‘Guest Columnists’ Archives
The Best Laid Plans
Honestly, I had full intentions of having a new blog ready (by April 2nd)to be posted on Tuesday, April 6th. So, this is what happened that got in the way. I have mentioned before that I am writing a series of books entitled The Millerville Mysteries. I realized a few months ago that to maintain continuity from one book to the next I had to at [...]
Oh…The Little Joys
Now, that is an oxymoron! Joys are huge, to me. I had intended to use my next three blogs covering, in this order, traditional publishing, print on demand, and independent publishing. But, I want to share what happened yesterday evening. It began last December when one of my brothers purchased ten copies of The Mystery of the Grinning [...]
Traditional Publishing vs. Independent Publishing vs. POD
I do not pretend to know a vast amount about traditional publishing vs. independent publishing vs. POD. But I have had some experience with each. So, please feel free to add any experiences you have had that will help us all make the best decision about getting our books in print. My first book, Tivloli’s Christmas, was sent to several [...]
Making Solid Decisions for Writing Career
As with my first two blogs, I address the new, upcoming writer. There is so much to learn, so many obstacles to overcome. As I sit at my computer, this very moment, I have a bookcase at my right side. On the top shelf are seventeen three-ring binders. The first binder has notes to be used to make my first book into a musical stage [...]
What Indie Musiscians Can Learn from Their Author Cousins
OK, so last time I picked on indie authors, encouraging them to steal a page from the indie musician playbook and spend a little (or a lot!) more time honing their craft. I hope I didn't step on too many toes, but I know for a fact that one of the biggest complaints about self-published work is the quality (or lack thereof) of the finished [...]
Starting Down The Road To Being Published
My sister, Connie, and I both write books; she for young adults and I for children. I asked her the other day what got her started as a writer. When she was a child she used to have frequent nightmares. Our older sister would read stories to her—stories with happy endings. As our older sister became busier with her life, Connie [...]
Is there a book inside you waiting to be written?
It has been said that within everyone is at least one book. Then why hasn’t everyone put their “all” into the written word? One reason is probably that on some level, people know that getting published is next to impossible. Perhaps they are not willing to put forth the effort to write. Maybe they are not willing to put forth the effort to [...]
What Indie Authors Can Learn from Their Musical Counterparts
The one thing that really stands out to me in the time I've been working with independent authors and musicians is this: the quality of the work produced. Indie musicians, for the most part, are incredibly talented artists. You can just tell they put their heart and soul into their work, and the result is some of the best music available on [...]
Don’t Be Afraid of Your Own Opinion
My friend Joel D Canfield, author of The Commonsense Entrepreneur (seriously one of the best business books I’ve ever read, and he doesn’t even pay me to say that), made an interesting comment to me today. He said that he never wants to go to his book’s page on Amazon and see 3s in the ratings; he only wants to see 1s and 5s. That [...]
To Thine Own Self Be True
Shakespeare: Hamlet, Act I, scene 3: Many people are familiar with the quote I used to entitle this blog. I chose it because, when it comes to our writing efforts, we must be true to and with ourselves. My point, this morning, is that from the first original words we ever wrote to the moment we put the finishing touches on our first poem, short [...]
