25 Ways to Get An Article Published According to 'Byline Bible' Author Susan Shapiro

My guest Susan Shapiro is the New York Times bestselling author/co-author of 12 books including Lighting Up, Unhooked, and Five Men Who Broke My Heart. She's been teaching writing at prestigious institutions like NYU and the New School for 25 years. Her new book, the The Byline Bible: Get Published In 5 Weeks is a compilation of all the tips and tricks she’s learned about how to get a short piece published in a major publication. From the top five types of stories editors are buying to mistakes not to make, Susan breaks down the life cycle of a  story from idea to paycheck. 

Some gems from the interview:

• The stories all editors look for include humiliation essays, humor, service pieces, local stories, and op-eds.

• Nobody will buy your story about dealing with the death of a loved one.

• Writing three-page articles is a smarter way to get a book deal than writing the book itself

• The biggest mistake people make is writing whatever they want.

• Just because your story doesn’t sell one place, doesn’t mean it won’t find a home somewhere else.