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1 week ago | 
caffeinatedwriter.substack.com | Michelle Richmond
You probably already know that you need a literary agent to publish a book with most traditional publishers. You may also know that the best way to get the attention of an agent is through a referral. Agents are inundated with query letters, so if an author they already represent says, “You should read this manuscript!” they are more likely to take notice. Unfortunately, most writers who don’t know anyone in the industry submit queries through the slush pile.
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3 weeks ago | 
caffeinatedwriter.substack.com | Michelle Richmond
After searching for more than a year for a Hermes 3000 typewriter, I finally found one a few weeks ago in Mill Valley and brought it home. It’s a beauty, with a light touch and sturdy, spacious typeface. I’ve spent more time looking at the Hermes 3000 than typing on it. I did insert the paper in and bang out a few sentences, but honestly, it’s a little intimidating. When you write on a typewriter, everything seems so permanent.
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1 month ago | 
caffeinatedwriter.substack.com | Michelle Richmond
Thank you for reading The Caffeinated Writer. This post is adapted from my eight-week course, Plotting the Novel. I’ve been writing novels since the early 2000s, and I’ve never outlined any of them in the early stages. For the first seventy pages or so, I work from instinct and from the drive of the story itself. Instinct and narrative drive, however, will only take you so far.
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2 months ago | 
caffeinatedwriter.substack.com | Michelle Richmond
By the time I met my literary agent in 2003, I had queried and been rejected by at least thirty different agents. Still, through persistence, a little luck, and a contest, I had published a story collection with University of Massachusetts Press and a debut novel with MacAdam/Cage, a small literary publisher in San Francisco that has long since gone out of business. Sales for both had been meager, which is common for university and small press titles.
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2 months ago | 
caffeinatedwriter.substack.com | Michelle Richmond |SOPHIA EFTHIMIATOU
In this post, I’d like to share why I have several Substacks, why you might want to maintain separate Substacks for different audiences (but not four, for the love of all things good and holy!), and what I’ve learned in the process. First off, as I’ve probably mentioned before, I drink too much coffee. See how stressed I am in the above photo? It’s because I was an expat in Paris during month six of the pandemic, sure, but it’s also because French coffee is way too small.
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2 months ago | 
caffeinatedwriter.substack.com | Michelle Richmond
We all live somewhere. We all grew up somewhere. We all explore the world, to varying degrees. We are all formed by the places that raised us and the places where we live, the places we visit. That goes for your characters too. And we are all formed by the time in which we live. In narrative, setting encompasses not only place, but also time. Where does your novel happen, and when? How essential is the specific location to the events of your story?
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Jan 7, 2025 | 
caffeinatedwriter.substack.com | Michelle Richmond
While drafting your novel, you may not give a whole lot of thought to minor characters. But in revision, you'll need to go back and examine their place in the novel. Some of your minor characters may end up on the cutting room floor. You will probably end up combining two or three minor characters into one. Occasionally, you may discover that a minor character needs to take on a greater role in the story.
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Dec 19, 2024 | 
caffeinatedwriter.substack.com | Michelle Richmond
Dear Writers,The holidays are upon us. Last weekend, we went out and got a Christmas tree. It is even partially decorated. We have an early December birthday in our family, so the Christmas celebration has always started a bit late. First we do the birthday, and then, eventually, we get around to the tree. Now that our son is off at college, the holidays begin even later. But here we are, six days from Christmas.
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Dec 9, 2024 | 
caffeinatedwriter.substack.com | Michelle Richmond
This post is part of The Caffeinated Writer craft series. It is excerpted from the six-week writing reboot. As writers of fiction, we rely on description to convey a sense of place, a sense of character. Description draws the reader into your imagined world, immersing them in the fictional dream. Through the details, we fall into the writing, and that falling in helps us to feel and experience the world of the story or novel in a more intense, personal way.
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Nov 29, 2024 | 
caffeinatedwriter.substack.com | Michelle Richmond
Do you want to write or revise your novel, launch your author Substack, try your hand at flash fiction, or start writing and publishing short fiction? All of my on-demand writing classes are 50% off, now through December 2nd. You will have access to your course for 18 months, so you can complete the lessons at your own pace. Flash Fiction Intensive: Write twelve flash fictions in four weeks, and begin submitting your work for publication.
