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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 […]

“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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Why is it that some self-published books sell quite well and others don’t? Marketing experts have studied this question for years, and many of them say the same thing: the professional quality of your book makes a difference, one that definitely affects sales. In other words, if you want your book to sell well, you […]

There’s a lady here in South Carolina who is a fan of my books. She’s bought and read them all. She’s attended book clubs to hear me and even sponsored one at a restaurant. She is a beautiful person, and she not long ago suddenly lost her husband. After a length of time, she started […]

Prove to me in 650 words that you are a memorable human being, worthy of acceptance. That’s pretty much the prompt students face when attempting the Personal Statement on college applications. It’s also the Everest I help them climb with Success Story, my business I built this past year. For students, this high-stakes writing task is […]

Recently read an incredible piece on balancing work and life. We all know about it, and we all realize balance is necessary for a happy life. But I don’t think anyone really understands what that means. How much leisure do you need compared to work hours, and what defines work? What defines leisure? Work is effort […]

Crave a change-of-pace that pays you and helps your fellow authors produce high-quality narratives? As a member of a marginalized community, consider sensitivity reading for that marginalization. A sensitivity reader “reviews unpublished manuscripts to spot cultural inaccuracy, representation issues, bias, stereotypes, or problematic language.” (Reedsy) The ranks of sensitivity readers include beta readers, writers, and editors, and their […]

I’m not a big audiobook listener. As a fast reader, I can race through print so much faster. However, with a few credits on Audible, I decided to give Stephen King’s On Writing a reread, so to speak. I’d forgotten how good that book was. King gives you permission to be a writer without instilling false hope […]

Ebooks have radically transformed the publishing world—by taking it back in time. After World War II, as the economy boomed and wartime restrictions on paper ended, publishers discovered a hungry market for inexpensive books. The mass market paperback was born. They were available everywhere—not just in bookstores but on spinner racks in drugstores, supermarkets, even […]

I just finished reading an issue of The Hot Sheet, founded by writing and publishing industry guru Jane Friedman. I’m no dummy, and I like to keep up with at least some of the advances in my profession. The Hot Sheet is the most energetic, thorough, and comprehensive of any publication in the business, and I highly […]