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October 1, 2017 By Anne R. Allen 177 Comments

Author Pen Names: 5 Reasons they’re a Bad Idea in the Digital Age

Author Pen Names: 5 Reasons they’re a Bad Idea in the Digital Age

Ben Franklin used many pen names. Should you? by Anne R. Allen Should you use different pen names if you write in different genres? Do you need to write under a pseudonym because people at work might find out you write steamy romances? Is it easier to write freely if you hide your real identity […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business, The Writing Life Tagged With: author branding, boxed set scams, Kristen Lamb, Pen Names, pseudonyms, The Best Revenge

September 3, 2017 By Anne R. Allen 70 Comments

Don’t Fall Prey to Publishing Scams: 7 New Writer Mistakes to Avoid

Don’t Fall Prey to Publishing Scams: 7 New Writer Mistakes to Avoid

Predators are looking for newbies who make these mistakes. by Anne R. Allen We all make mistakes. It’s how people learn. But some new writer mistakes can end a writing career before it starts. They play into the hands of the predators who make money off the delusions of newbie writers. Ruth and I are […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: avoiding scams, Boomer Women, contemporary fiction writing, critique groups and criticism, practice novels, The Golden Quill Awards, vanity press, Writer's Boon

August 27, 2017 By Anne R. Allen 24 Comments

How to Create an “Idea Bank” that will Block that Writer’s Block!

How to Create an “Idea Bank” that will Block that Writer’s Block!

How to open an account at the idea bank. by Ruth Harris As Anne said in her recent post, being “blocked” is the #1 issue for new writers and she offered 14 suggestions for ways to “fill the well.” In today’s post, I am going to take a deep dive into a few specific ways […]

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Filed Under: The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: A Kiss at Kihali, How to get writing ideas, idea bank, Ruth Harris, Writers block

July 30, 2017 By Anne R. Allen 30 Comments

The Writer’s Discomfort Zone: How to Survive—and Thrive

The Writer’s Discomfort Zone: How to Survive—and Thrive

In the discomfort zone? How to get through the day. by Ruth Harris “It’s a cut-throat industry,” said English author Sean Thomas (his real name) quoted recently in the Wall Street Journal. The international bestselling author of The Ice Twins, S.K. Tremayne aka Tom Knox, (both pen names of Mr. Thomas), was not talking about violent drug cartels […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business, The Writing Life Tagged With: advice for writers, anxiety in writers, creativity, discomfort zone, Husband Training School, Ruth Harris

July 23, 2017 By Anne R. Allen 70 Comments

Writer’s Block and Depression: Why Writers Need to “Fill the Well”

Writer’s Block and Depression: Why Writers Need to “Fill the Well”

Writer’s block can be a sign of incipient depression. by Anne R. Allen Writer’s block is probably the most popular topic in the writing posts on Medium, the popular new (ish) blogging platform. Lots of Millennials use Medium, and their posts offer an insight into our culture’s future. I’ve been amazed to see how many young […]

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Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: Angela Macintosh, depression in writers, Julia Cameron, Keri Knutson, Lindsay Knowles, Medium, Nancy Andreasen, So Much for Buckingham, The Queen of Staves, Writers block

July 2, 2017 By Anne R. Allen 84 Comments

How To Write Contemporary Fiction: Don’t Write for Leo Tolstoy’s Audience

How To Write Contemporary Fiction: Don’t Write for Leo Tolstoy’s Audience

Writing contemporary fiction? Don’t rewrite War and Peace. by Anne R. Allen I recently read on an agent’s blog, “Nobody’s looking for War and Peace.” And alas, I fear it’s true. I can’t remember the last time I said, “I want to get into a big 19th century novel.”  (And there was a time when […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: classic authors, contemporary fiction writing, Ghostwriters in the Sky, Janice Hardy, newbie advice, Radish, Ruth Harris, writing guidelines, writing rules

June 25, 2017 By Anne R. Allen 35 Comments

6 Fantasies Standing Between You and Writing Success—and How to Fight Back

6 Fantasies Standing Between You and Writing Success—and How to Fight Back

Writing Success happens, but you need to leave Middle Earth, Hobbitses by Ruth Harris Whether we write Space Opera or Women’s Fiction, Romance or Thrillers, our job is fantasy. We make up characters, imagine lives we never led (Spy? Shifter? Wizard? Supermodel? Yarn shop owner? Billionaire? Serial killer?), go to places we’ve never travelled to […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life Tagged With: A Kiss at Kihali, newbie advice, publishing tips, Ruth Harris, Writing tips

