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Meghan Ward

I'm a freelance writer and book editor who specializes in memoir. For more info, visit my website.

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8 Secrets to a Successful Writers’ Group

Writers’ groups, also called critique groups, can be invaluable resources for writers. They provide the structure and support of an MFA workshop without the high cost of tuition. But not all writer’s groups are equal. Get in the wrong group, and you may do more harm to your writing than good. How do you know [...]

5 Tips For Hiring The Right Freelance Editor

As a freelance editor and someone who has hired several freelance editors, I wanted to give my two cents about if/when/how you need to hire an editor. Anne Allen wrote a wonderful post about this topic Sunday as well. Be sure to check it out when you’re done reading this:

1. Do I need a [...]

2011 Books in Review

Happy New Year! Can you believe it’s almost 2012? I feel like I’m living in the future.

Sierra Godfrey’s post last week reminded me that I used to wrap up the year with a list of the books I’d read that year. My goal is always to read two books a month, and with two [...]

How to Combat Writer Envy

Check it out! New blog design to match the rest of my website. This is a work-in-progress, so if you find any glitches, please let me know, and I will remedy them as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, feel free to click around to check out my new digs right after you read this post:

A [...]

18 Holiday Gifts for Writers

Yes! It’s that time of year. Time for the Writerland 2011 Gifts for Writers Buying Guide! In addition to the usual case of wine, Moleskine notebook, nice pen, and day-at-the-spa gifts that all writers love, here are 17 other great ideas:

1. Come On All You Ghosts by Matthew Zapruder I work with Matthew, and [...]

Are You Plagued by Perfectionism?

I arrived at the tail end of an interesting lunchtime conversation at the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto last week—just in time to hear author Julia Scheeres utter, “Well, that was depressing.” From there the conversation continued on about how women tend to submit less often to journals, magazines, and newspapers (and by extension, agents and [...]

Editor Alan Rinzler & Literary Agent Andy Ross On All Things Publishing

First off, we have a winner for a signed copy of A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception and Survival in Jonestown by New York Times bestselling author Julia Scheeres. That winner is:

MOLLY!

Molly, e-mail me your full name and address, and I will pop the book in the mail to you [...]

Hurricane Irene: The Aftermath

When my brother RJ Squirrel, who lives in D.C., e-mailed me about the devastation that Hurricane Irene wreaked on his home and his family Saturday, I asked if he’d be willing to share his plight with Writerland readers, and he graciously obliged. Please take a minute to read this harrowing tale. It will make you [...]

Plagiarism: Is It Safe to Share Your Writing With Others?

Last month, I came across this wonderful blog post by attorney Mark Fowler over at RightsofWriters.com (@RightsofWriters on Twitter), which details the difference between plagiarism and copyright infringement. Essentially, plagiarism is an ethical, not an actionable offense, according to Fowler and others he quotes. Copyright infringement is a different story. According to Fowler, “Plagiarism does [...]

Interview: Ethan Nosowsky, Editor-at-Large, Graywolf Press

Ethan Nosowsky is Editor-at-Large at Graywolf Press. He is also Consultant for Innovative Literature at the Creative Capital Foundation. Previously he was an editor at Farrar, Straus and Giroux. He has edited books by Jeffery Renard Allen, Emily Barton, Elias Canetti, Geoff Dyer, Stephen Elliott, John Haskell, J. Robert Lennon, and Isaac Bashevis Singer, among [...]