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 […]
Leverage Themed Calls for Ideas and Income
/ 2024-06-28Resistance. 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 […]
How Do You Tell the Scams?
/ 2024-06-28Victoria 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 […]
5 Ways I Broke Out of a Writing Rut
/ 2024-06-28We 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 […]
At the Crossroads
/ 2024-06-28First, 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 […]
The Metaphysical Author
/ 2024-06-28I’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 […]
Kickstarter
/ 2024-06-28Crowdfunding 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 are Not the Barrier to Publication Many Writers Think
/ 2024-06-10Literary 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 […]
How to Get Speaking Engagements
/ 2024-06-10Trust 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 […]
Work Ethic
/ 2024-06-10Here 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, […]
Almost Famous: Interviews in the Music Industry
/ 2024-06-10Almost 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 […]
The Book Club
/ 2024-05-24Recently 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 […]