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Trust me, they were not easy to land in the beginning. In the early days, when I had one book, even two, bookstores all but laughed in my face. One told me to come back when I had two books; they weren’t interested in a one-book author. I remember that bookstore to this day. I have not been back to them. I would pitch myself as a presenter, stating what I had published, and, yes, I spoke for free as long as books could be sold afterward. Some queries were cringe-worthy, even embarrassing. Others treated me kindly, even while saying no. However, enough said yes. Those are the ones to list as experience and to ask for testimonial from, because as you rise in popularity, they do, too. It’s definitely a symbiotic relationship. Honestly, starting local makes the most sense. Inquire in an area that already recognizes you, or at least appreciates that you are local. Even if there are only six people in the room when you present, act like it’s a hundred, because those six will tell one or two more people. . . each. Being welcomed will NOT happen overnight. Not many people risk their free time More

Here lately, when I sign books or speak, people look at my stack of books or my banner with all 19 books and say, “Wow, you must have some kind of work ethic to make yourself write that many books.” Only one person in five years or more has recognized my reality when they said, “You treat this as your job, don’t you?” Absolutely yes. You do not accidentally get successful. You do not suddenly become known. You do not write books overnight. You do not short cut the process of writing well. You do not stop reading good books or improving how well you write. You do not “get discovered.” The books do not sell themselves. You have a greater chance of winning the lottery rather than suddenly becoming famous as a writer. But it isn’t all negative. The positive is you love writing. You love publishing. You love pushing stories into the world. But if you want this exercise you love so much to become a career. . . Decide why you write. Decide why you want to be read. Decide what your long game is as a writer. Decide where you want to be in one year, More

Almost Famous and Spinal Tap are two of my favourite movies – but also (rather accurately) depict the niche of music industry interviews. I’ve shared the stage with many but switched to journalism and decided to bring some of the music along. Here’s how to ‘make it happen’ for interviews in the music industry. Publications and Editors in Music There are two types of publications: ones about music, and ones that aren’t. Rolling Stone and SA Music Magazine are the aforementioned; mainstream news and blogs are the second. The good news: it’s possible to sell a music industry interview anywhere. I sold the story “Band on the Road” to Moneyweb, a financial publication. We interviewed Cortina Whiplash about their finances for a great piece. Mainstream publication Maroela Media let me interview musician Koos Kombuis in 2024, along with other celebrities, about their favourite apps. Beware the Lawsuit Musicians and their agents can be sensitive about what goes to print. Confirm an article’s draft with the subjects or press team – sometimes it’s a conditional clause in the agreement. Make sure they’re okay with the draft, or your reputation could take a hit. For The sports bet & the bunny chow (LitNet), I suffered through edits once someone said: “You More

Recently a local lady asked me if I could squeeze in a book club for this week. They had chosen Murder on Edisto and wondered last minute if I’d be available to discuss it. Of course I accepted. I arrived to the smell of shrimp and grits, cheese tarts, cheese biscuits, salmon snacks, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and orange fluff (Southerners know that that is). The aromas were wonderful. The book club consisted of five couples, average age 78-80. Once I got used to people not hearing, we were good. OMG, they talked the characters like they knew them! They loved Jeb, Sophie, and Seabrook. They hated Raysor. And when they go to Edisto again (they’d all been), would they recognize the house. We talked and ate for over two hours! Book clubs and eager readers are what make writing crazy fun. I went home on a high, and since I turned in a Slade manuscript last night and had Edge of Edisto released today, well, you could say I was really on a high. But I have to quote one gentleman. Toward the end, he thanked me for coming. “I really enjoyed the book, Ms. Clark. But even better More

If you want to write, first find your niche, find the thing or things you are most interested in and knowledgeable about, be it motorcycles, plants, or backwoods camping and write. There is a need for writing on every topic under the sun. When I first started writing, I knew how to write essays and I taught myself to write short stories. I had a passion for nonfiction, describing things like stigma, bullying, hospitalizations, and other things surrounding mental health. I wrote every day, and soon, my book, titled “Through the Withering Storm” was finished. An old friend knew an editor. After polishing the manuscript, I self-published. I prefer using Amazon/Kindle Direct Publishing. The key is getting the format and the cover worked out, then author copies are around $5 each with shipping. I set the price of my first book at $20. Most bookstores charge around 45% for selling your books. It is great to sell books directly, but bookstores can be a lifeline for an author and you need to leave room for some profit. Look for organizations where you can learn about and market your writing as I did when I approached The Schizophrenia Society. They were More

