forces to create a two-part collab on how to make an AuthorTube or BookTube channel. (Click here to watch Cam’s video.)
For writers hoping to traditionally-publish their manuscripts and who are seeking literary representation, “the call” is when a literary agent and writer will talk about a possible business relationship (and usually when an agent offers representation). Join Meg LaTorre in this iWriterly video to learn what questions you should ask literary agents on “the call” when you’re considering literary representation.
Whether you’re published or yet-to-be-published, it’s important for writers to build an author platform, specifically their social media presence, right away. Author platforms are essential for both traditionally- and self-published authors in today’s modern world. But what social media platforms are the best avenues for your books? Learn what platforms you can utilize in this iWriterly video.
Whether you’re a published or aspiring author, all writers need to have an author website. But for aspiring authors, specifically, it can be confusing to know what to have on your author website. Learn what you should include on your author website in this iWriterly video.
The iWriterly team asks a group of writers the following question: What is your greatest struggle in your journey as a writer? Thirteen writers (traditionally-published, indie-published, and yet-to-be-published) share what they do to overcome hurdles in their writing careers. The writing community unites in this thirteen-person collab.
Special thank you to all of the writers who shared their experiences in this video.
Once upon a time, authors were able to write books and get them published, so long as they were a decent writer. That’s no longer the case. Now, both self-published and traditionally-published writers must establish an author platform to either get published or to have success while publishing in today’s modern world. Learn author platform basics in this iWriterly video.
Learn some of the reasons that go into deciding if you should self-publish (vs. traditionally-publish), where self-published authors can cut if they’re on a tight budget, what aspects you shouldn’t skimp on, why beta readers/critique partners are crucial, author platform, and more in this special collab with Natalia Leigh.
Learn how discipline, such as setting word count goals for yourself, making a writing schedule, and taking your time to get feedback/edit your work, can help to make your dreams of publishing a book a reality.
Is writing a book one of your dreams, but you don’t know where to start, how to outline the general events of your book, or even what events are essential to have?
Learn the basics of outlining your novel, word counts for genres/age groups, important research for writers, and how to learn more about today’s publishing marketplace in this iWriterly video, part two in the How to Write a Book series.
Do you have ideas for a book but don’t know where to start or how to write a novel? Or maybe you’ve written several manuscripts in the past and are looking to standardize your process. Learn how in the first video of this three-part series.
Get an inside look at Kim Chance‘s debut novel, KEEPER, her writing process, and author platforms in this iWriterly video.
KEEPER is a YA fantasy about sixteen-year-old bookworm, Lainey Styles, who is attacked by the ghost of an ancient witch. Lainey soon discovers she’s a Keeper, a witch whose job is to guard a spell book from a dangerous warlock. It was published in January of 2018 by Flux Books.
Voice is an element that can make or break a book. Whether you’ve written a book or are working on your manuscript, learning how to create distinct voices for your characters is key.
Join iWriterly for an exclusive interview with Angela Ackerman, indie author and co-founder of the popular websites, Writers Helping Writers and One Stop For Writers. You may also know Angela from her many helpful tweets, providing published materials from a variety of different publications and platforms on the craft of writing.
While some people the writing community claim critique partners and beta readers aren’t necessary—or even that they negatively impact your manuscript—outside feedback from critique partners/beta readers is one-hundred percent vital to the success of your manuscript. Learn the difference between critique partners and beta readers and what types of feedback is the most important in this iWriterly video.
Looking to get your book traditionally published but not sure how to get a literary agent? Watch the latest iWriterly video to learn how to secure literary representation—including how much editing your manuscript actually needs, how to write a query letter, what the key differences are between a query letter and synopsis, how to most effectively query a literary agent, and what to do if/when you have the “big call” and receive an offer of representation.
