There are a lot of ways to build your author platform these days. But guest blogging is still one of my favorites. Writing an article for a popular blog has long-term value that far outlasts the effort, and offers an engaged audience within a focused niche. But my favorite perk is seeing my own work… Read more »
Conference season is in full swing, and whether you are attending in person or virtually, conferences can be taxing on mind and body. But they don’t have to be. Here are things I’ve learned from attending conferences large and small that can help you become a conference guru too. Before You Go: Make A Wish-List… Read more »
Writers are odd creatures. For many of us, the ideal workday involves being shut away in a room with only a laptop, or pen and paper, rummaging around in our imaginations. Solitude required. Pants optional. So it seems like an undertaking uniquely suited to an extreme introvert. But there is more to this line of… Read more »
So, you want to be a food writer, but don’t know where to start? You’re not alone! Scan the internet, and you’ll find everything from recipe blogs to featured magazine articles on a single ingredient. You may think: I love food, but I’m not “qualified” to write about it. Good news. You don’t need a… Read more »
If you’ve spent any time in the kidlit writing community you’ve probably seen the acronym ‘SCBWI’ pop up. It stands for Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, a professional organization dedicated to supporting everyone who creates books for kids. You may be wondering what qualifies a person for membership and what the drawbacks and… Read more »
Work and income don’t come easy to writers as it is, even more so when the fate of your career is in your own hands. While freelance writing has many perks (making your own hours, choosing your own assignments, working in your PJs), it also has many obstacles. One of these is networking. How do… Read more »
All of us writers have introverted qualities about us. We wouldn’t pursue this solitary work if we didn’t prefer spending time alone with our laptops. I’ve never heard someone say, “Yay, I can’t wait to network!” But if you pay the money to go to a conference, that’s the number one thing to get out of… Read more »
Most of us know the basics of online platforming by now – slap those links on your home page, post regularly, be engaged. But when I tell people that I do a lot of my best online platform growth at in-person events, I get a lot of raised eyebrows. It can already feel like a… Read more »
Hey Word Nerds! Welcome back to DIY MFA Radio. Today’s episode is all about the m-words of writing: marketing and money. These topics are often hard for writers to discuss, but I wanted to address them for a couple of reasons. First, they are super-important. And second, I believe that all writers can be awesome at both at the… Read more »
Hey there, word nerds! Thanks for joining me for this episode of DIY MFA Radio. Today I want to share with you some survival tips for Book Expo America (BEA), the publishing industry’s premier trade show in the United States. BEA is the Big Kahuna of trade shows in the US. If you’re in the book… Read more »
