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Surf's Up in Slop City
How should authors navigate a world with disappearing books coverage and a rising flood of AI slop books?
Feb 10
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Lincoln Michel
176
63
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Why Literature Needs a Punk Rock Mindset
The Washington Post shutting down its books coverage is a reminder that we have to do it ourselves
Feb 5
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Lincoln Michel
370
43
133
Why "Plot" Isn't a Four-Letter Word
On teaching yourself plotting and part one of an attempt to describe my "Principles of Plotting"
Jan 30
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Lincoln Michel
182
46
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Most Popular
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Turning Off the TV in Your Mind
Dec 12, 2024
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Lincoln Michel
1,306
101
222
No, Most Books Don't Sell Only a Dozen Copies
Sep 4, 2022
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Lincoln Michel
200
62
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Three Thoughts on the NYT Top 100: Missing Millennials, Fading Autofiction, the Genre-Bending Era
Jul 13, 2024
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Lincoln Michel
311
88
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What Lasts and (Mostly) Doesn't Last
Aug 21, 2024
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Lincoln Michel
210
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Yes, People Do Buy Books
Apr 25, 2024
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Lincoln Michel
718
97
135
Short Little Difficult Books
Nov 18, 2025
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Lincoln Michel
538
91
126
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Don't Draft Shakespeare into Your Genre Wars
Plus asshole autofiction and a history book recommendation to understand the chaos of the news
Jan 16
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Lincoln Michel
80
14
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Why You Should Read Gene Wolfe (and Where to Start)
On the science fiction author that even literary snobs will love
Jan 8
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Lincoln Michel
121
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Thoughts on Publishing a Novel in 2025
Plus, the Counter Craft Year-End Round-Up
Dec 23, 2025
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Lincoln Michel
132
25
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Processing: How Brandon Taylor Wrote Minor Black Figures
The author on embodied characters, writing process, and how “a novel should show people fighting and striving against and with and for and alongside…
Dec 20, 2025
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Lincoln Michel
114
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The Best Books I Read in 2025 (That Weren't Published in 2025)
On Homer, Iris Murdoch, Jun’ichiro Tanizaki, and other authors I loved reading this year.
Dec 12, 2025
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Lincoln Michel
109
30
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Books as Art Projects
On books you want to hold in your hand or slip in your pocket
Dec 5, 2025
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Lincoln Michel
73
19
9
Literary Philosophy and Philosophical Literature
On philosophers who wrote novels and novelists inspired by philosophy
Nov 25, 2025
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Lincoln Michel
106
28
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Short Little Difficult Books
Novels that challenge with style, story, or form that you can read in a day.
Nov 18, 2025
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Lincoln Michel
538
91
126
Interview: Fisher the Bookseller Explains How Bookstores Decide Which Books to Sell
The ins and outs of how books are bought and sold in bookstores
Nov 6, 2025
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Lincoln Michel
148
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24
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