The End of the Book
The End of the Book: Writing in a Changing World
by Mariana Damon, Marnette Graff, Nina Romano, Lauren Small, and Melissa Westemeier
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I am much impressed with these five gifted writers from Screw Iowa! and with their commitment to a life of arts and letters and their dedication to making the world a safe place for writers. Read The End of the Book: Writing in a Changing World and learn how to build yourself a supportive literary community. It’s something we writers can’t live without. The world of publishing in the twenty-first century is a formidable and brave new world, and we’re lucky to have such people –Damon, Graff, Romano, Small, and Westemeier—in it. You’ll never write alone!
~~John Dufresne, The Lie That Tells a Truth
Have we reached the end of the book?
While it’s true the old publishing model has gone the way of the rotary phone, the hunger for good writing and compelling stories remains unchanged. The desire to write seems only to grow stronger, with more and more people sitting down to put their ideas into words. New technology serves the emerging writer’s quest to reach an audience: print on demand services, websites, blogs. There’s even a whole genre of cell phone novels, with Twitter ones on the way.
These new options offer solutions—and create a host of problems. How can writers know which medium is best for them? Should they become bloggers? Create a website? Is it better to publish in online journals or in old-fashioned paper-and-ink? Meanwhile writers struggle with the same questions that have bedeviled storytellers for centuries: How can I improve my craft? Reach an audience? Sustain my writing life in the months—or years ahead—until my work is done? Will I ever reach the end of my book?
These problems faced us, five writers who signed up for a writing workshop at the University of Iowa in the summer of 2004. Faced with the challenges of a changing world, we decided to break out of the old workshop model and create their own. The result was Screw Iowa!, an independent writers group dedicated to helping writers hone their skills, connect with readers, and—most important of all—keep on writing. Since 2004, individual members of the Screw Iowa! writing group have:
- published a poetry collection—with a second one on the way
- completed an MFA
- founded a press
- published a novel
- established thriving blogs
- presented at conferences
- taught writing workshops
- founded “Writers Read”
- created websites
- published short stories, essays, and poems in print and online journals
And finally, written thisbook to share their method with the world.
How can you be successful in a changing world? The answer is by connecting, working with other writers who share your passion and your goals. Together writers can overcome the hurdles that face—and so often defeat—the solitary writer. In our book you will learn:
- how to find a writing group to sustain your writing life
- the values that underlie group work
- how to give—and receive—the kind of feedback writers need to edit their work
- how to overcome writer’s block
- how to find opportunities to put your writing skills to work
- the best way for you to get your work into print, from blogging to print on demand services to starting your own press
We address how to troubleshoot and resolve conflicts. We give concrete examples so that you can see how the editing process works. We advise the best way to attend a writing workshop, and guide you through the process of hosting your own. Most important of all, through our book and accompanying website, we give you the support you need to keep on writing, day after day, until you have achieved your goals.
Have we reached the end of the book? The Screw Iowa! answer is most unequivocally NO! But can you reach the end of your book? Can you find the help you need to keep on writing until your story is finished? The answer to that is a resounding YES. Come join us. Begin writing today, the Screw Iowa! way.
Click here to order The End of the Book: Writing in a Changing World now.
