Teresa and I just came back from a week at Ocean City, Maryland, and I’m already miserable. We wanted to create a writer’s retreat, so for six days and nights, we were together in a small condo. All we had were a few books, the work we wanted to do, a small stack of DVDs, […]
The Career Indie Author Quote Book has been in the works since the 1980s, even though I didn’t realize it. I’m a pack rat when it comes to news, stories, quotes, and images. Before the home computer, I squirreled them away in file folders, and now I use the electronic version as well. My first […]
(Actual quote: “What I learned to do many years ago was to forgive myself. It is very important for every human being to forgive herself or himself because if you live, you will make mistakes – it is inevitable. … If we hold on to the mistake, we can’t see our own glory in the […]
Going to festivals can give you ideas about how best to market, brand, and sell your books. Think about it: There are a hundred storefronts vying for your attention and your money. How do they present themselves? I could see this last weekend at the Hershey Culturefest. There were probably a dozen vendors selling jewelry. […]
If I believed in the “xxx is my spirit animal” meme, I’d make mine Joy Deja King. She is an inspiration to self-published writers, embracing the virtues of hard work, high energy, creative decision-making, and savvy marketing. My wife and I encountered one of her books at the Dauphin County library’s local authors day I […]
Writing, for most of us, is normally a solitary occupation. We retire into our garret – or basement office under the stairs – and block out the world to produce words and worlds. Writing involves many skills and talents: one of them that doesn’t usually show up in the mix is salesmanship. I won’t say […]
Why choose a pen name? The reasons are many for selecting a pen name: * Security: You need to hide is at the top of the list. If you needed to disappear because of a vengeful ex-spouse, a pen name is your friend. * Privacy: A pen name lets you write, earn money, and not […]
You should seriously consider whether or not you need a pseudonym. There are reasons for choosing one. First, how common is your name? If your name is “Mary Brown,” no search engine will ever find you until you have built a reputation. Type in “Michael Jackson” and an overwhelming majority of the results will be […]
Writing, for most of us, is normally a solitary occupation. We retire into our garret – or basement office under the stairs – and block out the world to produce words and worlds. Writing involves many skills and talents: one of them that doesn’t usually show up in the mix is salesmanship. I won’t say […]
Saturday was a typical Pennsylvania February day, chilly, damp, and enough fog to star in a Stephen King novel. Which made it the perfect day to jump in the car and meet some local romance writers. For the past couple of years, Ashcombe Farm and Greenhouses in Mechanicsburg has hosted a “Love Is In the […]