May 28, 2017 By Anne R. Allen 31 Comments

Why Writing Rules (Usually) Don’t Work, But Writing Guidelines Do

Why Writing Rules (Usually) Don’t Work, But Writing Guidelines Do

 Writing guidelines can help us climb that “book mountain”  by Ruth Harris A breath-taking article about a Polish team of mountaineers planning to climb K2 in the winter—a risky-to-the-max feat that has never been accomplished—reminded me that every book is K2, a mountain that has never been climbed. Like expert climbers, writers make progress step […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: advice for writers, Love and Money, pantser vs. planner, Ruth Harris, writing rules, Writing tips

May 21, 2017 By Anne R. Allen 68 Comments

Practice Novels: 10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Publish that 1st Novel…Yet

Practice Novels: 10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Publish that 1st Novel…Yet

Most authors start with practice novels. Some may be publishable…later. by Anne R. Allen We often hear stories about authors who have phenomenal success with a “first novel.” I’m sure most writers fantasize about being one of those success stories as we begin our careers. I sure did. But here’s what I didn’t know when […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life, uncategorized, Writing Craft Tagged With: advice for writers, Eileen Goudge, Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee, newbie advice, practice novels, pre-publication, The Lady of the Lakewood Diner, Writing tips

May 7, 2017 By Anne R. Allen 62 Comments

10 Writing Career Mistakes I Made So You Don’t Have To

10 Writing Career Mistakes I Made So You Don’t Have To

 Writing career mistakes will happen, but these are some you can avoid.  by Anne R. Allen Ruth and I like to say we made all the writing career mistakes so you don’t have to. I figure that I’ve collected nearly the full set of authorial faux pas since I embarked on a writing career. So today I’m […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life, Writers Dealing with Reviews and Rejection, Writing Craft Tagged With: "selling out", Anne R. Allen, critique groups and criticism, newbie advice, querying agents, The Best Revenge

April 30, 2017 By Anne R. Allen 65 Comments

Rejection and Failure: Why There’s a Difference, and Why Neither Means You Should Quit

Rejection and Failure: Why There’s a Difference, and Why Neither Means You Should Quit

Rejection and failure make you think of quitting? Be like Thomas Edison instead. by Ruth Harris Rejection can make us want to cry and/or break things but rejection is almost never personal and often has nothing to do with your book, either. The sting of rejection can be bullied into submission with a can-do, eff-you […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life, Writers Dealing with Reviews and Rejection, Writing Craft Tagged With: failure, fear of failure, rejection, Ruth Harris, The Last Romantics

April 16, 2017 By Anne R. Allen 42 Comments

How to Give a Book Reading: A Bashful Author’s Guide

How to Give a Book Reading: A Bashful Author’s Guide

Giving a book reading? Here’s how to do it right! By Melodie Campbell It’s a fact:  when I read from my work in public, I sell books.  When I don’t read, I don’t sell.  This may seem obvious.  If you are not on the New York Times bestseller list, then many of the people in […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Writing Life Tagged With: Book tours, How to Give a Book Reading, Melodie Campbell, The Bootlegger's Goddaughter

April 2, 2017 By Anne R. Allen 145 Comments

Are Slow Writers Doomed to Fail in the Digital Age?

Are Slow Writers Doomed to Fail in the Digital Age?

by Anne R. Allen I first blogged about the plight of slow writers back in 2014, at the height of the indie publishing boom. All the indie superstar gurus were telling writers to grind out ebooks as fast as they could type to take advantage of the “Kindle Gold Rush”. Three years later, the Kindle […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: 13 Reasons Why, Donald Maass, Jay Asher, Jia Tolentino, Robert Heinlein, Self-published ebooks, Tara Sparling, The Gatsby Game, The Slow Blog Manifesto, Writer’s Emotional Health

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writers digest 101 best websites for writers award

Anne R. AllenAnne R. Allen writes funny mysteries and how-to-books for writers. She also writes poetry and short stories on occasion. She’s a contributor to Writer’s Digest and the Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market.

Her bestselling Camilla Randall Mystery Series features perennially down-on-her-luck former socialite Camilla Randall—who is a magnet for murder, mayhem and Mr. Wrong, but always solves the mystery in her quirky, but oh-so-polite way.

Ruth Harris NYT best selling authorRuth is a million-copy New York Times bestselling author, Romantic Times award winner, former Big 5 editor, publisher, and news junkie.

Her emotional, entertaining women’s fiction and critically praised novels have sold millions of copies in hard cover, paperback and ebook editions, been translated into 19 languages, sold in 30 countries, and were prominent selections of leading book clubs including the Literary Guild and the Book Of The Month Club.

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