Literary Convictions

Literary Convictions

Home
Notes
Archive
About
You don't have to read fifty books a year (or, how I got these comp titles)
A love letter to reading a lot, through drafting, querying, and revising and beyond
 • 
Nina Michiko Tam
Three days in the life of a 28-year-old debut author in July
Amidst first-round revisions, civil-rights attorney-ing, and cooking weeknight dinners
 • 
Nina Michiko Tam
8
Three unverified tips for cold querying agents
On personalizing queries and batching versus vibes
 • 
Nina Michiko Tam

June 2025

The terror and thrill of my first edit letter
On whether pressure is a privilege, getting edits back on the first day of a new job, and tackling revisions when I'm the busiest I've ever been
 • 
Nina Michiko Tam
7
JD vs. MFA: "Law can circumscribe your world and fiction can break you out"
An interview with Vaishnavi Patel on her latest novel, lawyer tunnel-vision, and going feral
 • 
Nina Michiko Tam
2
Week Three of Never Let Me Go: "It felt like the three of us were close again"
On triangular relationships creating propulsion and tension
 • 
Nina Michiko Tam
2

May 2025

Week Two of Never Let Me Go: "These incidents now feel full of significance"
On reminiscence creating significance and dread, and the midpoint reveal
 • 
Nina Michiko Tam
3
You don't have to write every day
On consistency over time, and lessons from running
 • 
Nina Michiko Tam
9
Week One of Never Let Me Go: "My name is Kathy H."
On the narrative perch in Chapters One through Four
 • 
Nina Michiko Tam
1
Kickoff: A month of Never Let Me Go
Remembering my first reading of this book about memory
 • 
Nina Michiko Tam
6
The scary choice to rearrange your life for your writing
On taking a leap
 • 
Nina Michiko Tam
12
Join me in reading Never Let Me Go on its 20th anniversary!
A month of trying something new by rereading something twenty-years old
 • 
Nina Michiko Tam
4
© 2025 Nina Michiko Tam
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture