Writing and Publishing News

Yesterday’s blog post featured what it takes to be an author. Today, I’d like to say a few words about how to get that training, those skills and the information you need in order to move more comfortably and successfully through the publishing process. By “publishing process,” I mean the writing, producing and marketing of […]

Anyone who tells you that authorship isn’t a business and that it doesn’t require a multitude of skills, has never fully enmeshed him/herself into the role of author. So what does authorship entail? You can either dive blindly into publishing and find out for yourself, which is, unfortunately, what too many newbie authors do. Or […]

Everyone has a back-story. I’m interested in the back-stories of some of the individuals who are offering services to the many authors entering the wide world of publishing. I notice that more and more long-time professionals are starting to speak out against the sharks that have shown up in the publishing waters since publishing became […]

Do you blog? Do you comment at other blog sites related to your topic/genre? I know all too well how difficult it is to do all of the promotion it takes in order to succeed with a book project. It’s impossible to do everything you should be doing and cover all of your bases. Here’s […]

Do you go out and speak as a way to promote your book? Or do you still shake in your boots at the thought of speaking in public? But it is such a great way to get word out about your novel or a nonfiction book. If at all possible, you really should be doing […]

A season of distractions is upon us. And distractions can be a writer’s nemeses. It’s not enough that we must try to write when there are others in the household at least periodically requiring our attention—“Mom, can I go play at Brittany’s house?” “Honey, where do we keep the peanut butter?” or “Hi, neighbor—wanna hear […]

At what point does one become an expert or a professional? Have you ever considered this question related to yourself or others? Sometimes you read an interview with a celebrity who considers him/herself a “fake.” I believe that they say this because they reached a level of celebrity or perceived success rather quickly/suddenly or simply […]

Today, I want to share my thoughts on book promotion and the author. I think we’ve had things backwards for quite a while. We say, “Write the book and then figure out how to promote it.” We started getting it closer to right when we began suggesting, “Build your author’s platform while you’re writing your […]

The question of permissions comes up fairly often among my clients. Some people like using famous quotes in their manuscripts. Others quote individuals they know or experts in their field. And, when it comes time to think about publishing their books, they begin to consider getting permission to use these quotes. Well, actually, if they’re […]

Do things come to you in duplicate or does that happen to me because I am a Gemini? Yesterday, I wrote about revenge-writing (or writing to find peace or to free oneself from the clutches of an unhappy life or unpleasant situation). That afternoon, I received a note from another writer with a personal story […]