Writers With Wrinkles

Publishers kept saying “great idea, but short story collections are a hard sell.” Then Beth Weinhouse built a pitch showing how much more older readers spend on books, and a press said yes.
Most fiction treats older characters as the wise grandmother or the crotchety sidekick. Beth Weinhouse, co-editor of the short story anthology 20 Over 60, explains why that stereotype was a problem, and what two editors did about it. If you read, write, or want to pitch a book of your own, her story is worth your time. Hit play and let’s dive in.
The Confetti Club segment is a new addition to Writers With Wrinkles, for celebrating authors and their brand-new books.
In this episode:
Why 20 Over 60 exists, and how a 20-year-old joke about 20 Under 30 started it all
What sets short story collections by writers 60 and over apart
How the editors found 20 authors among hundreds of submissions
What it takes to pitch an anthology to agents and presses (and the ageism they suspect)
How to “think like a publisher” when your book idea gets turned down
The story that got away over a missing contract, and why one editor’s own story ended up in the book
What to do when an agent ghosts you (“No is a complete sentence”)
A light-touch editing philosophy, plus a Reader’s Digest detour
Books and authors mentioned:
20 Over 60, edited by Beth Weinhouse and David Galef (Regal House Publishing), available anywhere books are sold
20 Over 40 (the editors’ first anthology, University Press of Mississippi)
Find Beth and David:
Beth Weinhouse: bethweinhouse.com 
David Galef: davidgalef.com
Links for ordering the book are on both sites. Reviews and events are being added.
About Beth Weinhouse: Beth is a freelance journalist who specializes in health, writing for magazines and websites including Reader’s Digest. She started her career at mainstream women’s magazines such as Ladies’ Home Journal. With co-editor David Galef, an English professor, she edited 20 Over 40 and now 20 Over 60.
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Forcing yourself to "just write every day" can make writer's block worse. Author Sylvia Liu shares the sideways fixes that actually get you unstuck.
Writer's block isn't one problem. It's too many ideas, no ideas, a muddy middle, a deadline that's choking you, or a world that feels too loud to write in. Use the wrong fix and you stay stuck for months. Sylvia is a former environmental attorney turned middle grade and dystopian sci-fi author, and her toolkit covers all of those. Lisa got unstuck on her own manuscript live, mid-recording.
In this episode:
Why "writer's block" is really an umbrella term, and how to tell which kind you have
The list-and-mash-up exercise that sparks story ideas (and the summer camp ghost story with horseshoe crabs)
What to do when the news and the scroll are eating your creative energy
Two plot fixes for pantsers: "stakes and agency" and the midpoint swap
Mind maps, chapter thumbnails with emoji, and reverse outlining
How the Beat Sheet Calculator can help with pacing, and why middle grade word counts keep shrinking
Why walking without your AirPods may beat staring at your laptop
The worst writer's block advice Sylvia has heard
Why a throwaway secondary character may be the answer you already planted
Resources and mentions:
Sylvia Liu's website: enjoyingplanetearth.com
Sylvia's newest book, Now That We Don't Talk, released October 6
KidLit411, a resource website and Facebook community for children's writers and illustrators (co-founded by Sylvia and Elaine Kiley Kearns in 2013)
Beat Sheet Calculator, which maps Save the Cat beats to your word count
TBR Live on Instagram, a weekly 30-minute group quiet-reading session
If you're stuck on chapter three, or stuck in your life, hit play. You may walk away with the one tool that gets you writing again.
More  on our blog at writerswithwrinkles.net.
Looking to self publish? Let's chat. Writers With Wrinkles Press now open!
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Ready to turn your manuscript into a published book? Writers With Wrinkles Press handles editing, cover design, formatting, and distribution, and you keep 100% of your royalties. Visit WritersWithWrinklesPress.com and write CONFETTI on your submission to get $500 off your publishing package. Your book. Your moment. Let's make it a celebration.
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What do you do when the story you can't stop thinking about doesn't fit the genre you're known for? Thriller author Dina Marie (Dina Santorelli) took a ghost, a Salem mansion, and a big risk, and ended up with a paranormal cozy mystery series.
She started with zero readers, and her first draft took four weeks. The cost of not knowing how she did it is another year of sitting on an idea that won't leave you alone. Hit play to hear what she learned, and why one very popular ghost is about to get a lot more page time.
