Social Book

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Sunday, 15 April 2012

Writers: Are You Taking Care of Your Emotional Health? 8 Tips to Keep From Going Batty as You Launch Your Career

Posted on 09:15 by Unknown


   First, a couple of announcements: This blog is up for a Goodreads “Independent Book Blogger” Award and we'd love your vote. If you’re a Goodreads member,  you can vote through the vote button on the sidebar. Unfortunately the Goodreads icon seems to have been eaten by the Blogger elves, but the button works. You can vote once in each of four categories,  Publishing Industry (that's us) Young Adult, Adult Fiction, and Adult Nonfiction.

     AND: Ruth Harris has a brand new book out! It’s OVERRIDE—another hold onto-your-hat, fast-paced thriller written with her husband, Michael Harris. More about it on Ruth’s Book Page.

This week we have a returning guest, literary author and college professor Samuel Park. Last year when he visited us, Samuel had just published his first novel, THIS BURNS MY HEART with Simon and Schuster. (And he told us NOT to kill our darlings.)  His spectacular reviews are the kind most of us just fantasize about.) Now he’s preparing for the debut of the paperback. (I just love the new cover!)

Yes, there still are hardbacks and paperbacks coming out from the big publishers! And yes, there still are success stories like Samuel’s. People magazine and the Today show do still pay attention to debut authors. Congratulations, Samuel!

And how did he do it? Turns out he didn’t torture himself with overwork and 20-hour days filled with endless publicity gigs.

He took care of himself. He thinks you should, too.  

Take Care of Yourself: (Emotionally) Healthy Living for Writers
by Samuel Park

Being a writer is full of highs and lows, with lots of opportunities for anxiety. For instance, I can’t think of anything more frustrating than waiting to hear from an agent after a query. Or the emotional yo-yo of being in a relationship with your book—one prone to fits of joy, followed by bouts of self-doubt. Being a tortured used to be part of the persona of the artist, but these days, everybody wants happiness. Even writers.

Here are 8 Tips for (Emotionally) Healthy Living:

1.     Delegate Anxiety

If there’s a particular part of the process that sets your teeth on edge, see if you can get a spouse or friend to do it—somebody who is less emotionally invested than you are. If querying agents is getting you down, see if you can get someone to take care of that for you. That way you can avoid the emotional rollercoaster of waiting to hear back.

I’m not suggesting you hire someone—I don't believe in paying for that kind of service. And you absolutely have to write your own query. But if you can get a writer friend or spouse to manage the submission of the queries and the follow-up (maybe trade query duties with a fellow writer?), that'll remove you from the daily stress of the waiting game.

2.     Be Delusional

According to what I’ve read, delusional people tend to be happier, richer, and more successful. For a writer, being deluded can be an effective antidote for writers’ natural propensity to be pessimists. It may, in fact, be the only way to have a more clear, truthful perspective on your situation.
I have a friend who published book a few years ago and it didn’t do as well as she’d hoped. Recently, her former editor got in touch with her to find out what she was working on.

Because I was an impartial observer, I knew that the editor was checking in in the hopes of possibly snapping up my friend’s second book. My friend, however, read it as the editor simply being nice and feeling sorry for her.
In this case, my friend thought she was being realistic. My advice for her was to be more delusional, and tell herself that she was brilliant, talented, and that editors were desperate for her next book.

In her case, “being delusional” actually provided a more accurate reflection of reality.

 When writers act “delusional” and tell themselves that they’re fabulous, there’s a good chance the “delusion” is a necessary corrective for writers’ natural tendency to doubt themselves.

3.     Use Up Your Brain Cells

Sometimes worry and frustration come from your writerly brain not having being used enough that day.

When I first started writing, my mentor Don Roos stressed to me that I should write for an hour a day every day (except weekends).

 I thought it was for the sake of discipline and productivity, but he said it was actually to stave off the self-loathing that every writer feels when she hasn’t produced that day.

When you don’t write, the guilt starts inching forward, and makes you feel bad. When you do write, the world feels terrific. And the brain post-writing (and post-FLOW and post-high of creating) is too tired and spent to indulge in negative, self-sabotaging thoughts—its capabilities have been used up by the plotting and scheming for the day.

4.     Let Out the Anger…But Don’t Become a Rage-a-holic

One of the easiest ways to escape the writer’s blues is to indulge in anger. If you’re feeling bad, you can probably start feeling good almost right away just by letting out your repressed anger.

The problem with that, though, is that you become an angry person. If a rejection from an agent stings, go right ahead and let out some expletives. It’ll make you feel better.

But for the sake of your friends and family, get out of that mode as soon as you can! Nobody wants to be around someone who is mad all the time.

