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When summer rolls around, commercial writing work often dries up. Don’t panic – use the quieter months to tidy up the backend of your operation in time for the autumn rush. Here’s a handy checklist. 1. Overhaul your website and CV Check that all your latest publications, client names, and portfolio links are up to […]

I follow the newsletter and website Plagiarism Today, a long time, tried and true resource on plagiarism, and most recently, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the writing world. Recently they ran a post on How to Prove That Your Writing is Not AI, and it is most excellent. The tools are wonderful. Now you have no excuses. […]

I am an abdominal surgeon. My days are dictated by operating room schedules, emergency consults, and ward rounds. When people learn I also maintain a steady income as a freelance writer—adding a consistent stream of paid invoices to my bank account every month—they always ask: Where do you find the time? The truth is, I […]

Many writers want to write about themselves. “I experienced (fill in the blank) and I believe the world needs to learn from my experience.” The problem is, unless you can write it like a novel, or write it cinematically, it’s just words on a page. Converting real emotion into words on a page is not […]

So you land an exciting new writing commission or a contract that will cover all your bills for a couple of months. You put your head down and get on with delivering the goods. Six weeks later, however, you come up for air and realise you’ve got nothing else in terms of income coming in. […]

I am an abdominal surgeon based in Italy. I am also a self-taught developer. Yet, despite my demanding primary career, I maintain a steady, predictable stream of freelance writing income. How? Not by pitching major consumer magazines, but by turning my hyper-specific, off-the-clock hobbies into recurring assignments in niche markets. Early in my writing journey, […]

Okay, so you’re a novelist by trade, but you’ve got a story idea you feel is just as well suited for a Hollywood film as a paperback. However, before you put ink to paper, you wonder whether it would be wiser to write the novel first and then sell the IP (Intellectual Property), or just […]

Media coverage from bloggers and newspapers is part of the writing journey since this is how readers discover their favorite authors and how ‘public figures’ remain relevant. Here’s what I learned about promotion working for Crossed Crow Books. Starting with Crossed Crow Author Raven Digitalis asked me to promote A Gothic Witch’s Oracle Deck (Digitalis/Santerineross). in 2023. […]

By copycatting, I’m talking about you copying someone’s style, plagiarizing their description, stealing a story concept, or using AI. The creative world is anti-AI, in case you hadn’t noticed, and regardless of what those using it are saying, readers do want to know if a human or machine wrote it. Readers are not ignorant creatures […]

For years, I’ve counselled writers to avoid religion and politics in their branding unless they are part of their brand. There are always potential readers on the other side of the fence, and with so much competition for book sales, do you really want to alienate a chunk of them? There’s another category rearing its […]

I’m not a talented writer. I’m not even steeped in writing qualifications. Yet my website is splattered with published features. How? In three words – pitch, ballsiness and research. Pitch – Turtles inspired me to write. While out having coffee, I noticed a company advertising string bags as alternatives to plastic ones. Not very interesting in […]

Once upon a time not long ago I did an event where several authors appeared. It was at a library. The library didn’t advertise except in its own material to its patrons. They thought the writers would really appreciate the recognition. I asked if they had advertising prepared that I could use. No. I mentioned […]