Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Anne R. Allen For some reason, my email address has been a popular target for most of the publishing scams in the last few years. For a while my inbox was stuffed with up to fifty scam emails a day. I must have been the darling of the publishing scam world I call […]
by C. Hope Clark As editor of FundsforWriters.com, I preach ways to earn attention with words and make strides in this craft we love so much, hopefully earning an income doing it. I’ve been guiding writers for 27 years, which is insanely unbelievable to me. Over these years, all 27 of them, the […]
Update from Anne: Many thanks to Mykyta and all the guest writers who have stepped in to keep this blog going as Ruth and I deal with medical issues. My doctors have started me on a new drug that they say just might put my cancer into remission within a few months, and […]
by Denise M. Baran-Unland Full transparency: I’m the reluctant co-founder and leader of a writers group. The group wasn’t my idea, and I fully intended to step away after launching it. Instead, the other leader stepped away to start a family – and a newish member at the time stepped up to co-lead until […]
by Debbie Burke For years, I spun my wheels writing mysteries My heroes were interesting, multi-dimensional, flawed yet likable. My novels won contests, engaged two respected agents, made the submission rounds, and… received rave rejections. Something was missing but I didn’t know what. Finally, epiphany struck. If you’re gonna write crime fiction, you need […]
by Tracy Cooper-Posey For years, I thought I had a good system. Whenever one of my short stories was published—in a magazine, or an anthology—I would celebrate. Then, as soon as the rights reverted, and because I’m an indie author, I’d self-publish the story on the major retail platforms. I was making the same […]
by Yvonne Osborne You can’t blame a writer for what the characters say. – Truman Capote How important is the relationship between a writer and their character? What is the Zone? If you’re a writer, have you been there? If you’re a reader, have you? They are first-cousin related. Let’s go! What is the […]
Note: while Anne is dealing with some health issues, some friends of the blog have stepped up to keep the blog going. This week we have a fun post from one of our favorite authors, Melodie Campbell, “Canada’s Queen of Comedy.” by Melodie Campbell I like to get in the mood, when I’m reading. Here’s […]
by Anne R. Allen Guest blogging is still one of the best free book marketing strategies. Even though blogging has lost some of its luster, visits to some well-chosen blogs can get your book and name in front of a lot of eyeballs, and jumpstart your sales. But in order to land that guest […]
by Anne R. Allen It’s great for writers to make friends on social media. That’s why we’re there. Networking with other writers is essential to a writing career these days. But it’s good to be aware that, like people on the rest of the internet, writers on social media can be the source of […]
Don’t let dangerous critiques turn your novel into a Jackalope by Anne R. Allen This week’s post is an updated version of a post from 2022. I’ve recently seen a number of new writers complain about how difficult it is to please all their beta readers, especially when the readers disagree. So I thought it […]
by Anne R. Allen I was talking with a group of book-loving friends recently, several of whom work in bookstores, and they all lamented the “head-hopping” that has become common in adult bestsellers in the last few years. I agree that head-hopping seems to be everywhere these days. The last several novels I’ve read […]
Yes, you may need eggs, but that doesn’t mean these are chickens. by Anne R. Allen I’ve blogged often about the book publicity scammers who have been targeting writers in the past few months. The scammers are always on my mind because these crooks seem to think I’m their #1 fan. I get up to […]
Anne R Allen’s Blog With Ruth Harris