5.     Take Care of Yourself

Evolutionarily speaking, we weren’t born to work indoors all day, or to be writers in the modern sense of the profession.

Being sedentary and solitary may be conducive to producing work, but it’s not conducive to producing happiness.

Exercise; get vitamin D either by going outside, getting a sun lamp, or by taking multi-vitamins; be social, ideally in a “tribal” scenario—that is, with two or more other people; watch your favorite TV show; or better yet, do all of the above.

6.     Avoid Avalanche Thinking

Being turned down by an agent is not bad if you maintain things in perspective.

But we’re writers, we have big imaginations, and it’s hard to resist avalanche thinking: “Agent X doesn’t want my manuscript, which probably means that Agent Y won’t either, and no agent will ever want me, and that’s because I have no talent, and if I have no talent, then I’ll never sell a book, and if I never sell a book no one will ever love me, and no one will ever love me then daddy was right when he called me a loser, and so on and so on.”

If an agent turned you down, all it meant was that he wasn’t right for your manuscript.

The right writer-agent combo is something worthy of a matchmaker, and dependent on personality, work styles, and temperament. It takes a while to find the right one.

Don’t read too much into things.

Avoid negative chains of thought; chop them off from the very beginning. If you’re prone to avalanche thinking, try reversing it by replacing it with a positive thought, or by feeling gratitude for something.

Think about something good that happened to you and focus on that in your mind, and focus on how you feel about the person who helped you or made that possible.

7.     Take the Lesson Contained in the Conflict

I hate to sound like Polyanna, but every time we feel bad about ourselves or others, there’s a lesson there waiting for us.

The lesson may be to be more patient, or to write a better query letter, or to improve one’s writing by attending a conference.

Instead of dwelling on the rejection, rewrite it as a teaching moment, and try to squeeze a lesson out of it.  And then focus on that lesson.

Instead of dwelling on what went wrong, focus on what will go right next time.

This will help you get over the negative emotions surrounding the event (disappointment, anger, frustration) and focus on the positive emotions that come from focusing on the future (hopefulness, more inner strength, satisfaction from self-improvement). 

8.     Think About Being Down When You’re Happy

When you’re happy, the last thing you want to do is think about the worries and frustrations of being a writer, but I’d argue that when you’re happy is the exact time to set these behaviors and habits into practice.

When you start feeling beat down is actually too late, because by then you’re in a funk, and it’s much harder to get out of a funk than to prevent one in the first place.

If you’re feeling bad, you won’t be able to gather the motivation to do any of these things. When you’re feeling good, you can’t imagine that you’re ever not going to feel good, but that’s a mistake. 

Anticipate the inevitable lows of the writer’s life, and prevent them rather than ignore them.
********
Originally born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Korean-American author Samuel Park graduated from Stanford University and USC, where he earned his doctorate in English. He is the author of THIS BURNS MY HEART, which was chosen as one of Amazon’s Best Books of 2011, a People magazine “Great Reads in Fiction,” and one of the Today Show’s “Favorite Things.” THIS BURNS MY HEART was also a Kirkus Reviews’ Best Fiction of 2011, a BookPage Best Book of 2011, an Indie Next List Notable Book, and a Starbucks Bookish Reading Club Selection. Translations of the book are forthcoming in Norway, Germany, China, and South Korea. He lives in Chicago, where he is an Associate Professor of English at Columbia College.
********
What do you think, scriveners? Do you feel better about yourself if you write every day? Do you think being delusional is helpful to writers? (I wonder if I’d have gone down this road if I hadn’t been a little delusional myself.) How about trading query duties with another writer? I never thought of that, but it sure would have made it easier. (Misery loves company.) Do you have any other tips for keeping your sanity in this crazy business?

INDIE CHICKS FANS: The final installment of the Indie Chicks anthology is from Michelle Muto. Read her inspiring story on the Indie Chicks page. 



Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to Facebook
Posted in Anne R. Allen, Michael Harris, Overrride: a Thriller, Ruth Harris, Samuel Park, This Burns My Heart, Write every day, Writer’s Emotional Health | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • The Ebook Market No Author Should Ignore: Think Globally!
    One of the biggest changes the e-reader has brought to the publishing industry doesn't get much cyberink in the online book community. I...
  • The Rules of Writing...and Why Not To Follow Them
    Somerset Maugham famously said, "There are three rules for writing. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are." But pretty much ev...
  • Should You Eliminate "Was" From Your Writing? Why Sometimes "the Rules" are Wrong.
    No matter how much time and energy we put into querying agents and editors--or learning the ins and outs of self-publishing--it's all wa...
  • The Laws of the (Amazon) Jungle—Eight Rules Authors Need to Know to Stay Safe
    Update: This is probably now the longest blogpost in history, so I apologize. But I've had important updates from commenters that I'...
  • Self-Publishing or Traditional Publishing? Which is the Right First Step for YOU? Win a Free Book to Help You Decide
    T he list of million-seller "indie" authors is growing every day. Self-publishing has not only become mainstream—it's edgy and...
  • WORD COUNT GUIDELINES UPDATED FOR THE NEW DECADE
    How Long Should A Novel Be? A lot of agents have been complaining about queries with inappropriate word counts recently. If you're getti...
  • The Big "O" for Writers—Organization: The Writer's Toolbox #3
    This is Ruth Harris's third installment in her Writer's Toolbox series. You can read Writer's Toolbox #2 here and Writers Toolb...
  • The Writer's Toolbox #2: More Must-Have Tools for Writers
    This week Ruth Harris gives us more must-have tools for writers in the second installment of her " Writer's Toolbox " Series. ...
  • Author Collectives: The "Third Path" to Publication. Is it Right for You?
    Liza Perrat contacted me a few months ago, asking for permission to quote me in a book about her author collective, Triskele Books. I've...

