by Agent Laurie McLean Publishing has been going through tumultuous times of late. Chaos reigns. But that doesn’t scare me. I like chaos. Because when things are crazy it means there are opportunities galore for those willing to dive in and stir things up. And I like change as much as I like […]
Why the Self-Published Ebook is No Longer the “New Query”
by Anne R. Allen A few years ago, soon after the debut of the Kindle e-reader, the world was buzzing with talk of self-published “Kindle Millionaires” like Amanda Hocking and John Locke, and big publishers were beating a path to the doors of all the newly successful self-published ebook writers. Even modestly successful self-publishers […]
Confessions of NYT Bestselling Author Gone Indie
by Eileen Goudge We have a visit from a literary superstar this week. New York Times bestselling author Eileen Goudge has written 32 novels, sold over a million copies, and been translated into 22 languages. I first heard about Ms. Goudge in the 1980s, when my friends and I all ran out to buy her phenomenal […]
Is Talent Overrated? 8 Things that are More Important than Talent for Writing Success
by Anne R. Allen I often run into new writers who want to be reassured they have talent. They sometimes ask me to read some fledgling work in hopes I’ll pronounce them “talented.”I always decline. (A wise author never goes there.) It’s not simply that I can’t fit one more thing into my already […]
How to Turn “Real Life” into Bestselling Fiction…and a Word about Memoirs
by Ruth Harris Writing a novel based on the lives of real people is much more than simply recounting their story—even if it’s a whizz-bang, humdinger of a story. The challenge is turning real people and real events into fiction. Having no guidelines at the time I wrote Decades, I figured it out as I […]
Living with Robot Overlords: How to Survive in Our Cyborg World
by Anne R. Allen Everybody tells us that to succeed as writers in the e-age, we need to be active in social media. And once we get the hang of it, most of us find it a lot of fun. Cyberspace can feel like a big old playground for writers. Look! I can type […]
Do Authors Obsess Too Much About Book Reviews?
by Anne R. Allen Let’s Face it: Getting Reviews is Tough Whether we’re newbies or superstars, traditional or self-publishers, pretty much all authors stress about reviews: getting them…and surviving them. From the time our first book launches, we’re told our number one job is to get reviewed. We send out ARCs, desperately query book bloggers […]
BLOCK-BUSTING: 14 Never-Fail Tricks Every Writer Needs to Know
by Ruth Harris Stuck? Can’t get there from here? Something’s wrong but you don’t know what. You’re chasing your tail in an endless loop with no off-ramps in sight. You’re stalled out at a dead end in a dark, scary forest. Happens to every writer and no one knows why, but your book—and you—have come […]
10 Things that Red-Flag a Newbie Novelist
by Anne R. Allen Beginning novelists are like Tolstoy’s happy families. They tend to be remarkably alike. Certain mistakes are common to almost all beginners. These things aren’t necessarily wrong, but they are difficult to do well—and get in the way of smooth storytelling They also make it easy for professionals—and a lot […]
The Biggest Mistake New Writers Make and 5 Ways to Avoid It
by Anne R. Allen It’s been an exciting week for the blog. Marketing expert Penny Sansevieri named us to the Top 30 Websites for Indies and blog guru Molly Greene named us to her list of must-read “leaders” in self-publishing. (I’m only recently self-published—and most of my work is still with a small press—but […]
Writing Collaboration: Is it Right for You?
by Ruth Harris According to the sublime Cole Porter lyric: Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it.Writers do it, too. Often. Collaborate, that is. Peter Staub and Stephen King paired up to write horror and dark fantasy in The Talisman. Their Black House is a Stoker Award winner. Joe Konrath, an […]
10 Obsolete Beliefs that Can Block Self-Publishing Success
by Anne R. Allen New writers contact us every day, asking questions about everything from how to start their first short story (answer: butt in chair; hands on keyboard) to how to deal with trolls and bullies (don’t respond; walk away; report abuse.)We answer them all—as time permits—but there’s one kind of writer we […]
EDITS, EDITORS, EDITING—The Secret Weapon of Every Successful Writer
by Ruth Harris Editing is life. The blue tie? Or the yellow one? Peter or Paul? Or Mary? You’re an editor—whether or not you know it yet—because to edit is to choose. As a former editor, I’m obviously biased. As a writer, I’ve learned that for me (and for just about every writer I […]
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