We humans aren’t good at seeing our own flaws, especially in our writing. When we look at something we wrote, we know exactly what we intended to say. So when we read the words back to ourselves—get this—it makes perfect sense to us! Our brain automatically fills in any gaps, ignores the hiccups, even glosses…
So you’re sitting there in front of your laptop looking at a blank screen. You can’t seem to get yourself to write the next line. Or . . . You’ve set aside this day to write. The friends and family have been shooed away and the phone has been turned off. You sit down to…
You’re deeply in love with your quirky, witty, somewhat grumpy teenage protagonist. You know their faults, flaws, and strengths by heart, as well as what kind of viscous liquid sugar they drizzle (or don’t) over their coffee. You’re endeared by their crabby sense of humor, their mood swings, and their impatience with grown-ups. In fact,…
Having finally finished my (overdue) manuscript, I’m trying to get back into marketing. It just so happens that one of the author loops I’m on was recently discussing this subject. I immediately noticed that since the last time I paid attention, book marketing seems to have gotten more complex. There are so many more options….
There are iconic writing craft books—think Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird or Stephen King’s On Writing. And then there are many “also rans,” books that may not have garnered the acclaim or audience of such bestsellers. But wait! These are gems. They may hide in the shadows because the craft book shelf is crowded to…