Categories

  • 'textr
  • #QueryFail
  • #zombiefail
  • $13 e-reader
  • 10 thousand-hour rule
  • 20 Master Plots
  • 20th Century Woman
  • 21st Century prose
  • 21st Century writing
  • 3:17 AM
  • 7 Basic Plots.
  • 99 cent book bubble
  • 99-cent e-books
  • A Christmas Carol
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • A.J. Sykes
  • AbFab
  • Absolute Write
  • Academic Body
  • Achieving your writing goals
  • Adele McAlear
  • Adventures in Children's Publishing
  • advice for nonfiction writers
  • advice for writers
  • advice on craft
  • Advice to writers
  • agent
  • agent blogs
  • Agent Jenny Bent
  • Agent Laurie McLean
  • agent Meredith Barnes
  • Agent rejection
  • Agent Sara Megibow
  • Agent Savant
  • agent scam
  • AgentQuery
  • AgentQuery Connect
  • AgentQueryConnect
  • Aisha Iqbal
  • Alan Rinzler
  • Alex J. Cavanaugh
  • Alexa Ratings
  • algorithms
  • Alice Walker
  • Alicia Street
  • Alison Tait
  • All Fall Down
  • Amanda Hocking
  • Amanda Katz
  • Amanda McKittrick Ros
  • Amazon
  • Amazon Book of the Month
  • Amazon buy page
  • Amazon categories
  • Amazon monopoly
  • Amazon publishing imprints
  • Amazon Review Guidelines
  • Amazon review removal
  • Amazon reviews
  • Amazon rules
  • Amazon Singles
  • Amy Riley
  • Andrea Brown
  • Andrew Loog Oldham
  • AndWeWereHungry
  • Ann Best
  • Ann Carbine Best
  • Ann Lamott
  • Ann Patchett
  • Anne Gallagher
  • Anne R. Allen
  • Anne R. Allen. SLO Nightwriters
  • Anne Rice review
  • Anne Schroeder
  • Anonymice
  • Antagonist
  • Anthologies
  • Apple Store
  • Author abuse
  • Author bio
  • author branding
  • Author Collectives
  • Author Platform
  • Author power
  • Author scams
  • author websites
  • Author's Guild
  • Awesome Screenshot
  • Back Matter
  • bad reviews
  • Bantam
  • Barbara Rogan
  • Bargain Ebook Newsletters
  • Barnes and Noble
  • Barry Eisler
  • Bear State Books
  • Beating the Breakdown
  • Beginning Novelist
  • being yourself on purpose
  • Beniot Lelievre
  • Benoit LeLievere
  • Benoit Lelievre
  • Berkley Heat
  • Best Damn Creative Blog
  • Best Damn Creative Writing Blog
  • Best links for writers
  • bestseller lists
  • beta readers
  • Betty Jo Stevenson Rides Again
  • Big 6 editor
  • Big 6 publishers
  • Big 6-5-4
  • Big Boss Troublemaker
  • Big Publishing
  • Big Six
  • Big Six editors
  • Big Six publishers
  • Big Six publishing
  • Big Six rules
  • Bing
  • Bit.ly
  • Black Balloon Publishing
  • Blake Morrison
  • Blame the Writer
  • Blog a book
  • Blog community.
  • blog followers
  • Blog hop
  • blog kudos Kittie Howard
  • blog of the week
  • Blog tour
  • Blogfests
  • Blogger having technical problems
  • Blogger sux
  • Blogging
  • blogging awards
  • blogging for authors
  • blogging pitfalls
  • blogging rules
  • blogging tips
  • Blogging tips for writers
  • Bloghops
  • blogs
  • Blurbs
  • Bob Mayer
  • bogus agents
  • bogus writing contests
  • Book Blogger
  • book bloggers
  • book doctors
  • book editing
  • book launch party
  • Book Luvin’ Babes
  • Book Marketing
  • Book review blogs
  • book reviewers
  • Book Reviews
  • Bookalicious Pam
  • BookBaby
  • BookBub
  • BookCountry.com
  • Bookends LLC
  • BookTour.com
  • Boomer Lit
  • BoomerLit
  • Boomers
  • Borders
  • Brainwashed
  • Brave New Trail Conference
  • building platform
  • Bullying
  • Burnout
  • Burt Reynolds
  • Butterfly Syndrome
  • C. Hope Clark
  • C. S. Perryess
  • Calibre
  • Camilla Randall mysteries
  • Camille LeGuire
  • Can You Use Song Lyrics in Novels
  • Canadian comedians
  • CAPTCHA
  • Careful or You'll End Up in My Novel T-shirts
  • Casey McCormack
  • Casey McCormick
  • Castle
  • Cathe Olson
  • Catherine Ryan Hyde
  • CC Coast Writers Conference
  • Censorship
  • Central Coast Sisters in Crime
  • Central Coast Writer’s Conference
  • Central Coast Writers Conference
  • Chanel and Gatsby
  • Charity Anthologies
  • cheap ebooks
  • Cheryl Shireman
  • Chick Lit is Not Dead
  • Chick Lit News and Reviews
  • Chocolate
  • Chris Baty
  • Christine Ahern
  • Christmas books
  • Christopher Moore
  • Chuck Wendig
  • Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
  • Clarissa Draper
  • Claude Nougat
  • Colleen Lindsay
  • Colonel Baker's Field
  • Colorado Tragedy
  • Columbia College Chicago
  • comedy-mystery
  • comic thriller
  • Compose magazine
  • Connie Brockway
  • Consuelo Saah Baehr
  • Consuelo Saah Baer
  • coping with rejection
  • Copyright
  • Copyright laws
  • copyright your plot
  • Courtnee Howard
  • cozy mysteries
  • Crash into You
  • Crazy-Makers
  • Creating memorable characters
  • creative writing courses
  • creativity
  • Crime Writers of Canada
  • critique groups
  • critique groups and criticism
  • critiquecircle.com
  • Cyber-bullying
  • cyberbullies
  • Cyberbullying
  • Cybermen
  • D. G. Sandru
  • D.D. Scott
  • Dallas Morning News
  • Dani Amore
  • Danielle Smith
  • Dave Congalton
  • David Fagin
  • David Gaughran
  • David Streitfeld
  • David Whiting
  • DC Stanfa
  • DD Scott
  • Dean Wesley Smith
  • Death and Digital Legacy
  • Death of the American Author
