writer's life
December 5, 2023
Yes Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how authors can benefit from it is very hyped right now. I’ve heard a lot of people complain that “everyone will be using it and producing 5, 10 15 (name the magic number) of books every year and it will be even harder to compete. The hype is to appeal […]
June 8, 2022
This is an update and expansion of an article I wrote for the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) three years ago. No one wants to think about death, but the reality is it happens to all of us. Many writers have likely written a will–either by using a template on one of many legal sites […]
March 15, 2022
What genre am I? This is a question I hear all the time from new writers and even seasoned writers who aren’t seeing sales in the genre they selected. With what appears to be thousands of selection on Amazon, and admittedly close to 5,000 on BISAC it is quite confusing. So, I created a handout […]
November 3, 2021
This is an updated post from one I wrote on a guest blog six years ago when someone made a comment that anyone not currently raising children couldn’t write children’s books or YA books because they wouldn’t have the right “voice” for it. Of course, I completely disagreed. As I begin writing a Middle Grade […]
FOMO is the “fear of losing out”. In the era of social media, advertising, and ease of getting information in front of you, it is easy to FEEL that there is too much you have to do to make it in this world and that the publishing world is changing too fast to stay on […]
October 28, 2021
Recently, someone shared a Substack post titled No One Will Read Your Book (and other truths about publishing) As you can imagine it got a lot of interaction on the discussion board where it was shared. Very successful writers, average writers, and those who barely make a living all chimed in about how hard it […]
August 2, 2020
It’s been a long while since I’ve written a blog posts for writers. There are a thousand reasons I haven’t been posting, but I won’t bore you with them here. Some people thrive when the world is in chaos and it dries them to escape to their writing rooms. I know several authors who have […]
January 31, 2020
I wish it was easy to take a series of blogs and turn them into a book and simply start collecting the money. It’s not. It’s a lot of work, but it can be worth it depending on what you hope to get out of that effort. I’ve seen several articles or comments on articles […]
January 14, 2020
Every writer has certain software tools that she depends on to make her life easier. The ten tools below are my choices. I’m picky about software that works for the way both my creative brain and business brain work. For me time is money. Note that all links below go directly to vendors. I am […]
December 5, 2019
Whenever I talk to writers who have not paid attention to building an email list, invariably I hear things like the following: “I don’t want to spend time building an email list because it means I have to be a salesperson.” “I know I should have one, but I don’t know what to say.” “I’m […]
November 29, 2019
I have to give props to DRM for his honest article on the need to be loved and the impact of negative comments about our writing in a public environment. Why Do We Care So Much What Strangers Think of Us? It triggered my own struggle with being a good writer, one who helps others […]
November 18, 2019
I recently read an article that suggested: “If you want to be a great writer, stop reading.” This idea came to the author because he was chagrined to find himself subconsciously writing in a style of someone he admires. I think we all do that when we start out. For me, his primary premise revolved […]
