by Anne R. Allen The summer writers’ conference season is upon us, and wordsmiths everywhere are packing up laptops, manuscripts, and literary dreams to head for those idyllic retreats where they can polish their craft, learn the latest publishing trends, and hang with successful authors, agents and publishers—for a hefty fee. At some of […]
Writer’s Block and Depression: Why You Shouldn’t Bully Your Muse
by Anne R. Allen Some professional writers claim writer’s block doesn’t exist. They’ll tell you they never have any trouble banging out their daily pages—and laugh at people who do. William Faulkner said, “I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately I am inspired at 9 o’clock every morning.” Terry Pratchett—not earning himself any fans […]
What it Really Means When Your Book Gets Rejected
Today’s guest post is from one of my favorite authors, Ruth Harris. She’s a bestselling author–and a former Big Six editor and publishing executive who has gone over to the indie side. She knows what she’s talking about. Her sales numbers are in the millions. Her fiction has been translated into 19 languages, published […]
Is the E-book the New Query?
by Anne R. Allen If you’re like me, you’re getting a little bored with the indie vs. legacy publishing debate. People are talking a lot of crap on both “sides” of what shouldn’t be an either/or argument in the first place. (See sci-fi author Jeff Carlson’s great post on the subject here.) But this week I […]
Twitter For Shy Persons—Secrets of Stress-free Tweeting
by Anne R. Allen Twitter terrifies me. Seriously. It’s been described as the world’s biggest cocktail party and that sounds about right: cacophonous, shallow, time-consuming Hell for shy, writerly persons. But many experts say authors who are serious about publication MUST be on Twitter. So a year or so ago I steeled myself and […]
Want to be a Successful Author? 10 Things English Majors Have to Unlearn
by Anne R. Allen One of my favorite moments in film happens in Star Trek IV, when the Enterprise crew find themselves back the 20th century. Kirk refers to “the complete works of Jacqueline Susann, the novels of Harold Robbins,” and Spock replies, “Ah… The giants!” Funny bit. But the thing is—they were giants. Not great writers, but […]
Some Caveats for Self-Publishers from Bestselling Author Jeff Carlson
When my post on three questions to ask before you self-publish went viral last week, Thriller and SciFi author Jeff Carlson asked to join in the discussion. I think you’ll find this account of his experiences eye-opening. Thanks, Jeff! Using Both Sides of the Sword by Jeff Carlson Anne and I go back to the 1990s and my […]
12 Signs Your Novel isn’t Ready to Publish
by Anne R. Allen Self-publishing is the trending subject in Cyberia. Last week my post on self pubbing got over 2500 hits. And 60 comments. It not only made “Best of the Best” of Jane Friedman’s “Best Tweets for Writers,” but got a shout-out from publishing blog-god Nathan Bransford. (Thanks, Jane and Nathan!) I’m amazed. Many thanks to all […]
What if Somebody Steals Your Plot?
by Anne R. Allen I often hear from new writers who are afraid their plots will be stolen if they talk about their books online or in critique groups. But I tell them to rest easy. Writers have a lot to be wary of these days—faux agents, bogus publishers, e-book pirates, content mills, James Frey—but […]
3 Questions to Ask Before You Jump on the Indie Publishing Bandwagon
by Anne R. Allen We’re in the midst of seismic changes in the publishing world, with new quakes altering the landscape on a daily basis. The pulp paperback is in its death throes, as mass market houses like Dorchester slink into ignominious bankruptcy. Kindle and the Amazon $2.99 e-book/70% royalty paradigm have changed an […]
Does Social Networking Make You Feel like You’re Back in High School?
by Anne R. Allen A friend who saw the film The Social Network last week said she had one of those back-in-high-school nightmares afterward. You know the kind: you can’t remember the way to class, haven’t studied for the Algebra test, and suddenly realize you’re still wearing your pj’s. You may be a successful fifty-something attorney […]
7 Dos and 7 Don’ts for New Bloggers
by Anne R. Allen Nathan Bransford has spoken. He says it’s never too early for writers to start using social media. Perhaps one day we’ll all be issued Twitter accounts in the womb. Since Nathan is a Thought Leader in our industry (according to Klout) I have a feeling a lot of writers are scrambling […]
Slow Blogging Works: A Blogiversary Success Story
by Anne R. Allen It’s been quite a week. Let’s hope we’re done with disasters for a while. To my neighbors who got evacuated at 7 AM on Friday—and to the tens of thousands affected by the horrors in Japan—my heart goes out to you. I started this blog exactly two years ago today: […]
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