  • Death of the Big 6
  • Decades
  • Delilah S. Dawson
  • Depression and Writers
  • Derek Haines
  • Derico Photography
  • developing your writing style
  • DGLM
  • Digital Age Authors
  • Digital Age E-Authors
  • digital paper
  • Do authors need to blog
  • Do I need an agent? platform
  • do’s and don’ts for writing a memoir
  • Does my writing suck? Anne R. Allen
  • DoJ lawsuit
  • Don't Let Me Go
  • Donelle Lacy
  • Donna Fasano
  • Donna Hole
  • Dorothy Parker
  • Double Feature
  • Douglas Rushkoff
  • Dr. Martha Stout
  • Dr. Who
  • Dream-smashers
  • Dreams do Come True
  • Dreams vs. goals
  • Duolit
  • E-Book Revolution
  • e-readers
  • E. M. Forster
  • Ebook Marketing
  • eBook pricing
  • Ebook revolution
  • ebookbargainsuk
  • EBUK
  • ECollegeFinder Top Writing Blog
  • Edit Ink scam
  • Editing
  • Editor David Blum
  • editor Jamie Chavez
  • Elaine Raco Chase
  • Elisa Lorello
  • Elizabeth Ann West
  • Elizabeth Joss
  • Elizabeth S. Craig
  • Elizabeth Spann Craig
  • Emily Cross
  • English major
  • English speakers in India
  • episodic storytelling
  • Eric Feldon
  • Erica Jong
  • Erotica
  • Escargot Books
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Facebook Other Folder
  • Fair Use
  • Fall into You
  • Feedburner
  • Fiction Groupie
  • Fiction writers
  • Fight Depression
  • Finger Lickin’ Dead
  • firing an agent
  • first chapters
  • First Rights
  • fixes for a stalled novel
  • Flipboard
  • Food of Love
  • Foreword Literary
  • Frazzled
  • free books
  • free ebook give-away
  • Free Elements of Style
  • free online resources for writers
  • Freelance book editors
  • Front Matter
  • Funds for Writers
  • Fussy Librarian
  • Future of bookstores
  • Future of publishing
  • Gabriele Lessa
  • GalleyCat
  • Gary Canie
  • Gary Trudeau
  • Gatekeepers
  • Geek-chic
  • Gerry McCullough
  • getting out of your own way
  • Ghostwriters in the Sky
  • GIFs
  • Ginger Clark
  • Glimmer Train
  • Golden Age of Publishing
  • Goodbye Emily
  • Goodreads
  • Google Authorship
  • Google+
  • GooglePlay
  • Gordon Wornock
  • grammar lessons
  • Grammar nerds
  • Gravatar.com
  • Groupthink
  • Guest blogging
  • Hate Facebook
  • Hire an Editor
  • history of the novel
  • Hive Mind
  • holiday gifts for Grandma
  • Holli Moncrieff
  • Hollywood scandal
  • Homer
  • Hooked
  • Hope Clark
  • How to be a Writer in the E-Age
  • How Do I Know I'm a Writer?
  • how much should you pay a book editor
  • how not to blog
  • how not to pitch to agents video
  • how not to publish
  • How not to spam
  • How Not to Start a Novel
  • How to barf a book
  • How to be a good blog guest
  • how to be a successful author
  • How to be a Writer
  • How to Be a Writer in the E-Age
  • How to be Googleable
  • how to blog
  • how to deal with negative reviews
  • How to deal with rejection
  • How to edit your own work
  • How to find a publisher
  • How to find plot ideas
  • How to get a book published
  • How to get an agent
  • How to get your book rejected
  • how to get your book reviewed
  • how to pitch a book
  • How to prepare a manuscript
  • how to publish a memoir
  • How to publish a novel
  • How to Query
  • How to Query a Blogger
  • How to query a book blogger
  • how to query a book reviewer
  • how to sell on Amazon
  • How to sign up for Google+
  • how to start a blog
  • how to start a novel
  • How to stay safe online
  • How to Tweet
  • how to write
  • How to write a bestselling novel
  • how to write a blurb
  • how to write a book product description
  • How to Write a Damn Good Novel
  • how to write a memoir
  • how to write a novel
  • how to write a novel based on real life
  • how to write a synopsis
  • How to write an Amazon review. Amazon star ratings. Jeff Bezos
  • How to Write Better
  • how to write blog headers
  • how to write funny
  • how to write memoir
  • How to write memorable fiction
  • Hugh Howey
  • humor
  • humor writing
  • humorous mystery
  • Husbands and Lovers
  • I Hate Trends
  • IBBA Awards Finalist
  • Imagine: How Creativity Works
  • inciting incident
  • independent bookstores
  • India Drummond
  • indie authors
  • Indie bookstores
  • Indie Chicks Anthology
  • Indie or Traditional Publishing?
  • indie publishing
  • Indies Unlimited 10 Best Blogs for Indie Authors
  • Indiestructible
  • Insecure Writers Support Group
  • Insult Ferrets
  • International Ebook Markets
  • Internet bullying
  • Internet trolls
  • iPad
  • ISBN
  • J. A. Konrath
  • J. K. Rowling
  • J.K. Rowling
  • Jack King
  • Jacqueline Susann
  • James Frey
  • James N. Frey
  • James Patterson
  • Jami Gold
  • Jane Friedman
  • Janet Reid
  • Janice Hardy
  • Jaron Lanier
  • Jason Kong
  • Jeff Carlson
  • Jenna Glatzer
  • Jennifer Weiner
  • Jenny Bent
  • Jeremy Duns
  • Jess Walter
  • Jesse Stone
  • Jessica Bell
  • Jill Corcoran.
  • Jill Metcalf
  • Jim McCarthy
  • Joanna Harris
  • Joanna Penn
  • Joanne Tombrakos
  • Joe Konrath
  • Joel Friedlander
  • John Allen
  • John Green
  • John Locke
  • John Updike
  • Johnny Base
  • Jon Morrow
  • Jonah Lehrer
  • Josh Swiller