In this episode:
The Salem vacation that was never supposed to be work, and the idea that followed
Why her first plan (a paranormal romance) changed course
The "rules" for how ghosts behave in her world
What starting over with no readers looked like, and why she waited ten months to publish
What readers told her about the character they wanted more of
The perfect "if you like X, you'll like this" comparison
A ghost story swap that went way off topic (in the best way)
Books mentioned:
Going Ghost (Salem Spirits, Book 1)
Ghost Rider (Book 2)
Grateful Ghost (Book 8, released in August)
Find Dina's books: https://www.dinamariebooks.com/
More about this episode and the blog: writerswithwrinkles.net
This is the first Confetti Club, our new segment celebrating authors and their brand-new books. Hit play, follow the show, and grab a little confetti. Then tell us which ghost story of ours creeped you out most.
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Ready to turn your manuscript into a published book? Writers With Wrinkles Press handles editing, cover design, formatting, and distribution, and you keep 100% of your royalties. Visit WritersWithWrinklesPress.com and write CONFETTI on your submission to get $500 off your publishing package. Your book. Your moment. Let's make it a celebration.
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We're back in Napa, where the Writers With Wrinkles podcast was born five years ago, with a new book and a new self-publishing press for writers.
Every self-published author we've talked to says the same thing: it was a lot more complicated than they expected. We spent the last year learning why, and we want your manuscript to get out of the drawer with fewer surprises along the way.
Hit play, then visit writerswithwrinklespress.com to send your questions or book a call with us.
In this episode
Why we're celebrating in Napa, the spot where this podcast was hatched
The book: Write, Revise, Publish: Essential Lessons from the Writers With Wrinkles Podcast, out now wherever you buy books
Meet Writers With Wrinkles Press, and why we built it
The one thing everyone says after they self-publish
How to reach us, and what's next for Season 6
Links and next steps
Writers With Wrinkles Press: writerswithwrinklespress.com (ask questions or book a phone call)
Book: Write, Revise, Publish: Essential Lessons from the Writers With Wrinkles Podcast, available everywhere books are sold
Add the book to your Goodreads shelf.
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Your graphic novel isn't a novel. It's a screenplay, and editors can tell from page one whether you know the difference. First Second Books editor Ivan Taurisano explains how to write and submit a graphic novel script that gets read.
Kids ages 8 to 12 head straight for the graphic novel shelf, and prose writers are trying to follow them there. But Ivan says a submission that misses the format doesn't just earn a "not for me." It can earn a "don't send me your next one." Here's what he wants you to know before you write a single panel.
In this episode:
Why writing a graphic novel is closer to writing a screenplay than a prose novel
Revealing character through dialogue alone (no "she looked wistfully at the ocean")
Why editors talk page count, not word count, and the "70,000-word graphic novel" red flag
What to submit for a script-only project vs. an author and illustrator team: script, pitch, synopsis, and 20–30 sample pages
How much art direction is too much, and the one question to ask before you leave an art note
Why illustrators usually earn more than writers
The biggest mistake Ivan sees: art that doesn't match the audience you're pitching
Why kids who read "slightly above their level" become lifelong readers
Adult graphic novels and First Second's sister imprint, 23rd Street
Ivan's manuscript wishlist:
Middle grade graphic novels about girl friendship that capture how big those fights and bonds feel at 10, 11, and 12
Dragons
Early reader graphic novels for ages 4–7, 64–96 pages, any topic
Stories with fresh magic systems
A joyful, new take on the immigrant journey that shows the excitement, not only the hardship
Ivan's inbox (ivan.taurisano@firstsecondbooks.com) is open to agented and unagented creators, and he gives feedback when he passes. 
Books and resources mentioned:
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud (Ivan's must-read before you write a graphic novel)
The Investigators by John Patrick Green
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
Pizza and Taco
Narwhal and Jelly
Parachute Kids
Tuck Everlasting (graphic novel adaptation)
Clara and the Devil
How to Catch Santa Claus (How to Catch series)
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Hit play, then grab a graphic novel for the age group you want to write for. Follow Writers With Wrinkles so you don't miss our next Ask Beth and Lisa episode, and send us your questions!
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Ready to turn your manuscript into a published book? Writers With Wrinkles Press handles editing, cover design, formatting, and distribution, and you keep 100% of your royalties. Visit WritersWithWrinklesPress.com and write CONFETTI on your submission to get $500 off your publishing package. Your book. Your moment. Let's make it a celebration.
Support the show
Visit the Website
Find Full Episodes on YouTube!

Writers with Wrinkles Link Tree for socials and more!