“But you’ve written and published five books,” my husband said. “Do you really need to go to another writers’ conference?” It was a fair question. I’ve been writing for years. I have a shelf full of how-to books covering every possible subject from poisons to punctuation. There are endless online sources and courses. Did I really need to hear “Show, […]
Even now, with four books published and a fifth, hopefully, on the way, I worry that the IRS will look at my earnings and will decide that writing is really just a hobby. At which point, I will show them my publishing contracts, and after we’ve all had a really good laugh, I’ll explain that just because writing is a
People who get through childbirth, jury duty, or self-publishing often want to tell you about it. Me, too. After self-publishing two mystery novels, one novelette, and one short story, with a third novel coming out in July, I’ll be — according to my Google search — No. 13,600,001, to write on the topic. I could go on and on. But,
The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;— Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
This is the third in Valerie Peterson’s series on author marketing. You may want to check out her previous articles, “7 Common Mistakes of an Author Website” and “How to Create a ‘Selling’ Author Bio.” “Book discovery” is a much-used buzz-phrase of the publishing industry. In the increasingly competitive and very digital book marketplace with shrinking readerships and revenues, authors,
This is the second in Valerie Peterson’s series on author marketing. You may want to check out her previous article, “7 Common Mistakes of an Author Website.” Your bio is a marketing tool, pure and simple. Properly executed, it can help you attract an agent, editors, journalists, and readers to your work. But if your current bio has you revisiting
Your author website is the cornerstone of your media platform, and it’s the one piece of real estate that you can (mostly) control. Your author website is the thing that: 1. Validates you as a professional writer with a knowledge of the marketplace (even before you publish) 2. Substantiates your ability to draw in an audience – which is what
I planned my Trump novel a year ago, back when Trump was funny. It was to be the third in my Travel Writer mystery series, published by Alibi, Random House’s digital imprint for crime fiction. The premise was that my protagonist, Jacob Smalls, would be reviewing a Bahamas cruise sponsored by an outrageous rightwing dilettante tycoon who liked being on
It’s that time of year again. National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) starts on November 1. Here are five reasons why you should consider committing to write 50,000 words in 30 days.
If all you know of Rupert Holmes is a little ditty titled “Escape (The Pina Colada Song),” then you don’t know Rupert Holmes. Novelist, playwright, lyricist, composer, performer, musician, Holmes does it all — and he does it well: His mantle is groaning with Edgars and Tonys and a diverse array of other prizes and citations for excellence. He also