  • Judy Salamacha
  • Julia Cameron
  • Julie Luek
  • Jumpstart the World
  • Justin Cronin
  • Jutoh
  • Karen McQuestion
  • Karin Cox
  • Katheryn Smith
  • Kathleen Duey
  • Kathleen Valentine
  • Kathryn Rusch
  • Kathy Carmichael's pitch generator
  • Katie the book-eating dog
  • KDP Select
  • Keeping your sanity
  • Keith Blount
  • Kevin Spacey
  • Kiana Davenport
  • Kick-ass heroines
  • Kill Your Darlings
  • Kill your television
  • Killing Cupid
  • Killing the Blues
  • Kim Wright
  • Kindle
  • Kindle authors
  • Kindle bestseller
  • Kindle books
  • Kindle ebooks
  • Kindle Millionaires
  • Kindle Nation
  • Kindle publishing
  • Kindle Serials
  • Kindle Singles
  • Kindlegen
  • Kindlegraph
  • Kirkus
  • Klout
  • know your genre
  • Kobo
  • Konrath
  • Kris Rusch
  • Kristen Lamb
  • Kristen McLean
  • Kristin Lamb
  • Kristin Nelson
  • kudos
  • L.B. Gschwandtner
  • L.L Barkat
  • Landing a Book Contract
  • landing an agent
  • Larsen-Pomada Agency
  • Laura Morrigan
  • Laurie McLean
  • Lawrence Block
  • Learn to be a ghostwriter
  • learning to fail
  • Lee Goldberg
  • Leslie Kaufman
  • Lexi Revellian
  • Lila Moore
  • Liliana Hart
  • Lindsay Lohan
  • Lisa Perrat
  • Lisbeth Salander
  • Listening to your heart
  • Literary agents
  • Literary genres
  • literary journals
  • Literary Lab
  • Literary Rambles
  • logline
  • loglines
  • long tail marketing
  • Louise Voss
  • Love and Money
  • Love in Mid Air
  • LR Richardson
  • Luddite
  • Lydia Sharp
  • Mac Tonnies
  • Mad Men
  • Mainak Dhar
  • Malcolm Gladwell
  • Man in the Cinder Clouds
  • Marcia Richards
  • Mariano Rivera
  • Marissa Meyer
  • Mark Billingham
  • Mark Chisnell
  • Mark Coker
  • Mark Edwards
  • Mark Williams
  • Mark Williams International
  • Mark Williams international Digital Publishing
  • Mark Zuckerberg
  • Marketing
  • Martini Madness
  • Mary Sisson
  • Mary Sues
  • Mary W. Walters
  • Matthew Scudder mysteries
  • Mean Girls
  • Meghan Derico
  • Meghan Ward
  • Melodie Campbell
  • Meme
  • memes
  • memoir or fiction
  • memoir writing
  • Mental toughness
  • Meredith Barnes
  • Metadata
  • Michael Brandman
  • Michael Chabon
  • Michael Harris
  • Michael Murphy
  • Michael Ventura
  • Michelle Davidson Argyle
  • Micropresses
  • Mid-Sized Publishers
  • Miss Snark
  • missing Amazon reviews
  • Modern Women
  • Monarch
  • Monetize your blog
  • Montlake Romance
  • Morgen Bailey
  • mss.
  • MWiDP
  • My WANA
  • mystery meat navigation
  • Mystery Writing is Murder
  • Nancy Andreasen
  • NaNoWriMo
  • nasty book reviews
  • Natalie Whipple
  • Nathan Bransford
  • Nathan Fillion
  • National Novel Writing Month
  • Neil Vogler
  • New York Review of Books
  • New York Times bestseller
  • New York Times Book Review
  • newbie advice
  • news
  • Newsetters
  • Nick Hornby
  • Night of the Living Dead
  • Nina Amir
  • Nina Badzin
  • Nisus
  • no new stories
  • No Place Like Home
  • Nook
  • Nora Roberts
  • Notes from Underground
  • Novel structure
  • Nuclear testing
  • NYT Book Reviews
  • Office of Letters and Light
  • Olivia Lewis
  • On the Island
  • Open Education Database
  • opportunities for writers
  • Oprah's Happiest Town
  • Orna Ross
  • overdone plots
  • Overrride: a Thriller
  • paid reviews
  • Pam Van Hylckama Vleig
  • Pam van Hylckama Vlieg
  • pantser vs. planner
  • Park Avenue Series
  • Passive Guy
  • Passive voice
  • Passive writing
  • Past perfect tense
  • Path to Publication
  • Paul Fahey
  • Paul Laity
  • Pay it Forward
  • Paying it Forward
  • PeerIndex
  • Penguin House
  • Peter Ginna
  • Pippa Middleton’s Pilates Coach
  • Plantagenet Smith
  • Plato
  • plot boards
  • Poets and Writers
  • Popcorn Press
  • PopularSoda.com
  • Porter Anderson
  • Posthuman Blues
  • Pottermore
  • Preditors and Editors
  • Prentiss Ingraham
  • Press 53
  • procrastination
  • Product Description
  • professional writers
  • prologues
  • proofreading
  • Protagonist
  • Prue Batten
  • pseudonym
  • pseudonyms
  • psychology for writers
  • Public Domain
  • Public Query Slushpile
  • PublishAmerica
  • Publisher rejections
  • Publisher's Lunch
  • Publisher's Weekly
  • publishing
  • Publishing alternatives
  • publishing business
  • publishing in 2013
  • Publishing Industry
  • publishing news
  • publishing rules
  • Publishing scams
  • publishing trends
  • query
  • query hell
  • query letter
  • Query Shark
  • Query Tracker
  • QueryTracker
  • Quotes4Writers
  • Rachel Thompson
  • Rachelle Gardener
  • Rachelle Gardner
  • Rare Stamps
  • Readwave
  • Reddit
  • RedRoom
  • rejection
  • Reviews
  • Rex Pickett
  • RG2E
  • Rhemalda
  • rhinos
  • Richard Castle
  • Richard Dawkins
  • Richard LaPlante
  • Richard North Patterson
  • Rick Daley
  • Riley Adams
  • Robert B. Parker
  • Robert Lee Brewer
  • Robert M. Caruso
  • Roberta Trahan
  • Robin LaFevers
  • Robin Sullivan
  • Robinson Crusoe openings
  • Robynne Rand
  • Roland Yeomans
  • romantic comedy
  • Roni Loren
  • Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
  • Roxanna Britton
  • Roy and Alicia Street
  • Roz Morris
  • Ruth Ann Nordin
