Long time, no see!

I hope you’re having a quiet, healthy holiday season full of authentic connection.

The last month or so has been busier than I’m used to with one of my jobs, but I should be back to my normal weekly schedule by the beginning of the year. Like many of you, I, too, am still looking for paid work, and I want to keep sharing what I find in my search.

As always, thanks for signing up and scrolling through. I hope your pitches and/or queries land and the words flow this week.

Without further ado.

Consider this your wake-up call.

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Rest in peace, Porter Anderson. The publishing world is mourning the loss of Porter Anderson, the long-time editor-in-chief of Publishing Perspectives and co-founder of The Hot Sheet. Anderson was also an arts critic, diplomat, actor, and anchor for CNN. (Writer Unboxed)

ICYMI: Shein is entering the book space. The fast-fashion retailer is expanding its reach through a partnership with Alibris. In addition to cheap clothes, customers will be able to buy used books, including textbooks. (Publisher’s Weekly)

Bloomsbury partners with Google Cloud. Bloomsbury became the first publishing house to partner with an AI company, promising to “demonstrate how cutting-edge technology can increase the discovery and sales of books, as well as transform engagement with content to improve learning outcomes.” (The Bookseller)

The books that were on every ‘best of’ list this year. Katie Kitamura’s Audition, Katabasis by R.F. Kuang, and Stephen Graham Jones’ The Buffalo Hunter were some of the titles that topped many lists this year. (Book Riot)

The scams targeting authors right now. Teri Case digs into the latest scams targeting authors, including e-mails from “Collen Hoover” and more solicitations for money. She deconstructs the different tells to watch for that give away a scam e-mail. (Jane Friendman Blog)

Kindle’s “Ask This Book” AI feature raises rights concerns. Kindle’s latest update includes an “in-book chatbot” that uses generative AI to answer questions readers might have while they’re reading. The problem is, no one knows how they have the legal right to do this. (Writer Beware)

The end of the career author? While many dream of being able to live off of book advances and being paid to write (not market) books, this is more of a fantasy than it’s ever been. Advances are shrinking, and writers are turning to the hustle culture to support themselves, joining writers like Virginia Woolf and Charles Dickens in splitting their time between work and craft. (We Are All Creatives)

MIA: literary romance writers. Writers like Salley Rooney and Lily King feel like a flash-in-the-pan as the book market becomes more saturated with romantasy. But literary romance can be hard to market, let alone define. (Touch Her and Die!)

Stop writing perfect book boyfriends. The heroines in romance novels now reflect their readers, with main characters of every size, shape, or disability. Meanwhile, their male counterparts continue to look exactly the same: a full head of hair, a thin waist, thick thighs, a sharp jaw. Always stable, always attuned. Can you have a good fantasy if it lacks humanity in the main character’s counterpart? (Smart Romance)

Discover how a 7-figure executive business coach and former IBM marketing executive, Julie, boosted engagement and loyalty by turning her courses, coaching, and community into a cohesive, branded coaching ecosystem on Kajabi.

Claim Your Free Seat

Transitions are your memoir’s secret ingredient. (Jane Friedman Blog)

Using tropes doesn’t have to be predictable. Tropes are an important tool for writers, but when they’re overused, readers get bored. Instead, use a trope as a jumping point, and go in a different direction. Don’t do what’s expected, including letting the trope fail (or succeed). (Writers in the Storm)

A $57,000 cookbook photoshoot. Carla Lalli Music shares the realities of being a cookbook author, including how much it costs to create the food and photos that go alongside recipes. (Food Processing)

Reminder:
I have openings + quick turnarounds on query letter edits.

On finding a new literary agent. Katherine Clements left her original literary agent and is beginning the process of finding new representation. Whether you’re new to the process or re-entering the query waters, there are basics every writer needs to have prepared when they’re ready to pitch literary agents. (The Inkwell)

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Reminder: Vet each opportunity before submitting.
Inclusion does not equal endorsement.

Lifestyle: Paige DiFiore, Deputy Editor of Lifestyle and Entertainment at Business Insider, put out an end-of-year call-out for pitches of personal essays. Topics include: “best life/ove/career/social advice you’ve ever received”; “home renovation regrets or unconventional choices that paid off”; life after retirement stories on how your perspective changed (on travel, wardrobe, hobbies); “changing your apperance for a job”; “moving for a love or a job”; “unconventional living situations” and more. Rates start at $240 for 600 words. Please pitch through this pitch form.

Narratively is now accepting pitches for “longform true crime stories.” These should be “unique ideas for deeply reported stories” that “don’t feel like an episode of Law & Order we’ve already seen.” They’re particularly interested in “stories that spotlight true crime and delayed justice in underrepresented or misunderstood communities.” Rate: $1,500. Deadline: January 8, 2026. Please pitch your story through this form.

Open Secrets Magazine is accepting “original, unpublished, non-AI-generated” personal essays on your “current personal experience with food insecurity” to be published in their Finances section. “Priority will be given to those writing about their current experience of food insecurity and SNAP benefits in the United States,” but they are open to stories about/from elsewhere. Rate: $200 for a 1,000 - 2,500-word essay. Please see submission guidelines.

These jobs have been published within the last seven days and are still accepting applications at the time of publication. I’ve avoided including any Easy Apply jobs due to their tendency to be scams and/or already have a high volume of applications.

Reminder: Vet each opportunity before submitting.
Inclusion does not equal endorsement.

Babylist is looking for freelance finance writers to “create trusted, accessible financial guidance for new and expecting parents.” This includes “explainers on Trump Accounts, savings options for families, and the real money decisions parents face in their baby’s first year.” Ideal candidates have a portfolio “demonstrating clarity, accessibility, and the ability to make financial topics feel human and actional.” Please submit your information through this form.

The Freelance Writing Network is hiring a freelance writer to “help create content aimed at freelancers and writers for the Freelance Writing Network newsletter.” Rate: $30/hr. E-mail your details to [email protected].

Newsweek is hiring a remote, full-time Deputy Breaking News Editor to work across four possible rotation shifts (Monday - Friday, 7 am - 4 pm; 9 am - 6 pm; 11 am - 8 pm; and 1 pm - 10 pm). You’ll be working with other editors and reporters to “produce, edit, publish, and build up breaking news and live blogs from scratch.” This includes developing Newsweek’s “live blog operation, creating highly engaging content on the most interesting and important stories” and setting up “a system for monitoring, planning, and pre-writing that allows Newsweek to excel at breaking news. Ideal candidates have experience working “in a fast-paced digital newsroom” and at least “3 plus years’ experience in editing capacity.” Rate: $70,000 - $80,000

Sixfold is seeking a part-time Content Writer (Healthcare) to "support [their] expanding portfolio of health plans, PBMs, TPAs, pharmacy consultants, patient advocacy, organizations, and health-tech platforms.” Ideal candidates have experience writing across a variety of formats, including articles and case studies, can conduct interviews, and transform transcripts into

After listening to the Pop Culture Recap episode of The Sam Sanders Show, I immediately hit play on the audiobook for Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams. This is a behind-the-scenes, tell-all story of Facebook's rise and its transformation from hero to villain.

One of the best ways I learn is by researching and reading. Before, during, and after my MFA, I’ve read books on book writing, marketing, magazine writing, travel writing, and more. Here are the books I still re-read after all of these years.

this literary life is reader-supported. when you buy through links in my newsletter, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org.

The podcasts that kept me company on my commute this week included the Prestige TV discussion on The West Wing’s “Hall of Fame” episode, Two Cathedrals. Plus,