If you ask my family and friends, or my MFA advisor, Leanna James Blackwell, if they ever doubted I would graduate, I bet they’d all say, “Linda?! I never doubted it for a second. She’s capable of whatever she sets her mind to.” Really? Don’t they remember how many times I almost quit? When I … Continue reading Proving Them Right

Once in a while, my friend Patty Sullivan and I got to ride the bus to Springfield, or “downstreet” as my Mom used to say. Patty’s family didn’t have a car, so they knew the bus routes and my parents thought we were old enough for the adventure. Forbes and Wallace, and Steiger’s, were multi-floor … Continue reading Support Community

Launch meeting:  The first presentation by an editor of forthcoming titles to the marketing and sales staff. The first step in defining the publisher's seasonal list, these meetings enable editorial, marketing, sales, and production staff to discuss the marketing and production requirements for each title. Based on the launch meeting presentation and discussion, the marketing … Continue reading This is How it Happens

“Who do you think you are?” I remember my Dad asking. “You’re just going to get married and have babies.” Most of the details are fuzzy—it’s been almost forty years since I was in college—but I remember being offered an internship at a magazine. In New York City. I was so excited I was levitating. … Continue reading Gal Friday

I have enjoyed writing for most of my life, in my diary as a kid and then in composition and journalism courses in college, but I have always viewed it as more of an interest, not how I defined myself. I wasn’t “a writer.” In my paid professional life, I’ve written copy that has bolstered … Continue reading Writer?