When you start a writing project, whether you’re diving into the intensity of NaNoWriMo, or just carving out a few hours to peck away at the keyboard on weekends, it helps to get emotional support from friends and family.But be prepared for the opposite.Some people in your life may find your new interest threatening, and if you’re not emotionally prepared, they can derail your project and undermine your self esteem. They’ll work to sabotage your writing and confidence in dozens of subtle—or not-so-subtle—ways.Here are some non-supportive...
Sunday, 31 October 2010
The Writer’s Enemy List: Dream Smashers, Crazymakers and Groucho Marxists
Posted on 10:15 by Unknown
Sunday, 24 October 2010
NaNoWriMo—Seven Reasons To Join in the Silliness
Posted on 11:50 by Unknown
For the uninitiated: NaNoWriMo is the National Novel Writing Month project. Started a decade ago by a young San Franciscan named Chris Baty—and 21 of his verbally ambitious friends—it challenges you to write a complete novel in a month. That month is November. Last year 165,000 writers—called “Wrimos”—joined in the merriment.Entering the contest—now run by Mr. Baty’s non-profit outfit, the Office of Letters and Light—is free. Anybody who finishes 50,000 words by midnight November 30th is a winner. No prizes that I know of: completion of your novel...
Sunday, 17 October 2010
CAN YOU WRITE A PUBLISHABLE FIRST NOVEL? 8 DOS AND DON’TS TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES.
Posted on 10:16 by Unknown
Gearing up for NaNoWriMo? Good for you. You’ve always wanted to write a novel and next month you’re going to do it.But remember that most first novels never see print. Editors call them “practice novels.” Like any other profession, writing requires a long learning process. But there are a few things that will give your first novel a better chance in the marketplace.1) DO write in a genre that’s being read. You may have always dreamed of writing a sweeping Micheneresque saga, a Zane Grey western, or a stream-of-consciousness Kerouac ramble,...
Friday, 15 October 2010
A GREAT PUBLISHING ADVENTURE Warning: includes scenes of hard-core Anglophilia
Posted on 12:28 by Unknown
Beth Nevis, author of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE which debuts from Razorbill in January 2011, is running a contest on her blog this week, asking readers to write about their greatest adventures. I thought of a piece I wrote it in 2005 for the Canadian zine INkwell Newswatch, when I was riding high after the publication of my first novel, FOOD OF LOVE. I try not to blabber on too much about myself in this blog, but I thought some of my readers might enjoy this. I’ll post my regular how-to article on Sunday.********When I started writing...
Sunday, 10 October 2010
How to Promote your Book with a Blog Tour—essential information for the 21st century writer
Posted on 10:52 by Unknown
As promised, here’s a guest blog from Janice Hardy. I’m a long-time fan of her blog, The Other Side of the Story. It’s always full of great, solid advice on craft and navigating the publishing business. When she said she was doing a blog tour to promote her new YA Fantasy book, Blue Fire, the next installment in her Healing Wars trilogy, I asked her to write something for us about the new phenomenon of the blog tour: how it compares to the old fashioned in-person book tour, and how to conduct one of your own.Going On Tour? Just Go OnlineGuest...
Saturday, 9 October 2010
Welcome New Readers!
Posted on 12:23 by Unknown
With special thanks to the 203 of you who’ve jumped through the hoops to “follow”—and everybody who has left comments. I love you guys! Every new follower and comment helps me keep on keeping on in this ridiculously brutal business.Also many thanks to Jane Friedman’s Writer’s Digest Blog, Adventures in Children’s Publishing, Publitariat, Sierra Godfrey, and so many others who have posted and tweeted links to this blog. Each one of those mentions brightens my week.A slow, once-a-week blog takes longer to gather followers, but it has allowed...
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Enjoy the Luxury of the Unpublished Life
Posted on 10:10 by Unknown
“WTF?” Sez you. “Luxury? Getting daily rejections? Living in this mousehole on a diet of ramen and generic Froot Loops? While the few friends I have left laugh at my “delusions” of being a published writer? I’m supposed to #%&!ing enjoy this?”Well, yes. It’s the only time in your career when you will have the freedom to just…write.OK, calm down. I know sometimes you think you can’t stand this torture one more day. How long can anybody be expected to live on hope alone? Time’s wingèd chariot hurries near! You’re tired of the rejection,...
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