  • Ruth Harris
  • Ruth Harris’s Blog
  • Saffi Desforges
  • Saffina Desforges
  • Saffinia Desforges
  • Samuel Park
  • San Francisco Writers Conference
  • San Luis Obispo
  • Santa Claus stories
  • Santa Ynez CA
  • Sara LaPolla
  • Sarah Miles
  • Sarah Weinman
  • Sarah Woodbury
  • Say Yes to Gay YA
  • scams
  • Schmoozing on Twitter
  • Scholastic's trend report
  • Scott Nicholson
  • Scott Turow
  • Scrivener
  • Secret writing rule book
  • Self e-publishing
  • Self-Editing
  • self-published e-book
  • Self-published ebooks
  • self-publishing
  • self-publishing expenses
  • Self-publishing on Kindle
  • Selling Short Stories on Amazon
  • Semantic Search
  • SEO
  • Seth Grahame-Smith
  • Sex scenes
  • Shaun of the Dead
  • Shaw Guides
  • She Writes
  • Shelly Jump
  • Shelly Thacker
  • Sherrie Petersen
  • Sherwood Ltd.
  • SheWrites
  • Shindig
  • Shirley S. Allen
  • short stories
  • Short stories made into films
  • show don't tell
  • Sibel Hodge
  • Sierra Godfrey
  • Sigil
  • Simon and Schuster
  • Sisters in Crime
  • SLO Nightwriters
  • Slow Blog Manifesto
  • slow blogging
  • Slush pile
  • Small Presses
  • Small Publishers
  • Smashwords
  • Smashwords Mark Coker
  • Snooki
  • Snookibooks
  • Social Lasers of Cruelty
  • Social Media
  • social media etiquette
  • social media for authors
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Social Networking
  • Sociopath
  • sock puppet reviews. Elisa Lorello
  • Sock Puppets
  • software for self-publishers
  • Solstice Celebrations
  • Somerset Maugham's rules of writing
  • Sony
  • Spirit of Lost Angels
  • Spywriter
  • squirrels
  • Stamp Album
  • Stand up to bullies
  • Star Trek IV
  • steal your plot
  • Stephen Leather
  • Stephen Marche
  • stepping in dogma
  • Steve Martin
  • Steve Wilhite
  • Story arc
  • Style Guide
  • Style Sheet
  • Stylish blogger award
  • sucky first drafts
  • Sugar and Spice
  • Sunny Frazier
  • Susan G. Komen Foundation
  • Susan Kaye Quinn
  • Suzanne Collins
  • Sylvia Plath
  • Talli Roland
  • Tawna Fenske
  • Tech woes
  • Tech-Savvy Author winners
  • Tech-Savvy authors
  • Temple Grandin
  • ten most notorious hollywood sex scandals of all time
  • Terence Stamp
  • Terry Pratchett
  • The Atomic Times
  • The Beginning Writers Rule Book
  • The Best Revenge
  • The Chanel Caper
  • The Colbert Book Club
  • The Daily Show
  • The Dark Knight Rises
  • the Digital Beyond
  • The Ebook is the new Query
  • The Fault in Our Stars
  • the fearless writer
  • The Frozen Sky
  • The Gatsby Game
  • The Goddaughter's Revenge
  • the Hays Code
  • The importance of detail in fiction
  • The Lady of the Lakewood Diner
  • The Liar's Bible
  • The Literary Lab
  • the most interesting man in the world.
  • The New Yorker
  • The Night and the Music
  • The Organized Writer
  • The Passive Voice
  • The Plague Year
  • the publishing biz
  • The secret rule book
  • the secret to becoming a successful writer
  • the skinny on agents
  • The Slow Blog Manifesto
  • The Sociopath Next Door
  • The Street-Smart Writer
  • The Tech-Savvy Author
  • The Triskele Trail
  • The Virus that Will Not Die
  • The Wizard of Oz
  • the writing life
  • There's a Book
  • There’s a Book
  • This Burns My Heart
  • Thomas and Mercer
  • Thrillerfest
  • Todd Sieling
  • Tom Johnson
  • Tom Selleck
  • Tom Simon
  • Tony Piazza
  • Top 50 Blogs for Authors
  • Topsy.com
  • Tracy Garvis Graves
  • Trafalmadore
  • TribalMessengerDaily
  • Triskele Books
  • trollosphere
  • Trolls
  • Tsunami of Crap
  • Tweepi
  • Twitchforks
  • Twitter
  • Twitter for Shy Persons
  • twitter handles
  • uses for dryer lint
  • using a pen name
  • V.K. Sykes
  • vanity press
  • Vanity Publishing
  • Victoria Mixon
  • Victoria Strauss
  • VidCon
  • Virgil
  • Walk Me Home
  • Wall Street Journal
  • Walter's Purple Heart
  • web design
  • websites that suck
  • Weebly
  • Wendy Lawton
  • Wendy Sparrow
  • WG2E
  • What rejection means
  • What to blog about
  • When I Found You
  • Where We Belong
  • White Queen
  • Why choose traditional publishing
  • Why You Get Rejected
  • Why You Should Write Short Fiction
  • why your manuscript got rejected
  • William Faulkner
  • WIX
  • Woodstock
  • Wool
  • Wordmonger
  • words to eliminate from your writing
  • Write every day
  • Write for your Life
  • Write it Sideways
  • Write it Sideways 101 best tips for writers
  • Writer Beware
  • Writer burnout
  • Writer Masochism
  • Writer Unboxed
  • Writer's block
  • Writer’s Block
  • Writer’s Emotional Health
  • Writer's Toolkit
  • Writers Cafe
  • writers conferences
  • Writers Digest Best 101 Sites for Writers
  • Writers Toolbox
  • writers’ conference
  • Writers' Conferences
  • Writers’ Conferences
  • writing
  • Writing and Depression
  • writing dos and don'ts
  • writing habits
  • writing humor
  • Writing ideas
  • Writing myths
  • Writing prompts
  • writing rules
  • Writing scams
  • Writing tips
  • Writing to Trends
  • Writing Workshop
  • Your Digital Afterlife
  • your name is your brand
  • YourMemoir.co.uk
  • Zoe Winters
  • Zuri
  • Zuri a love story

