For authors, writing a book is just part of the mission. If you actually want people to read what you've written—or if you want a shot at getting picked up by a traditional publisher—you also need to focus on building your writer's platform. What's that? A writer's...
I recently Googled myself (always a strange experience) and ran across an interview I didn't even remember giving to Working Writers, a website that focuses on the business of writing. Since I talked about stories and offered information I haven't mentioned on this...
I've always needed time to recover when a relationship ends. But five years? It was clearly time to do more than suggest to friends and clients (hint, hint) that I might be interested in meeting a warm, smart man who's as comfortable on a mountain trail as he is at a...
Some projects—like some people—you can't help falling in love with. I was lucky enough to fall in love with both the project and the people when I helped Craig and Kathryn Hall write A Perfect Score (Hachette, September 2016). I still remember the day Dupree/Miller...
Everyone needs something different. That's why providing different strokes is so important, whether dealing with writers or puppy dogs. I know a lot about both. When Dashiell, my ridiculously independent English Cocker, is sick, he crawls into my lap wanting me to...
How realistic are your writing expectations? "I will write 2,500 words a week," one of my writing coach clients assured me. I had heard this before. "I love your enthusiasm, but considering what's happening at work and the fact that you're dating with a vengeance, do...
You're not finding time to write? I'm not surprised. Most of us never find time to write. We make the time to write. And we because we know that time suckers can dominate our days, we schedule blocks of writing time and hold those inviolate. Yes, the secret to...
Do you have trouble writing descriptions and detail? "Just remember to write as if you were a movie," I routinely tell my writing coach clients. "Beat by beat, sound by sound (including dialogue and internal thought), image by image. If you can include smell, taste...
Almost 14 years ago, my then partner and I decided to get a puppy. Eric wanted a Lab. I wanted an English Cocker. After a trip to a regional dog show, I convinced Eric that we should get a large Cocker. "That would be your idea of a compromise," my friend Pam said...
The last thing you want when you self-publish is for your book to look like you self-published it. Here are some do-and-don't (make that do-or-die) self-publishing tips to make your book look and sound as professional as possible: Your first draft is just that—a first...
