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 »
Many—perhaps most—people on social media try to build their platform by posting, posting, posting. But being truly social requires a bit more than this. Like in any relationship, building a social media platform requires engagement both ways. Social media is more than a megaphone. There are hundreds of conversations going on out there all the… Read more »
It’s almost 2019, word nerds! Time to start thinking about what the new year is going to do for you and your writing career. In the past, I’ve written about setting goals, writing a mission statement, and seeking education. I’m a big believer in resolutions, and I like using the new year as a clean-slate opportunity… Read more »
Negative feedback and rejection are usually considered the worst parts of the writing journey. When your manuscript receives the dreaded form rejection letter from a literary agent or a publisher fails to respond to a pitch—it isn’t easy to view this feedback as “good”. In fact, you might be asking how a form rejection can… Read more »
