Writers serious about their craft should take concrete action to advance their career In a recent interview, an author was asked, “What’s the best thing you’ve ever done to improve as a writer?” What a great question; I so appreciated the author’s answer. Yet my mind immediately considered how I would respond. Within seconds I […]
What writers can learn from the life and career of Carrie Fisher On December 26, 2016, my wife and I went to see the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The next morning I learned that Carrie Fisher had died. Like most people, I knew her for her iconic performance as Princess Leia in […]
There are three types of book editing and you need a different editor for each type Every book needs three basic types of editing, and each type of edit requires a different editor. 1) Development Edit: The developmental edit, sometimes called substantive or comprehensive edit, is the big picture stuff. Basically it asks the questions, […]
Writers need to balance the considerations of self-publishing and traditional publishing There is much debate in the writing community about going with a traditional publisher versus self-publishing. Neither is a panacea. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Considerations include career objectives, time investments, speed to publishing, potential revenue, and personal goals. Though I am pursuing […]
To progress as an author requires hard work and diligent focus I’ve been writing my entire adult life. In the early years, my primary goal was to write faster, but for the past decade or so, my focus was on writing better. As I attended to learning the craft of writing, my writing has steadily […]
The amount of time required to rework a piece is often too great, and it’s best to let it go. I once read the debut novel by a YA author. I was quite taken by it. I loved her humor and writing style. I wanted more, but since it was her first published novel I […]
Following every suggestion from the wrong editor leads to wrong results In my work as a magazine publisher I learned early on that I needed an editor. After a couple of issues with embarrassing mistakes, I realized I would never catch all the errors myself. I hired someone to edit the articles before the printing […]
We talk about writing books, producing books, and marketing books. Successful writers must do all three. Neglect one element and your book will fail to meet expectations and reach its potential. Even if you find a traditional publisher they will only handle the second requirement: publishing your book. Unless you are an A-list author they […]
I just began writing a book, an 85,000-word book. It needs to be finished by the end of November. That’s a lot of words in a short amount of time. I made a schedule. I will write Monday through Friday and edit on Saturday. With a few exceptions, I need to write 1,750 words a […]
Regular readers of this blog know that I write every day. Another goal I have is to spend weekday mornings writing and afternoons working (which involves some more writing). I seldom realize that goal, but I am moving in that direction. Then in the evenings, when my schedule permits, I work on my platform. Again, this […]