By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin For many years, I’ve known about the Catch-22 of publishing. The Merrian-Webster dictionary defines Catch-22 as “a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule.” Several years ago in Spokane, I taught a workshop…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin When you boil it down to the basics, writers and editors are both seeking the same thing: excellent writing. For many years, I’ve been writing for magazines and I’m a former magazine editor. One of the publications (Decision) where I was Associate Editor reached 1.8 million…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin I’ve written magazine articles which appear in publications with over a million subscribers. Other articles reach 100,00 to 200,000 readers, which is way more than any of my books will reach. As a long-time journalist writing for different publications and a former magazine editor, I’m intimately…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin We prize and value our books. They are permanent and have our names on the spine of the book and the front and back cover. Within the writing community, it is a myth that you are not a writer if you don’t publish a book. If…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin As an editor who has reviewed thousands of submissions throughout my decades in publishing, there are several red flags which authors often include in their proposal or cover letter. Some authors say, “I don’t have any competition. My book is unique.” Then I will ask another…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin In the last ten years, the publishing world has changed. In the past, self-publishing was the poor step-sister to traditional publishing. These self-made titles often looked poor and were not accepted in libraries or bookstores. As book production has improved, this attitude is shifting. There are…