Whenever someone tells me they want to write a children’s book, I usually say, “So do I! But remember, it’s harder than it looks.” People often think writing for kids is easy because the books are short. In reality, having fewer words to play with means every word has...
I admit it. I have done a terrible job training my pups, Misha, now 7 years old, and Moke, 4. You would think that, being on my fifth and sixth pup, I would have figured things out by now. But managing work, the house, life maintenance, and the occasional social life...
You’ve written your book—or maybe you’re still polishing the last chapters—and now comes the question every author faces: How do I get it into readers’ hands? Here’s a secret that most authors overlook because, unlike me, they never worked on a national magazine. One...
One of my writing coach clients, who is just about to self-publish her book, wondered about book pricing. Having priced out other books in her category, she’d done her due diligence, but that only confused her more. "I don’t understand how book pricing works,” she...
Good description doesn’t just paint a picture; it invites readers to experience a moment. It’s not about adjectives—it’s about precision, perspective, and personality. The best description reveals as much about the narrator as it does about the scene. Take this gem...
If there’s one thing we all share, it’s most likely a shortage of time. It seems that at almost every stage of life, there are more items on the to-do list—even if one of those items is to stop and breathe—than we can possibly cram into a day. Add authoring a book to...
The first time I published a book, I assumed reviews would magically appear. Spoiler alert: they didn’t. Turns out, getting your book reviewed takes effort—but it’s one of the smartest time and/or financial investments you can make. While reviews won't guarantee...
Some scenes you read once and forget. Others haunt you—a quiet kitchen conversation, a moment in a hospital hallway, a hand reaching for another and hesitating. Those are the memorable scenes that linger because they do more than move the plot. They move us. So what...
So you’ve found a few literary agents who might be a fit. Now comes the tricky part—making contact without making waves. Because while agents want to discover new talent, they also want to work with authors who understand the unspoken rules of the game—the literary...
When it comes to writers and objectivity, most of us like to think we’re objective about our work, and that we can see both the forest and the trees. We’re not, and we can't. No matter how seasoned or self-aware we are, bias creeps in—quietly, cleverly, like a cat...
