Writing and Publishing News

We’re putting the finishing touches on SPAWNews this long weekend. SPAWNews is the official newsletter for SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network). http://www.spawn.org. It’s a process. Our newsletter editor, Sandy, in St. Louis, compiles the newsletter and includes her editorial. Several of us contribute things such as book reviews, Q and A, contests, opportunities, [...]

It’s tempting to just push on through and write that book without coming up for air until it is finished. Then, while your book is with your choice of POD “self-publishing” companies, you relax a little and decide to take this time to learn something about the publishing industry. You purchase a good book on [...]

I’ve always been one to get bored easily. But I can quickly find something interesting to do. It’s imperative, to my sense of well-being, that my days are filled with variety. I had that variety while I was raising my three daughters. I enjoyed practically every aspect of homemaking—caring for my girls, preparing healthy meals, [...]

Don’t you sometimes feel as though you are all alone in the world of book promotion? You reach out with announcements and information about your wonderful book and all you hear is silence. You wonder if anyone is listening. You question whether your message is breaking through. You worry that you are not hitting your [...]

I frequently get question from clients, SPAWN members, authors and freelance writers that I’ve met at various events and those who find me through my site or writings. These questions range from simple to complex. Some of them I can answer off the top of my head and others take some research—research that the writer [...]

I love book signings. I like attending those of my colleagues (I believe it’s important to support our fellow authors in this way) and I enjoy greeting people who attend mine. I had a very successful book signing at Borders Westend in Nashville March 31 of this year. We attracted something like 21 people, who [...]

Have you ever taken an online course? I teach 4 courses now—on demand and online. This means that you can sign up at any time for the course of your choice and I’ll present the course to you over 6 (or 8) consecutive weeks. Here’s how it works: I prepare a lecture and an assignment [...]

I tell every hopeful author and freelance writer who will listen that knowledge is one key to their publishing success. But where can you go to get information about the publishing industry, to become familiar with the resources you need, to be ever aware of the opportunities and keep up with the changes within the [...]

How fast do things move off your desk? Do you let tasks and requests pile up until you can find enough time to handle it all? Do you spend X amount of time on these accumulating items each day/week? Or do you take care of business as it comes in? I tend to be of [...]

It seems like a good idea to write a novel, memoir, self-help book or ___________ (you fill in the blank). But is it, really? What makes you believe that you should spend months or years writing this book? How do you know there is a need or desire for it? Are you sure that there [...]