I’ve been considering words lately in a deeper way than in the past–their meaning, their power, their significance, all in only a few letters. Consider: “Die!” and “Live!” Such powerful sentiments packed into three or four letters. Checking out a couple of online dictionaries reminded me just how many ways we use the word “word.” […]
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Asking the Wrong Question at the Right Time It all started with Holly’s email on July 26, with this subject line: “SERIES price increase delay… yowls of pain noted” for her ‘How to Write a Series’ course. It was a training I’d known about for a few years, and one I desperately needed. I knew that […]
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Think. Don’t just emote. This advice runs counter to what you’ll get in many, many writers’ guides, courses, and classes, where you’ll find yourself encouraged to “feel the words” and to “feel what your character feels” and where you’ll hear the words “don’t over-analyze.” And frankly, this is good advice as far as it goes. […]
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In part one of Tackling Book Marketing the Hard Way, I gave an overview of the three publishing courses that I’d narrowed my list down to. In this post, I will focus on what I would want to know about the course I finally chose. Or, at least the parts of it that I’ve completed […]
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When I started actually producing books back in 2012, I needed covers. Since my books weren’t bringing in money yet, paying for a designer to create a cover seemed way out of my price range. 2
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I get variations on the following question frequently: How do I write in first-person and still sound like someone else? Here’s my answer. 1
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When a book you adore by a writer you admire hits bestseller lists, makes insane amounts of money, and skyrockets your favorite into writing’s “A” list of superstars, it’s pretty easy to be gracious. After all, you can understand how and why this amazing success happened. The book and the writer both deserved the acclaim. […]
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I recall the first time I indie-published a book on Amazon. After months of bleeding words onto the written page, reading, rewriting, editing, designing a cover, crying in frustration, cursing at my monitor when Amazon asked questions about things mysterious to me, and then finally clicking the coveted “Submit” button…nothing. 3
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The biggest cause of misery for writers who have not succeeded (and one of the biggest causes of writers giving up in despair and quitting altogether) is this: Most writers think they have set goals when in fact they have embraced expectations. 0
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In my editing travels, I come across some issues more than others. Below is a list of the more common things I need to address, in no particular order. 12
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