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Last year, as the pandemic zapped the joy out of the holidays, four author friends and I joined forces to pour our energy into a positive project and keep our writing flowing. What started as a small side venture has now become a big, beautiful book filled with five novellas meant to lift spirits this holiday season. IT’S A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS hit shelves October 12. This project was a first for me in many ways. It was my first time to write a novella, my first time to self-publish, and my first time collaborating with a team of five authors. I’ve learned a lot along the way, and I’m happy to share some tips with you. Lesson #1: Many hands make for light work.  As a traditionally published author, I quickly learned that self-publishing involves countless steps. It was helpful to be able to divide and conquer the endless to-do list from start to finish. We each found our niche and focused on tasks that fit our skillset. After each of us wrote our novella, Janyre Tromp and I each took the drafts through developmental and line edits before passing it to copyeditor and proofreader. Lynne Gentry took over the creation and More

A writer recently asked me to review her memoir. She’d been through an incredible journey in her life, and I had to admit the experience amazed me. She’d already tried self-publishing a few years ago and had gotten scammed by an editor before also learning that not all self-publishers are created equal. A mutual friend introduced her to me, assuring the lady that I was an expert and could solve all her issues. We held a long conversation by phone. As I predicted, she wanted to talk story, trying to validate her story and assuming publishing the easier part. She kept wanting to talk about herself. This is very common with new writers. After a long time, I offered to send her an email listing suggestions on writing and publication, and explaining the differences between self-publishing and traditional. But she wanted me to read her work. Over and over she asked. After she prodded pretty darn hard, becoming quite the pest in subsequent contacts, I offered to review two chapters. I took way more time with it than expected, but I gave her a couple hours of my time in hope it enthused her in the right direction. Instead, she More

Eight years ago, I started writing after a break of more than a decade. I had last worked as a features writer for a thriving mid-sized newspaper. But so much had changed! Slowly, I began finding my way through the confusing maze that is freelance writing. Today, I have recurring writing assignments at several local and regional magazines, I review books for Publishers Weekly, and I have written personal essays for online sites such as Grown & Flown.  These are the steps that took me from pondering to getting paid. 1. Research the kind of freelancer you want to be: content market writer, book reviewer, blogger, magazine feature writer, book author? Each path requires different experience. Take the time to choose the one that fits best with your skill-set and goals. I recommend Jane Friedman’s book: The Business of Being a Writer . She gives a detailed overview of the many ways to make a living writing. I will say that deciding what to say “yes” to has been difficult for me. I have filled in for weekend news reporters, worked as a food writer, taught cooking classes, penned a free monthly newsletter, written magazine feature stories, blogged for local businesses and started a Middle Grade novel. Only in the past year More

Just a week ago, I met a young woman attempting to complete a novel. She was in a writer’s group, but leery of who was reading her work, fearful of someone stealing her work . . . and her idea. I explained to her that very few people have the guts to steal someone’s work verbatim. It’s too easy these days to prove who was the first one to write it. But as for the idea, you can have ten writers with the same idea and still wind up with ten entirely diverse books. Most of a story is not in the plotting or storyline but more about the storytelling voice of the author. t’s HOW you tell a story that matters. But the reality is that nobody thinks your story is very good until it is published and IS PROVEN to be good. People don’t want to copy what isn’t already popular. When you, as a writer, are on the same level as other writers attempting to break in, nobody sees each other’s work as good . . . yet. Also, if someone steals your work, consider this: 1) It’s easy to prove you had it first. 2) The More

Half the job of writing books is promoting them. There are many ways to promote a book, but book blogs have become increasingly influential to potential readers. One of the more visible and easier-to-break-into ways to promote a book with an influential book blogger is by guest posting on their site. And double score if they will pay you to post. Why Guest Posting is Good for Business Easier to Get Than a Review: When you ask a high trafficked blogger to review your book you are essentially asking someone to do a lot of work. They must read a book and then write a review. Guest-posts are the opposite. You do the work, the planning, the writing, the editing, and they get content without having to lift a finger. You’ll Make Connections: In the process of pitching and publication, you’ll email back and forth with this blogger. Once they know you, they know you. I have gone back to bloggers I’ve done guest-posts for and they’re always willing to work with me again. Maybe that big blogger who didn’t review your first book will review your second since you’ve worked together before. Where to Guest-Post Not all reading focused blogs are More

“We are born without choosing to, to parents we haven’t chosen, into bodies and borders we haven’t chosen, to exist in a region of spacetime we haven’t chosen for a duration we don’t choose. As physicists know, we don’t choose the particular atoms that constellate our particular selves or the neural configurations that fire our consciousness. In consequence, as James Baldwin knew, we don’t even choose whom we love. But amid our slender repertoire of agency are the labels we choose for our labors of love — the works of thought and tenderness we make with the whole of who we are.”                   ~Maria Popova, founder of Brain Pickings, now The Marginalian  So much of our existence is out of our control, and if we think too hard about that, we would fret ourselves silly. And in today’s current events, social chaos, and concerns for personal safety and worth, we struggle to define ourselves and what gives us not only satisfaction, but also peace. What we create and how we impact those we come in contact with are within our control. We might not be able to direct how folks behave around us, More

As writers it is not enough to write well. It is just as important to sharpen your business and communication skills in preparation to conduct confident, intelligent, and unemotional conversations with potential clients. Especially when they counter you and disagree. As a Communications Specialist in a corporate role, I was supremely confident of my writing/editing skills but failed miserably when dealing with people. I was either scared stiff or defensive during critical feedback of my work. This is when I learned from my mentor boss how important it is to build my emotional intelligence, my personal brand, and make every interaction count. The transformation from a creative artist to a professional writing service provider did not happen overnight, but instead only after innumerable takes and tribulations. I developed the subtle art of being a professional while still being the creative writer in my heart. Pay attention to them.  Get to know them through their digital footprint and bring up any relevant point in conversation. This will make them notice you as someone who has taken the time to prepare. After a few rounds of interviews for a large project, I was meeting with the global head of an organization who More

A market can get glutted with providers, especially authors, a complaint that’s been around for over a decade. However, there’s always room for the exceptional author. The exceptional author is exceptional in their pursuit of being exceptional. They dissect grammar, voraciously read and analyze the gifted writer, and aim for the best story. They do not settle. They die attempting to be better, even if they’ve already sold ten million copies. They hold real passion, the kind of passion a lot of people claim but do not fully understand. If you feel stunted in your growth as an author, try to define what ceiling have you hit. Look through the glass and try to identify what those people on the other side are doing that you are not? What do you not understand that you could learn? What writing are you attempting but have not achieved yet, and why? There are geniuses out there, for sure. But they have to project that genius in the proper direction to be successful with it. Then there are those who swear they’ll sweat blood as long and hard as they have to in order to be the best at what they do or want to More