Online recently, someone spoke of almost making it as a writer in Woman’s World Magazine. For those who do not know, WW has a layered process of acceptance. I, too, have made it to the final round and been rejected. On the other hand, I have a short story writer friend who has to have published in that magazine fifty plus times. That writer understands the magazine and has the flavor down pat. They love working with him. Someone responded on the heels of that discussion that traditional publishers operate the same way. They don’t like debut authors. I gave a brief response, but in that moment this editorial was born. Yes, traditional publishers (and magazine editors) maintain a stable of authors. These authors have proven themselves. They’ve written well and had a good response when their works were launched into the world. If they are prolific in their writing, even better. The publishers will be more likely to swoop them up without much vetting, and choose them over anyone new. Publishers have finite budgets. Authors/writers provide the income to keep them alive. The authors who are good at providing said income will be the ones who get the most attention More

Just this week, someone asked if they could pick my brain about appearing at book clubs. She sent a list of questions for me, and I realized this was going to be a piece on telling debut authors how to latch ahold of book clubs to launch their books. In a nutshell, here’s a bulleted list of the myths and realities with which I responded. There is no list of book clubs. Reality is most book clubs want to remain anonymous. They want to carefully choose their members, their books, and their guest authors. To post somewhere who they are would mean being inundated with queries that they don’t want. Book clubs normally want guest authors who have proven themselves, not debut authors. Unless the author is local and fairly known, or the topic of the book is very appropriate to the area, book clubs aren’t necessarily going to want debut authors until they have proven themselves. Book clubs are noted for selecting books that have been on bestseller lists. Presenting at a book club is not like presenting at a library or conference. You are exposed and open to questions and criticism at book clubs, so be prepared to be More

I became a book coach because helping people realize their writing dream lights me up inside. When I first started out, I accepted books across all genres, but over time, I limited my clients to children’s book authors, adult self-help authors, and non-fiction books about craft. Authors of most genres have a general sense of what goes into their style of book. That is, most genres except for picture books. The reason is usually because the book ideas come from a place of wanting to tell a story from their own adult perspective rather than from a child’s experience. After five years of working with first-time authors, I created a 20-point checklist for first-time picture book authors to ensure they are hitting all the right beats before they move forward with their manuscript. Part of creating the list was self-serving, as it’s so much easier to hand an author a checklist before they come to me with a manuscript. But the points also helped me narrow down what I was looking for in a manuscript and helped me hone the advice I give. I’ve presented the list to several audiences of aspiring picture book authors and compiled it into a More

All writers have hopes, dreams, and stories. Realistically speaking, professional authors and freelancers also have expenses to meet. In 2023, I realized the future of my writing business could look better (and earn more) once I analyzed what was going on inside all the loose ends. Here’s how to demystify writing expenses, ranging from accounting to pay-rates. Digital Sticky Notes Digital sticky notes are great for authors, especially those getting used to better expense-tracking. Apps like Simple Sticky Notes aren’t fancy – but they keep your thoughts in the right place, recording quick bits of data that you’ll return to later. The simplicity helps for pitches, amounts, or who-pays-how-much. Payment Systems Clients want the easiest payment systems, and fees can discourage clients from paying your rates. Use several payment systems for ease, such as PayPal and Skrill. A provider like Wise.com lets you set up international bank accounts, which could have less transfer fees or waiting times for payments. When it’s accounting time, a total statement can also be downloaded from these sites as well. Graphs A pie-chart can show expenses versus income, or showcase how much of your income has been proofreading versus article publication or royalties. Charts can show whether three months ago looked better (or More

A new writer in my area recently announced to various groups on Facebook that he had published a mystery. What caught me was the title, which I won’t list, for his sake and mine. It included wording I have in a work-in-progress title, so of course it caught my eye. I almost bought it. That is, until I found his post saying he had a fulltime job, and this book was his hobby, and that he didn’t have enough money to hire an editor so excuse any mistakes. That convinced me not to buy the book. For him to compromise his effort into the book does not mean I compromise the quality I wish to read. All too often, writers tell me both in confidentiality and in the open on social media (big mistake), that they cannot afford an editor, don’t have the time to workshop a book through a group, don’t have the  years to wait to get traditionally published, or they are anxious to get a book out in short order, for any of a zillion reasons. A lot of writers get on social media and whine about how long it takes. They complain about not being able More