The Other Side of the Story is Now Fiction University!

I don't think it's possible to redesign a site and not make a joke about "you might have noticed some new changes," so...you might have noticed the new look this visit.

The rebranding to Fiction University has been in the works for a while now, and we're excited to take the site in this more focused direction. My goal has always been to educate writers and help them improve their craft, and we'll be offering more ways to do that in 2014.

This will be an on-going process, so please pardon our digital dust during this renovation. Besides the new look, the URL will change to fiction-university.com in the coming month. While we don't expect any snags you never know how the internet will behave. If you come across any weirdness accessing the site in the next week or so, this is why. Rest assured we'll be working to fix any issues that might occur as quickly as possible. Our plan is to have support for existing links using the original URL (blog.janicehardy.com) as well as the new URL, as long as Google and Yahoo behave themselves.

What's New and What's to Come...

The How They Do It column has moved to Tuesdays, and there's a great lineup of authors and tips for the year. As an added twist--throughout the year we'll also hear from a writer "In the Trenches" and gain some insight from those still in the submission stage. It's far too easy for writers to feel alone during this tough stage of their careers, and these articles will show that they're not alone.

The new Indie Authors column is on Thursdays. This column will share information and tips for those looking to self publish, covering a variety of topics from detailed how-tos to creating an e-book, to overviews on self publishing trends and philosophies.

There are over 1000 solid writing articles on the site, so look to Refresher Fridays for a helpful article from the archives you might have missed the first time around.

Real Life Diagnostics remains on Saturdays and the random Sunday, critiquing works in progress and answering questions pertaining to those works.

A revised site contents menu bar to make finding the articles easier, with more categories and links to find just what you need when you need it.

For those just starting out or those who need a reminder, you'll find helpful definition links on writing terms, with links to additional articles that explore the topic in more detail.

Here's what else you can look forward to in 2014:

• Forums so readers can discuss writing and publishing, and even critique each other's work (Spring).
• Developmental editing and writing coaching services (Summer).
• Online classes (Fall).

And finally, the release of my first writing book, Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure (March). This is book one of a series designed to help writers take an idea, develop it into a novel, write that novel, and ultimately submit and publish it. It will be available in both e-book and paperback format, with a workbook to follow.

It's going to be a great year here at the new Fiction University.