Editor's Note

We dedicate a lot of space in our issues each month to the challenges we face as publishers. Most are business related and depend somewhat on your experience level. Fledgling authors may care more about which email service provider to use than those who’ve already spread their wings, who in turn are looking for advice on translations or programs that can automate those more mundane to-dos. But no matter how long you’ve been working in the industry, writing never stops posing its own challenges.

I’ve been working on one manuscript for the past few months, another for a few months longer than that. Both are taking far longer to write than I originally expected—something another author friend, who has published several more books than me, has shared she’s facing with her own projects. No matter how quickly you write, most of us dream of writing faster and publishing more.

And speed is far from the only obstacle we all recognize.

Whether it’s book 3 or 33, we’ve all had projects where the plot just won’t align, the research needed is more demanding, or the words won’t appear on the page fast enough. Sometimes stories weigh on us more than we’d like when we close our laptops for the day. Sometimes they become so complicated, the blurbs that sum them up take a whole day’s writing time to craft. Despite the countless ways we choose to publish, each of our businesses was built on books and the universal challenges we’ve faced writing them.

This issue is as much about celebrating those challenges as it is acknowledging them. At every stage, writing is what unites us, along with all the challenges, frustrations, and triumphs that come with it. I hope this month’s articles will remind you of that—and give you some helpful tips along the way.

Nicole Schroeder

Editor in Chief