Traditional Book Deal (Agented) Part one of multi-blog series by Jason Brick on how many ways there are for writers of all stripes to make a living doing what they love.  Check out #3 over at brickcommajason.com This is what most people think of when they think “published writer.” You write a book. Then you find an agent to represent your book. Then the agent finds a publisher to print and distribute the book. A couple years later, you have a book out. Most books you buy at Barnes and Noble were published this way. Most names you know as published authors got their work out this way. It’s the most familiar model, and the one served by most writers’ conferences. The market for this is huge, and well-serviced. But it’s a competitive field growing…

Continue reading →

It’s April. The human- and wild-life are coming out of hibernation, the trees are starting to stretch their limbs and baseball’s opening day is here. Those who believe in omens (and care to wager on them), take note of the photo above, taken in my backyard recently. The Cardinals and Blue Jays are two of the six teams that play on opening day. They also happen to be contenders to win their divisions and could possibly meet in the World Series in October. Do you believe in omens? How about urban legends? Well this month we’ve got a short story from Joan Connor entitled “Suburban Legends.” Whatever you’re thinking it’s about, you’re wrong. I’ll wager on that. Stick around and find out how Joan spins a yarn into a cautionary tale. Next, we have the…

Continue reading →

Those of you who dropped by the cafe yesterday or earlier today may know we just wrapped up our 100th member contest. Well, we’re excited to announce some new Fictional Café swag on the way. But we need your help, Coffee Club members! We are looking for a fun, eye-catching logo design that we can use for our new FC stickers, mugs and other merch. Here are the contest specs: This contest is open only to Coffee Club members. If you’re reading this and are not yet a member, you can join here for free! All designs must include some play on the “café” theme (see featured image above for an example). Bonus points if you can incorporate “Fresh Java,” the name of our digest email, in the design. All designs must be a high-quality…

Continue reading →

Hello Fictional Café patrons and Coffee Club members! You may recall that back in 2015 we ran a 100th member contest. At long last, we are happy to announce our TWO winners (they signed up on the same day, so what the heck!). Congratulations to Karen Huff and Erica Nazzaro!! You’ve won a Fictional Café baseball hat and a Fictional Café sticker. We’ve gotten such a great influx of new readers, we have actually reached (and surpassed) 150 members as well, so we are also going to give that lucky person, Judy Katz-Levine, a hat and sticker as well! Congrats to all our winners and if you didn’t win this time, stay tuned. Right around the corner we have another contest that we are super-excited about! -Your Baristas    

Continue reading →

I wanted to quote Jack Kerouac in celebration of his birthday later this month and recalled the photo above (in true Kerouacian form, I wasn’t even standing still long enough for the photo to finish taking). Four years ago, at the Harvard Coop bookstore, I stumbled upon this curious sign. I inquired about it as I purchased a copy of “The Sun Also Rises.” The cashier told me that they had this placard made because so many people were stealing these authors’ books as a tip of the cap to the jobless, anti-capitalism, beat generation writers. The staff had to start keeping those books behind the counter a-la cigarettes and scratch tickets. It seems other bookstores have done the same. Maybe Kerouac’s quote should read: “Live, travel, adventure, bless and don’t pay for books.” *…

Continue reading →

I had no idea what to expect when I decided to attend a poetry reading called “The BreakBeat Poets” at an art gallery. So even though everything that followed was, by definition, “not what I’d expected,” that phrase did little justice to my actual experience. As I entered Uforge Gallery on a balmy Thursday night, I was greeted with the aroma of wine and the sounds of hip-hop music echoing off paintings of men without faces and photographs of women sitting on the floor. A panorama of bodies in motion, buzzing, stretched from wall to wall. The organizers of the event, Papercuts J.P., had a table with the anthology of poems by The BreakBeat Poets and the poets’ individual books for purchase along with tote bags, bookmarks and free wine. I found a singular seat along…

Continue reading →