When I first signed my book with a small press, I knew I was being slingshotted into fame. When it did not happen, I blamed myself, my marketing efforts, even my talent for not becoming an overnight sensation. The duty to get my name out there sapped all joy I once found in crafting a…
Tag: writing life
No Greenhorns Allowed
My wife and I are getting ready to move, so recently I went through all my stuff. We’ve taken a sh*t-ton of stuff to Goodwill. Lots of the jettisoned crap wouldn’t even be worthy of a kiss-off, “Namaste” blessing from Marie Kondo. But I’m not tossing my stack of agent and editor rejections. Why? I…
Return on Investment
Event: A four-hour slot to sell books at Off the Beaten Path bookstore in downtown Steamboat Springs. Date: Friday, February 15. Time: 4 to 8 p.m. Expenses: Seven hours of driving (354 miles round-trip, including the return home through a major snowstorm via Wolcott and Interstate 70). $79 for a room at the Travelodge in…
Sit some, sweat some, nourish your creativity!
If the only exercise you get is shuffling manuscript pages, poring over research, or hunching over your keyboard, listen up. Right now, without cheating, walk to a mirror with your current posture and look at yourself. Hours of sagging over your computer can do great harm. Ask me. In my early writing days, I was…
Write like…
Write like your best friend just called to say she read the first fifty pages of your latest/greatest and she thinks it’s your best work yet. Write like tomorrow’s schedule is breaking rocks with a sledgehammer. Dawn to dusk. Write like you don’t care. Write like you understand, deep down, how much fun it is…