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,…
Category: General Interest
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…
The Afterglow of Revision
At last, I hit Control Save on my revision of my second thriller, Red Sky, and emailed it to my editor. Woo hoo!! As writers I’m sure you all know how great it feels to type the end and know you’ve finished a scene, a chapter, a book. You also know how painful it can…
The Writer’s Nightmare Before Christmas
The holidays are coming…can you feel your writing time slipping away? I love the holidays, the lights, the costumes, the decorations, the family, the baking—presents. The one thing is, those months ALWAYS knock me off my word count track. Usually this is not a huge problem. I pick back up in January and keep plugging…