Blog Archive

  • ►  2013 (52)
    • ►  December (4)
    • ►  November (4)
    • ►  October (4)
    • ►  September (5)
    • ►  August (4)
    • ►  July (5)
    • ►  June (5)
    • ►  May (4)
    • ►  April (4)
    • ►  March (5)
    • ►  February (4)
    • ►  January (4)
  • ▼  2012 (53)
    • ►  December (5)
    • ►  November (4)
    • ►  October (4)
    • ►  September (5)
    • ►  August (4)
    • ►  July (5)
    • ►  June (4)
    • ►  May (4)
    • ▼  April (5)
      • Has Publishing Become a Kinky Game? Ruth Harris Ta...
      • I’ve Written a Book. Now What? 22 Steps to Getting...
      • Writers: Are You Taking Care of Your Emotional Hea...
      • 12 Myths About Being a Writer
      • Why You Should be Writing Short Fiction
    • ►  March (4)
    • ►  February (4)
    • ►  January (5)
  • ►  2011 (66)
    • ►  December (5)
    • ►  November (5)
    • ►  October (6)
    • ►  September (6)
    • ►  August (4)
    • ►  July (7)
    • ►  June (4)
    • ►  May (6)
    • ►  April (4)
    • ►  March (6)
    • ►  February (5)
    • ►  January (8)
  • ►  2010 (80)
    • ►  December (7)
    • ►  November (6)
    • ►  October (7)
    • ►  September (4)
    • ►  August (7)
    • ►  July (8)
    • ►  June (10)
    • ►  May (7)
    • ►  April (5)
    • ►  March (6)
    • ►  February (6)
    • ►  January (7)
  • ►  2009 (44)
    • ►  December (7)
    • ►  November (11)
    • ►  October (11)
    • ►  September (5)
    • ►  August (3)
    • ►  July (4)
    • ►  June (2)
    • ►  March (1)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Unknown
View my complete profile