This is a dilemma I’ve fought my entire life. I mean, consciously…seriously grappled with. In my earlier years, I decided nothing would get the best of me. I gave everything my all, and if I did not ace whatever it was, then I hadn’t tried hard enough. I saw life as nothing but challenge and […]
They Ought to Like Me
/ 2021-04-26A woman posted on a Facebook group recently how insulted she was that some of her friends and family do not appreciate that she writes romance. She commenced to explain why she wrote it and loved it and how it was the largest selling genre, therefore, it deserved respect. Others on the group echoed her […]
Slow Down and Let It Rise to the Top
/ 2021-03-12If you keep a blender going, the ingredients swirl and combine until you have a product that looks little like its original parts. But if you shut off that blender, and you let the pitcher sit there for a few hours, something will usually settle to the bottom . . . or float to the […]
Finding Your Writing Pleasure
/ 2021-02-12But pleasures are like poppies spread, You seize the flow’r, its bloom is shed; Or like the snow falls in the river, A moment white—then melts forever. –Robert Burns (1759–96) Mankind is forever in search of pleasure, and writers are forever seeking some sort of sweet spot of success that works forever. I know, that […]
The Daring and the Tentative
/ 2021-01-16The difference between the tentative and the daring is that the tentative ask too many questions beginning with BUT or WHAT IF. The daring, however, are too busy forging ahead, diagramming how they will arrive at success. The daring and diligent are focused. The tentative are scouting for obstacles so they are not blindsided. The […]
Being Accountable
/ 2021-01-16I’ve had a rash of queries from folks asking how they find a way to be accountable in their writing, because while they are still quarantined, they are wasting the time away. Would you want to be the person who says, “Hey, how many words did you write today?” only for the other person to […]
New Year Wake Up
/ 2021-01-02The year taught us that the norm can quickly change if not disappear, leaving us wondering what the heck do we do next. The year taught us that conforming can be good and bad. We learned that there are options to our lives with many throwing themselves in new directions. Some made bread, others read, […]
How to Deal with a Bad Payer Without Giving In to Anger
/ 2020-08-28Some months ago, I finally, finally received a modest payment for a couple of articles I’d written for a well-known outlet. It took me almost a year from submitting the first piece to getting paid, and the whole process involved endless emails, chasing different people, lots of silence, and false dawns – a great deal […]
A Letter to a Friend and Fellow Writer
/ 2020-08-15Tom – Let’s put this into perspective. Yes, it’s difficult to sit across the table from your friend and be exposed to his success while you struggle. Hearing how much he pays for editors and the travel he’s able to do is difficult. But your friend didn’t start off hiring line editors for $7,000 when […]
When It Isn’t Fun
/ 2020-05-22Each time to ascend to a higher rung on the ladder of personal evolution, we must go through a period of discomfort, of initiation. I have never found an exception. – Dan Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior and 16 other books of inspiration During this Time of COVID-19, we have learned […]
The Race to the Bottom
/ 2020-05-03The problem with freelance sites where you compete for work is that the low price usually wins. Same goes for pitching to magazines and customers . . . the lower you value yourself, the more likely you’ll get stuck with that price. Not only will you get paid for less than you are worth, but […]
Simplify Your Writing Life
/ 2019-11-23I don’t know about you, but in my attempt to keep up with publishing changes, my stress level often rises. My email box posts roughly 200 emails daily, the majority of them telling me how to best edit, publish, market, and partner with influencers. How to work Amazon. . . how to hate Amazon. How […]