News/Blog - Marie-Claude Arnott

The news is that Writing Is Living is now home to my book.

Running a website is like gardening. You begin with a seed of an idea, and then it grows and multiplies.

My book was still a draft when I created my website. I was still honing my craft: learning from proficient writers, taking workshops, and attending symposiums, for example. I share my experiences in News/Blog as another way to assimilate them. As Albert Einstein said: “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.”

My book still had a working title when it began to take flight to agents and publishing houses. Then something clicked, and it landed at Tule Publishing Group, and a new learning curve began.

Biography of a Friendship was released on March 14th, 2024.

About Publication Day

This is it… My first book, Biography of a Friendship, is about to take flight after safely landing at Tule’s nonfiction imprint, and next to its amazingly imaginative fiction authors. It took ten years to complete, including much time spent in the doldrums for me, and in a drawer for my manuscript.

When.. →

Publication Is In the Works

The publication of my memoir Biography of a Friendship is in the works. I am grateful to the Tule Publishing Group. As a traditional yet independent publisher, they took a chance on me and my work.

The manuscript is undergoing proofreading. I will then say goodbye until it comes back as a book… →

Publication in Sight

You have heard it: Things happen to those who keep trying. I have known this to be true for one reason: it didn’t happen to those who gave up.

And yet, one can’t help thinking there is luck in it.

After much research and hesitation, I was about to sign a self-publishing contract.. →

Lessons from Readings by Writers

A book reading entertains an audience and gives authors a venue to sell their books. So was the case at the Vancouver Public Library on June 27, 2023, where the event Writers Showcase featured four established and emerging authors. Furthermore, attending a reading is also how fellow writers can improve.. →

Upholding My Update

Since my last post about my publishing journey, I didn’t get the results I was hoping for, perhaps from my own doing.

My submissions to literary agents seldom yielded even a rejection. Then I connected with two agents via their workshops. One asked for a full (my entire manuscript plus.. →

Glossary Gleaning – Images

The word cliché jumped from the upper middle page of my notebook and I noticed the underlined word overused. How to avoid clichés was Antoinette Brim’s Pocketful of Images IWWG webinar, September 18, 2020. A celebrated poet, she knows about “the power of imagery and metaphor to give concreteness.. →

Summary of a Summit

There was no need to travel for the 2022 Summit of the Federation of British Columbia Writers on May 14-21. There was also no mingling with fellow writers other than seeking contacts via Zoom. However, the friendly facilitators and engaging presenters of three manageable sessions per day (morning,.. →

The Book Proposal Boot Camp

My first step toward publication was to pitch a polished manuscript. Then came the first hurdle: would my first ten pages pass the test of rejection? After they did came another hurdle.

Would my book proposal be up to par? I knew how much effort I had put into it, but I couldn’t be sure… →

The Test of the First Ten Pages

Sometimes, the first pages of a book are a bit of a challenge, making me want to stop reading before I get into the story. In other words, the book is taking time to get me hooked.

That’s why agents consider the first ten pages an evaluation tool for what is yet to come.

Does.. →

When Plotting Goes Micro

Every book has a macro-plot (the overarching story) and a micro-plot (the small scenes that weave the main story and its characters).

During a Zoom session hosted by Authors Publish, on January 12th, 2022, featured guest and children’s book author John Claude Bemis addressed micro-plotting.

I.. →