book inc

"Once I was able to sit and feel the grief, it opened up a portal to the joy and love I had for my brother."

Shanda McManus talks grief, joy, and writing "Brother Epistles" in our latest Journal.

Read it https://bookinc.org/qa-with-memoirist-shanda-mcmanus/

Then, join her June 24 in Fair Haven for a reading and book signing. Register here: https://pwnwriters.org/course/book-talk-signing-with-shanda-mcmanus/

Terrible feedback sounds like: "I just don't think you have the right qualities."

Helpful feedback sounds like a compliment sandwich. 🥪

book inc intern Emma Moriarty on what a wilderness hike taught her about giving feedback that actually lands—and how the Memoir Incubator's Reading Rounds get it right.

Read the latest installment of Emma's Angle at https://bookinc.org/from-the-trail-to-the-workshop-giving-feedback-that-helps/

What if your memoir's best metaphor is actually hiding something?
book inc's program director Elizabeth Jannuzzi's latest piece in "The Brevity Blog" draws a line between the kind of recovery-speak that sounds meaningful but leaves you hungry—and the raw, specific detail that makes memoir actually land.

"The reader nods, recognizes the shape of the thing, and walks away empty."

Don't let that happen in your manuscript. Read "Don't Hide Behind the Cake" at https://bookinc.org/dont-hide-behind-the-cake-brevity-blog/

Meet your July Book Revision Lab PALs! 🎉 We sat down with Olivia Kenney and Kaecey McCormick to talk revision fears, getting unstuck, and what they're bringing to the next BRL cohort.

Spoiler: they both love a good walk when things get hard.

Read the full Q&A at: https://bookinc.org/meet-the-next-book-revision-lab-peer-artist-leaders

Apply for the next Book Revision Lab, starting July 16, 2026.

Do memoir rules actually exist? Sort of. And some of them are meant to be broken.

In this month's Ask Tina, Tina Goodyear breaks down the golden rules of memoir writing—structure, scope, accountability, and why your divorce details matter less than you think.

📝 Read our Ask Tina column at https://bookinc.org/ask-tina-what-are-the-rules-of-memoir-writing/

100 subscribers and counting. ✨

The book inc Journal is packed with essays from writers in the trenches—on revision, rejection, feedback, and the long road to done. Real writers. Real process. No fluff.

Join us on Substack. Sign up at https://bookinc.substack.com/

Project Write Now

A Guardian feature. A literary agent. A possible film deal. And all Vickie Hardin Woods really wants is a printed copy of her manuscript in her hands.

We love that. 🥧

Read her Writer Spotlight on the book inc Journal at https://bookinc.org/writer-spotlight-vickie-hardin-woods/

In honor of , book inc intern .moriarty.798 explores, with science and personal experience, how nature and movement can unlock creativity.

Read the latest installment of Emma's Angle at https://bookinc.org/two-ways-nature-can-unlock-your-writing/

Courtney Zeni finished her novel, landed a literary agent through a Virtual Pitch Fest, and is heading toward submission to the Big 5. She's also a PhD biochemist. Overachiever? Maybe. B

But her story is genuinely inspiring—and her advice for querying writers is worth bookmarking. New Writer Spotlight on the book inc journal.

Firefly photo credit: KartheekPhoto

Check it out at https://bookinc.org/writer-spotlight-courtney-zeni/