Writing and Publishing News

One of my articles appeared in Working Writer Magazine this month. If you subscribe to Working Writer, be sure to read it. It’s called “How to Finally Build a Freelance Career Or Finish That Writing Project.” This 12-page newsletter is $12.95 for the print version and $6.00 for the email version. Order your subscription at [...]

Yes, times are tough financially. We’re all experiencing job layoffs, work slowdowns, loss of customers/clients, losses in our investments and so forth. There’s no pretty picture painted in our wallets or on our bank statements. But is this any reason to set your dream aside—to skimp on your amazing book project? I am concerned about [...]

Have you heard the buzz word, Affiliate Marketing, lately? Do you know what it is? Have you become involved? Or are you still standing on the outside, scratching your head, wondering what it is? What is it? It’s actually something quite similar to the “pay-per-click” program. It’s just a bit more common, maybe more sophisticated [...]

Do you engage in bartering? Perhaps you trade your abundance of home-grown squash for your neighbor’s profusion of tomatoes. Or maybe you watch your cousin’s kids in exchange for a haircut or home-cooked meal. I know someone who bartered with a photographer for some family photos in trade for tickets to a theme park. Last [...]

I often receive emails from authors who have read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. They start their message by thanking me for writing the book and telling me how much it helped them and then they proceed to say one of the following: • I published my book [...]

Is writing so much a part of your core-self that you simply can’t not write? Or are you one of those people who sees an opportunity and has decided to take advantage of it by jumping on the writing/publishing bandwagon? More people than ever are attempting to earn a few bucks by hiring out as [...]

How has your world as a freelance writer or author changed this year? Are you noticing differences in your income, your number of clients, your number of assignments, how quickly you are being paid, the number of books you are selling, etc? Is the recession finally starting to touch you where it hurts—your livelihood, your [...]

Did you notice that I missed a day of blogging? And today, I hope to post two blog entries—one for this blog site and one for my Catscapades site. http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades. Why didn’t I blog yesterday? I was working on some genealogy material. How many of you writers have written or are writing or even plan [...]

How do you sell your books? Which of your activities, events or ploys result in the most book sales? Is there a particular region where you sell more books? If you haven’t figured this out, it’s time that you do. Do you sell more books during speaking engagements, demonstrations and presentations? What about book festivals [...]

Have you cried “Uncle,” yet? Have you thrown in the towel? Are you finished with trying to write for a living or promoting your book? Has the economy and personal circumstances simply made it impossible for you to continue along the path of your heart’s desire? Are you just too frightened to live your dream? [...]