Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
Rejections. We all get them. In fact, there are only two things we can absolutely count on in the writing business: rejections and bad reviews. There’s no doubt rejections make us feel terrible. As Brian Doyle wrote in Portland Magazine and was quoted in Letters of Note, “To receive one is to instantly and all at once […]
by Anne R. Allen We writers tend to get a tad delusional about our own work. Most of us know the average writer doesn’t make great money, but we secretly believe our own efforts will bring us fabulous fame and fortune. When we start out, we can’t help visualizing our books leapfrogging over all the […]
by Anne R. Allen A lot of marketing gurus are advising authors to cut back on blogging and social media and go back to the email marketing of the last decade. “The author with the biggest mailing list wins,” has become a mantra with self-publishing gurus. Go to most blogs and websites these days […]
The self-publishing movement that was sparked by the introduction of the Kindle ereader eight years ago has taken the entire industry on a rollercoaster ride that shows no signs of slowing down. The only thing we can count on in today’s publishing world is change. Solid advice given yesterday may not work today. Authors need […]
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 […]
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 […]
by Jessica Bell A good chapter ending is like having one mouthful of your favourite food left on your plate, but not yet feeling full, so you go for seconds … and we hope, thirds, and fourths. The key to a great chapter ending is to introduce a new conflict. It doesn’t have to […]
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 […]
by Anne R. Allen I generally advise new writers to join a critique group or participate in writing workshops. Getting feedback on your own writing and discovering what works—and what doesn’t—in other writers’ WIPs provides an education you can’t get from simply reading craft books, blogs, or listening to lectures. And I’m not the […]
by Anne R. Allen We writers tend to be a delusional lot. Most of us know the average writer doesn’t make a bunch of money, but we secretly believe our own efforts will bring us fabulous fame and fortune. Or at least pay the rent. When we start out, we’re certain our books will […]
by Anne R. Allen Do all authors have to blog? Nope. Blogging doesn’t sell books. Not directly. And it’s not a particularly good way to attract an agent (agents will glance at your blog if they’re considering your query, but mostly to make sure you’re not wearing a tinfoil hat and advocating the invasion […]
by Anne R. Allen Writers know we need a “platform” these days. That means we need to be on Twitter and FaceBook and Google+ and LinkedIn and Pinterest and Tumblr and have a blog with a ton of followers and get 100s of reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and drive ourselves batty keeping up […]
by Anne R. Allen We live in a speed-obsessed culture. Whatever it is we crave—cars, trains, electronics, food, dates—we want them ever-faster-and-furiouser. In fact, much of the developed world seems to be engaged some turbo-charged drag race of the soul, hurtling our frenzied selves from cradle to grave, terrified of slowing for even a […]
Anne R Allen’s Blog With Ruth Harris