Sometimes, I really am slow on the uptake. That’s part of the reason why I’m writing The Career Indie Author. Sure, I’d like to help you learn how to become a better-selling author, how to get your message out about your books, and how to conduct yourself so that you can attract the fans you […]
Last week, we looked at piecing together the Younger Son’s (YS) fleece robe from scraps. This week, we’ll finish it! The shoulder seams and the seams where the collar and collar facings meet are the only seams I sewed in the traditional manner, and I did make sure to sew them with a 5/8-inch seam […]
When my newspaper career left me back in 2012, I thought I would become a full-time writer. For the previous 22 years, I would write in the morning, go to work on the copy desk, stay until midnight or 1 a.m., come home, and get up the next day and start over again. I wrote […]
Last week, we talked about the challenges of using leftover fleece to make clothes. In this case, Younger Son (YS) needed a bathrobe, bathrobes can be made out of fleece and JoAnn’s ran a 99-cent pattern sale. The stars aligned. I bought Simplicity 1562, a full-length bathrobe pattern that is sized for the whole family, […]
I like making fleece clothes. We won’t call it Polar Fleece as that is a registered trademark of Polartec LLC, and many companies make fleece. Fleece is available in every fabric store, even in Wal-de-Mart in the few stores that still have a sewing department. Fleece comes in an amazing variety of patterns and colors, […]
As you keep on publishing books, the inevitable will happen: You’ll be asked to make a public appearance. It could be to hold a signing at your local bookstore, to give a talk before a group, to join a panel of other writers at a convention. Should you accept? Maybe. For our purposes, let’s assume […]
So back to Younger Son’s pile of fabric. I dug through all the red and orange scrap looking for the largest pieces. All this fabric had been previously washed; I never store unwashed fabric. I ironed my choices so I could see how large they were. I wanted to make the pants first as they […]
The owner of a small business that makes high-end furniture, particularly conference tables, describes a year of his life. He tries to open markets in Germany and the Middle East, puzzle his way through Google AdWords, learns he is terrible as a sale manager and hires a consultant, hires and fires workers, and tracks his […]
Each month is a time of transition in Hershey. August starts out in high summer vacation mode. It’s hot. It’s humid. Rain comes as an optional afterthought near the end of the day. A time when I can work in the basement office all day, come up at 8 p.m., and it’s still clear light […]
Greetings from the High Overlord of Planet Peschel! This is being written on July 1, so I am counting it as meeting my deadline for the newsletter. Two for two, which is good progress. I have a hard time sticking to projects, which is one reason why writing “Writers Gone Wild” took about 15 years. […]