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Some of you have seen my social media of late. It’s not very active except to say I am hiding a bit behind pound cake, coffee, and my stories to avoid the universe. These are hard times. Don’t get sucked in. Write. I’ll be the first to tell you it’s difficult to claw past the […]

Writers with experience in specific subjects are encouraged to use their niche, especially when breaking into the writing world. Holly Lisle used nursing experience for her debut novel Sympathy for the Devil, Justin Gustainis turned bodyguarding experience to supernatural fiction for Black Magic Woman — and if you know more about a topic than other […]

In a recent success story, T. Jensen Lacey had a curious thought, dared ask for an interview, and dared pitch the piece. See what resulted. Her daring-do got her a fantastic assignment. (See Below) I once noticed a turf grass magazine. Keep in mind my degree is in agronomy, so there are still areas in […]

I was recently asked by a local magazine to write about my opinion of AI. It wasn’t a paying gig, but just a way to remind the local community who I was and that I lived among them, writing my books. I turned it down. I have a lot of fans in this area. Some […]

Resistance. Bookmarks. Dragons. Dreams. These are just a handful of examples of recent or pending “themed” submission calls posted on the Publishing . . . and Other Forms of Insanity web site, one of my go-to resources for submission venues. In my own writing, themed calls have played a key role in idea generation and sales. Brainstorming […]

Victoria Strauss of the Writer Beware blog, has been around for ages informing writers how to not get taken by the less than reputable entities out there in the publishing world. In her latest article written for Writer Unboxed, titled Cheated, Swindled, or Scammed: What’s a Writer to Do?, she gives you options on what to do once […]

We writers often stay in our own wheelhouse, our comfort zone. We stick with topics that allow us the ease and knowledge to keep money flowing in. Therefore, the articles and essays we write often come from the wealth of information we’ve gathered over the years. But what happens when creativity for those same topics […]

First, I don’t believe in a muse. I believe you write or you don’t write. If you feel you need to be in a mood to write, then conjure up the mood. Candles, music, coffee, bourbon, whatever. Make it happen instead of waiting for it to happen. There are some days where you sit down […]

I’ve written about a plethora of topics over the years, but metaphysical, occult, and spiritual writing is a more specific authorship path. Only you can decide if it feels right for you. In case you aren’t sure, here’s how to branch into metaphysical writing, and why it can be fulfilling. Understanding belief systems in writing […]

Crowdfunding has been around for decades. It’s a manner of telling the world what you have to offer, how you intend to make it successful, and asking for financial endorsement. Many genre fiction writers self-publish by earning funds to do so via crowdfunding. The largest crowdfunding tool to use is Kickstarter. There are thousands of […]

Literary magazines have been around for hundreds of years and feature a writing style different from what we commonly read. Many writers may see this style as a barrier and, therefore, never pitch these types of magazines. This writer is here to tell you there’s opportunity! Is this writer the kind who graduated from a […]

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 […]