It's past midnight and you're dying for sleep, but lie awake with your characters screaming to get out. Dear writer, you're not alone. You've created the story of your heart, and you send it into the world, only to earn a growing list of pass letters. Dear writer, you're not alone. You're tired and wonder … Continue reading Dear Writer, You’re not Alone
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Let. Go.
I've been in a few conversations lately that remind me how much writers treat their works like their children. I have a good friend who I'm sure will hit the publishing world in a big way at some point. There's a fantasy he's been working on for a long time. It's the first writing project … Continue reading Let. Go.
Four Letter Word
FOUR LETTER WORD and what it takes to get a story right. I met Christa Desir sometime in 2012, and I feel SO incredibly lucky to know her for about a million reasons. I started writing an intro to her publication story of this book, but she says it all much better, so here's the … Continue reading Four Letter Word
YAY! I made it! Oh, wait…
A frenzy of self-publishing followed Amazon's program to allow authors to publish their own works. A bit slowly at first, and then an explosion in 2011 and 2012, which is still exploding. And no, Amazon wasn't the only company, but they were, and still are, the largest. Some of the big names to come out … Continue reading YAY! I made it! Oh, wait…
what the BL*RB to write next
You wanna write books that'll sell? Sell them to yourself first. The more years I spend writing, the more I see the benefits of having a workable pitch before I start writing, and the more I beg others to do the same. This helps keep the focus of the project as narrow as it … Continue reading what the BL*RB to write next
Humilty & Ego
There's a place for both humility and ego in any creative project. Ego has its place in drafting, in creating, in crafting... Humility is needed for editing and yes, crafting goes here too. The one time I get the perfect balance of humility and ego is when I'm working on a project with another author. … Continue reading Humilty & Ego
Wanna Know How/Where to Start Your Novel?
Wanna Know How/Where to Start Your Novel? Read a TON of first chapters. I'll talk about published ones today, and unpublished ones in another post. On my week of not-writing, one of the things I did was go to Amazon and read a TON of first chapters. (I may write up something on how important … Continue reading Wanna Know How/Where to Start Your Novel?
Spreading Writerly Wings
2016 was a year of experimentation for me, writing and publishing wise. (yes, this post is a bit of a ME post...) I've branched into new areas of publishing by interning for a literary agency I have massive amounts of respect for. Yes, I'm doing this specifically to become a lit agent, but I'm taking … Continue reading Spreading Writerly Wings
Do NOT Apologize for Your Genre
OK. I'm going to keep this simple, because I like simple. 1. There are people who love reading in every genre. Don't do them the disrespect of looking down on a genre - even your own. 2. Publishing is HARD. Having novels come out into the world is HARD. The part that should be fun … Continue reading Do NOT Apologize for Your Genre
There are NO wasted words
I've deleted a lot of words. I've left ENTIRE novels to rot on my hard drive. I've re-written some of those "left to rot" novels without opening the original document. I've cut chapters. Words. Characters. Places. I've re-done entire endings. Sometimes more than once. I've re-organized and spend all day deleting and adding and … Continue reading There are NO wasted words
