As I write this, here in my 38th year, I’m struck by a number of what some people might consider failures, and yet others might see as learning experiences. To not put too fine a point on it, this is the writer’s experience in an online nutshell. As for me, I’ve taken several cracks at…
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Live Longer–a no-cal way to add years to your life!
It’s time to read, and write good books for your fans. In a recent Yale study, researchers found that avid readers may live as much as two years longer than non-readers. Details of the study It followed over three thousand people over a 12-year period. They were placed in three groups. Group One was a…
Define Yourself As A Writer
Are you a writer? First, are you SURE you want to be a writer? It’s a tough business. Even in these wide-open days of self-publishing you need to write a good story and hope it strikes a chord with (many) readers. If you want to go the traditional route, your fate is in other hands,…
Copyright Rules for Settings
In my day job as a publishing lawyer, I often get asked how copyright impacts an author’s ability to use a specific setting in works of fiction. Like many other copyright questions (and, honestly, every other question a lawyer gets asked), the answer is “it depends.” Fortunately, the applicable rules are fairly straightforward and easy to analyze. The…
Taming the Worry Monster
Quick – grab a piece of paper and a pen and jot down a list of things you are worrying about. Don’t stop to think whether they are rational or irrational. Don’t try to prioritize. Just scribble them down. Do it now. I’ll wait. While I wait I will contemplate this still life photo of…