Debut authors, take note: tomorrow Lit Hub has published some writing advice just for you, from Kelly Link’s speech at the 2019 One Story Literary Debutante Ball earlier this month. Here are a couple of our favorite lines:

“When an editor says in an email that ‘everyone here loves the cover,’ this is a lie. But you are probably stuck with the cover.”

“Perfect one karaoke song. And by perfect, I mean learn to sing without fear or embarrassment. One day you will be glad you did this.”

“Be secure in the knowledge that no one will ever loathe your work quite as much as the Game of Thrones fandom loathes the last few episodes of Game of Thrones.”

Read the full speech here.

Corinne Segal

Corinne Segal

Corinne Segal was a senior online editor at PBS NewsHour Weekend and reported on arts and culture for PBS NewsHour. You can find her on Twitter or through her website.