Matt Bell

#59: How Do You Know Your Book is Finished? Jane Smiley, John Steinbeck, Zadie Smith, Kazuo Ishiguro, Kevin McIlvoy

Last week, I sent my agent (and my first readers) my new novel manuscript! To celebrate, I wrote a newsletter post about the number one question readers of Refuse to Be Done have asked me over the past few years: How do you know when your novel is finished?

I've been a part of the Ursula K. Le Guin prize as a writer and as a judge, and in both cases it was a spectacular experience. Nominations for 2025 works are now open!

Thank you, Karen! Me too. I hope our paths cross sooner rather than later!

Thank you, friend! I'm so glad you're going to be there. Can't wait to see you!

This one also includes my AWP schedule if you'd like to say hi in Baltimore, as well as the information for the next quarterly live lecture for paid subscribers.

#59: How Do You Know Your Book is Finished? Jane Smiley, John Steinbeck, Zadie Smith, Kazuo Ishiguro, Kevin McIlvoy

Last week, I sent my agent (and my first readers) my new novel manuscript! To celebrate, I wrote a newsletter post about the number one question readers of Refuse to Be Done have asked me over the past few years: How do you know when your novel is finished?

TACOMA - Aaron Burch — Autofocus Books ABOUT THE BOOK Inspired to “take a break from life” by the idyllic housesitting situation they were offered for the summer, Aaron and Amber find themselves in Aaron’s hometown of Tacoma, Washington....

I read @aaronburch.bsky.social's TACOMA cover to cover today, and it's so funny and smart and heartfelt. I told him it's "a blow to the idea that great art should come from tragedy! Tacoma is my favorite thing you’ve written and it came out of one of the happiest summers of your life." So good!

Neon Night Mic AWP Offsite Reading Hosted by [neonpajamas] Nicky Beer Alina Pleskova C.T. Salazar Johannes Goransson David Wojciechowski Jon Woodward Michael Martone Katie Jean Shinkle Matt Bell Aaron Burch Chen Chen Henry Goldkamp David Simmons Jose Hernandez Diaz Alina Stefanescu Kenyatta Rogers @ Old Major 900 S. Carey St. Batimore Wednesday, March 4 Doors: 6:00pm Readings: 7:00pm-10:00pm

Might be a couple more additions to the lineup 🤫 but here's what we have in store for Wednesday! Starting AWP on a high note

I’m so sorry, Cathy. You’ve been on my mind so much this past year.

A perfect movie.

Neon Night Mic AWP Offsite Reading Hosted by [neonpajamas] Alina Stefanescu Michael Martone Nicky Beer Johannes Goransson Katie Jean Shinkle David Simmons Kenyatta Rogers Matt Bell Jon Woodward Jose Hernandez Diaz Annelyse Gelman Chen Chen Alina Pleskova C.T. Salazar David Wojciechowski Henry Goldkamp Grant Wamack Old Major 900S. Carey St. Baltimore, MD Wednesday, March 4 Doors: 6:00pm Readings: 7:00pm-10:00pm

Baltimore is the sister city of Philly in my mind & heart—so, so pleased to be here exactly ONE week from today, with this dream blunt rotation (it’s one of those ultra-long ones, okay) 🌆☁️

I’m not sure I realized there were seven of them That’s so many wrestlers in one house!

Ha! I’ve had this conversation too

Friends on the internet, mortal enemies on the mat. So it goes!

It's funny, because I'll never be as strong as I was in high school—I could bench 275 my senior year, and I'm not sure I could do 150 today—but I couldn't run a mile back then and last year I ran 70 in a single day. Same weight, two completely different bodies and modes of athleticism.

As of today, I'm back down to my junior/senior year high school wrestling weight, after dropping almost 30 pounds since September. Now to go buy a singlet and find some 172-lb men my own age to fight!

Ha!

Yes please!

Me too!

I hope we run into each other! I love Baltimore and am glad to be coming back.

Haha, it’s always the worst news!

Just now booked my flight for AWP. Glad I finally admitted "next month" is in fact "next week"!

keep seeing people talking about Hugo and Nebula nominations which means it is my professional duty to remind you that nominations for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize open on SUNDAY

I loved it so much!

Oh, my family is getting so many copies of that!

I draft in single space blocks probably until the first time I share some of it with someone else!

Yes! I was also an editor for a long time too, and I wonder how much of it is simply that if I'm writing a book I make it look like a book!

Haha, doing it to someone else's book was what made me think this!

I just opened up the first day of work on the novel I'm finishing, and on day 1 it had a title page, page numbers, a table of contents, and three epigraphs. I think I start pretty formal!

A mystery of other people's manuscripts: why do so many writers not insert page numbers into their documents? My guess: they never print anything, and so don't need to navigate their manuscripts by page. But who knows! It's been a mystery to me for as long as I've been in workshops.