Contributors
Foreword
by Michael C. White
Letter from the Editor
by Ashley C. Anderson Zantop
Part One: Your Program
Before the Degree and Immediately Thereafter
Map for the Weary Traveler
by Linsey Jayne
Chapter 1: Invest Early
edited by Ashley C. Andersen Zantop
How Can I Use This? The Creative Use of Academic Requirements
by William Patrick
Strategy and the Reading List
by Jennifer Emerson
Your Journey Starts Here
by Adele Annesi
Chapter 2: Alumni Community; Find Your People
edited by Ashley C. Andersen Zantop and Erin Corriveau
Your Literary Siblings: Engaging Your Alumni Community for Lifelong Inspiration
by Michael Bayer
Part Two: Your Life
After the Degree and the Rest of Your Writing Career
She is Asked, Do You Write According to a Set Schedule?
by Baron Wormser
Chapter 3: Stay Connected to Your People
edited by Erin A. Corriveau
MFA Community
by Linsey Jayne
The Isle of Write
by Cisco Covino
Community and Support
by Phil Lemos
The Necessity of Writers Groups
by A.J. O’Connell
Workshop Options
by Chris Belden
The Power of Two: The Advantage of the Writing Buddy
by Adele Annesi
Literary Mind Link
by Linsey Jayne
A Workshop for the Rest of Your Life
by Michael Bayer
Chapter 4: Stay Connected to Your Industry
edited by Michael Bayer
Welcome to Your Industry
by Ashley C. Andersen Zantop
Hello, My Name Is ________
by Michael Bayer
The AWP Experience for First Timers
by Erin A. Corriveau
Associations, Memberships and Subscriptions for Writers
by Ashley C. Andersen Zantop and Michael Bayer
Conferences and Trade Shows
by Ashley C. Andersen Zantop
Chapter 5: Write
edited by Adele Annesi
Life Happens: How to Keep Writing Anyway
by Suzanne Matson
The Writer’s Retreat
by Karen Osborn
Afternoon Delight: A Cup of Tea and a Writing Fix
by Rebecca Dimyan
Learn to Write and Keep on Writing
by Bonnie Cook
Technically Speaking—and Writing; Software and Other Writing Aids, Tricks and Tools
by Adele Annesi
Chapter 6: Conviction, Commitment and Forgiveness
edited by Erin A. Corriveau
Ode to the Cursor
by Zac Zander
The Creative Imperative
by Pete Nelson
Maintain Creativity, or, Why I Went to Workshop the Morning after Graduation
by Jean M. Medeiros
Writing Reality for Breadwinners
by Matthew Winkler
Setting Goals the Easy Way
by A.J. O’Connell
W.E.D.D.
by Barbara Wannamaker
From an Artist to Herself
by Brooke Adams Law
A Kinship of Fugitives; Why Writers Need Writers in Life and on the Page
by Rachel Basch
Life Comes First
by Baron Wormser
Chapter 7: Put Yourself and Your Writing Out There
edited by Michael Bayer
Put it Out There; Persistence, Revision and Simultaneous Submissions
by Mark Berry
The Author Will Give a Public Reading
by Travis Baker
Indispensible You; Five Ways to Build Your Brand in the Writing Marketplace
by Lary Bloom
Build Your Personal Brand
by Lisa Diane Kastner
WWW: Writer Websites that Work
by Lisa Calderone
What’s the Right Kind of Success?
by A.J. O’Connell
Blogging Resources for Writers
by Erin A. Corriveau
Chapter 8: Make Ends Meet (While You Work on Your Masterpiece)
edited by Michael Bayer
The Ghost Life
by Travis Baker
Yes, I Can Write That
by Abbey Cleland
The Business of Freelance Writing
by Sarah Sleeper
Surviving the Adjunct Lifestyle: Advice from the Cliff’s Edge
by Ioanna Pettas Opidee
Grants and Fellowships; Where to Look, When to Apply
by Carol Ann Davis
Health Insurance for Writers
by Meredith Kazer
Group Plans and Resources
by Heather Zullinger
Before We Knew Them; Jobs Our Literary Heroes Held
by Ashley C. Andersen Zantop
Chapter 9: Put Your Degree to Work: Careers for Writers
edited by Ashley C. Andersen Zantop
True Confessions of an MFA Grad
by Steve Otfinoski
What About the C Word? Creative Careers in Marketing and Communications
by Michael Bayer
Your MFA and the Fourth Estate
by A.J. O’Connell
Listen Up! Put Your MFA to Work in the Audiobook Industry
by Justin Scace
My Career as a Freelancer
by Steve Otfinoski
Into the Afterwards; On Landing Tenure-Track Teaching Jobs and Diving into Your Post-MFA Life
by Carol Ann Davis
More than One Calling
by Ashley C. Andersen Zantop
Chapter 10: Publishing Options (and Some Basic Rules to Follow, or Not)
edited by A.J. O’Connell
Small Press? Large Publishing House? Both? Neither?
by Alan Davis
The Pirate’s Code of Submission Absolutes
by Linsey Jayne
Self-Publishing; An Overview and Insights
by Mark Berry
Self-Publishing to the Mainstream Spotlight; A Tale of Internet Fame and Fortune
by Heather Frizzell
Going Paper-Free; When Your Book is an eBook
by A.J. O’Connell
What to Expect When You’re Expecting Your First Book
by Deborah Henry
Chapter 11: Your Agent
edited by A.J. O’Connell
How I Found My Agent
by A.J. O’Connell
by Alena Dillon
by David Fitzpatrick
by Stephanie Harper
by Elizabeth Hilts
How to Land a Literary Agent: Some Dos and One Don’t
by Deborah Henry
Agents; Decrease the Variables, Increase Your Chances
by Ashley C. Andersen Zantop
Chapter 12: From Copyrights to Contracts: Business Basics
edited by Jean M. Medeiros
Basic Copyright
by Joe Carvalko
Publishing Contract Basics
by Ashley C. Andersen Zantop
Where to Go For Business and Legal Help
by Jean M. Medeiros
Chapter 13: TOP 25 THINGS EVERY WRITER SHOULD DO
edited by Ashley C. Andersen Zantop
Chapter 14: TOP 25 THINGS A WRITER SHOULD NOT DO
edited by Ashley C. Andersen Zantop
Appendix
edited by Erin A. Corriveau and Ashley C. Andersen Zantop
Workshops and Memberships
by Adele Annesi
Additional Resources
by Adele Annesi
About The Program That Inspired This Work
edited by Ashley C. Andersen Zantop and Michael C. White
The Program
by Michael Bayer
Glossary
