Blake Atwood

Of the books I read in 2025, here's what • Surprised me: Matthew McConaughey's GREENLIGHTS • Impressed me: Samantha Harvey's ORBITAL • Broke me: Rob Delaney's A HEART THAT WORKS • Touched me: Andy Hirsch's GOOD BOY • Inspired me: Robert Caro's WORKING How about you?

A relevant @thewritelife article of mine from years ago: "As Halloween draws nigh, I’d like to introduce you to 10 monsters that haunt my nightmares. Now, these guys and ghouls don’t regularly visit me, but they are a source of fear from time to time." thewritelife.com/book-editor-fe…

The editor–author relationship can lead to the best of times or the worst of times. Set yourself up for the former by answering these questions before you hire any kind of editor. blakeatwood.substack.com/p/7-essential-…

Stop scrolling. Get back to writing. Note to self.

This post was adapted from an article I wrote years ago that offers a four-step backup plan for authors. Just know that some of the links or services may be outdated, but the process is still recommended: thewritelife.com/losing-your-wr…

So what do you do to back up your words?

In 1922, Hadley Hemingway lost her husband's works-in-progress and his carbon copies when they were stolen during a train ride to Switzerland.

Thanks for championing reading, @paugasol (and picking a great book)!

Incredibly excited to see @jefferson_fishr's new book "The Next Conversation" now available in stores. Here's what I learned from him during my time as his book coach: everywordtell.kit.com/posts/what-jef…

In my newsletter tomorrow, I'll share what Jefferson personally taught me while we developed his book. "The Next Conversation" releases tomorrow!

My favorite part of this @GMA interview with @jefferson_fishr is when @GioBenitez says, "It's like every page is an aha moment." I can confirm that statement. Here's the clip: goodmorningamerica.com/culture/video/…

"Whether you are writing memoir, nonfiction, a novel of any genre or YA literature, this exercise is a barometer for agent/editor readiness." courtneymaum.substack.com/p/how-do-you-k…

Excellent advice from Courtney Maum (as usual): "Over the years, I’ve crafted checklists and checkpoints and exercises to help discern whether my own writing is in gatekeeper-shape, and the most effective benchmark I know is something I created called The Question Mark exercise."

I send 300 words or so every Tuesday about writing, publishing, editing, or reading. If you have a similar newsletter, drop a subscribe link too.

In my email newsletter going out tomorrow, I'm talking about a piece of writing advice I give to nearly every author I work with. It may not be new to you. Then again, it may unlock something for you. blakeatwood.com/subscribe/