It’s International Women’s Day and a perfect opportunity to celebrate women and non-binary writers. I love doing this because it’s actually a twofer: a celebration and a revolutionary act against injustice and inequality in the literary community and society at large. Let me explain. I don’t know about you, but in my day-to-day, I tend… Read more »
As I entered the new year, I realized something terrible: my Twitter account is an utter mess. My home feed is filled with more strangers’ random life comments than relevant content, and my lists include several which I am included on, but are no longer active or timely. Sometimes I am alerted by Facebook that… Read more »
A lot of you Word Nerds out there have the goal of writing and publishing a book. After you’ve accomplished that goal (and after the mandatory celebration of your awesomeness) you would also probably like someone (other than your mom) to read it, right? Of course, no one is going to read your book if… Read more »
What makes your writing life productive? Maybe you’re following the advice to “write every day,” and you’re hitting a daily word count, but you’re not sure if it’s your best work. Or you eschew that advice and only write when you feel inspired, and then a great story pours out of you—but you wish you… Read more »
It’s award season for crime fiction writers. In this piece, I’m going to discuss the national-level crime fiction awards, their selection process, and why being crowned “winner” may or may not be a big deal for writers and readers. Awards Sponsored by Genre Groups The Edgars The Edgar awards, named in honor of Edgar Allan… Read more »
As an author, the sole act of completing and finishing written work can be a daunting task all on its own. Throw in marketing and outreach and the entire process can become overwhelming. Books require countless hours of ideation and rounds of editing. Crossing the finish line alone is enough cause for congratulations. However, the… Read more »
Sometimes, creativity and inspiration can be elusive things. Though I’d like to think I’ve come close to mastering how to evoke my imagination whenever I need her, I still run into instances where all of my flowing thoughts and ideas dry up. Then I’m stuck metaphorically banging my head against the table of whichever coffee… Read more »
I have a love/hate relationship with social media. Who doesn’t? I love the aesthetic prettiness of Instagram, and taking pictures of coffee and books. I love that I can keep up with people from high school and college on Facebook. I love reading the minute-by-minute quips of my favorite thought leaders and writers on Twitter…. Read more »
If you already have a blog on your author website (or are thinking about starting one), you might have heard of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). And if you’re anything like I used to be, you might be freaking out a little bit over it. So, what is SEO? SEO isn’t just for big, shiny businesses… Read more »
Indie publishing can be a lean operation. That’s one of the advantages—you’re in control of your publishing timeline. But lean shouldn’t mean a solo act. You need other creative talent on your team, and in this post and the next we’ll talk about the most important team members: Your editor Your cover designer Some people… Read more »
