Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
Ever wished you could unsend email? Now Gmail lets you do that…and more! by Nate Hoffelder. With Google releasing a new version of Gmail, now is a great time to reconsider how we can use Gmail to get more done. Gmail is possibly the most widely used email service, but are you getting the most out […]
Personality disorders can create a distorted self-image. by Anne R. Allen. Most of the truly rotten villains in fiction are what used to be called “psychopaths.” (Now clinically known as people with ASPD: Anti-Social Personality Disorder.) These are people who have no conscience and no empathy. But psychopaths can make boring fiction. Psychopathic villains have […]
Are old manuscripts gathering dust in your archives? by Ruth Harris. Every writer has (at least) one and probably more. They’re the old manuscripts we—most certainly including Anne and me—started but didn’t finish or did finish but somehow went off track. They’re our false starts, our duds and misfires, our first novels, our practice novels, […]
Social media is about being sociable. by Frances Caballo. Dan Zarrella, author of The Science of Marketing, said in his book, “I’ve long been interested in the idea that engaging in conversation is the single most important function of social media marketing.” He’s right. And so is David Alston, a startup advisor and TEDx speaker. He […]
By Anne R. Allen. This week, Jane Friedman reports some bad news for new novelists who want to go the traditional publishing route. She says fiction markets are increasingly “more competitive and risk-averse due to continued dwindling sales.” And she tells us that agents and publishers are now combing queries looking for “authors who demonstrate they […]
by Dave Chesson. I’m a big believer in making the most of the time we have to write and getting the best possible output from it. After all, for most writers, time is the ultimate luxury. We can always experience ebbs and flows in sales or followers, but time is truly a finite resource. Once […]
Writing a novel synopsis doesn’t have to be a miserable chore. by Anne R. Allen. I have yet to meet a writer who enjoys writing a novel synopsis. Unfortunately, we all need to write them. Yes, even self-publishers. I sometimes see people in writing groups and forums who gloat when there’s a discussion of how […]
by Ruth Harris I’ve been published for decades. Random House and Simon & Schuster paid me well to publish my books in hard cover and paperback. My books have sold millions of copies, been translated into 19 languages, and appeared on Amazon and NYTimes bestseller lists. Shouldn’t I know by now wtf I’m doing? Shouldn’t […]
I’m tired of book bloggers getting no respect. by Anne R. Allen The contempt some business people have for bloggers never ceases to amaze me. Every day I get emails demanding I do free work for companies that are obviously solvent enough to hire employees—so why do they imagine it’s okay to demand that bloggers […]
Novellas, novelettes, and serial fiction are no longer “old fashioned.” by Mara Purl Do you know what George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, and H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds have in common? They’re not novels. They’re novellas. Novellas went out of style in […]
Writing scams are like old-time snake-oil elixirs. Beware the smooth-talking charlatan. by Anne R. Allen A couple of months ago I wrote about some of the weird writing scams that have been showing up in my email inbox. A number of my online author friends have since told me they’ve been getting them too. So […]
Fantasy is what keeps writers going… by Ruth Harris Does any of this sound familiar? Fantasy: Oodles of long, uninterrupted stretches of time in which to dream, think, imagine. Reality: Rewriting/revising/editing that *%$& chapter for the umpteenth time. Fantasy: A leisurely afternoon at a baseball game, or at the park, or relaxing in a hammock. […]
Aggression, greed, and paranoia do not enhance your author brand. by Anne R. Allen Recently there’s been a bizarre drama going on in the book world. It’s been given the name #cockygate, because it involves a cocky author who managed to trademark the word “cocky” in a deluded attempt to eliminate the “competition” and “protect” […]
