There are many reasons why a writer can’t write. If you are a writer where characters, plots and settings surge through your mind like an electrical current and you can’t wait to get to a pen and paper or a keyboard, then you will understand what it means to you when you can’t write. In [...]
Being in the book publishing, and graphics industry, one comes up against copyright all the time. When you create a piece of writing or artwork that is original, specifically from your thoughts, crafted, designed and written or illustrated by you without the use of any copying methods, then you own the right to that piece [...]
It’s all about confidence. Are your ready to share?
Not many of us enjoy public speaking. For some it’s very natural, for others, an absolute nightmare, especially for authors who are introverted, and face it, most of us are quite introverted. Otherwise how could we sit for hours on end with only our characters to keep [...]
Just as I was talking about entering writing contests yesterday, the following came across my email today about the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Amazon is looking for new voices in fiction and are accepting entries. If you care to do the work to have your manuscript in proper format and send it in on [...]
Continue reading about Speaking of Writer’s Contests - check out Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award
Is entering a writing contest a good idea? Why should you have to pay to enter?
There are many writing contests being offered by various organizations. Most are free. Some have a charge. You have to determine if you want to pay to enter a contest. Some call it an administrative fee or depending on the [...]
Many authors wonder what an appropriate response time is to hear back from a publisher regarding their manuscript submission. A response time is the average length of time for the publishing house to determine whether they are going to accept (or reject) a submission. This can vary and can be a long wait indeed. You [...]
When I first started writing, I was under the impression that one shouldn’t read books in the same genre as one was writing, in case you were to ’subconsciously’ copy another writers work. This is is far from the truth and very naive. Writers have to read everything! Voraciously too. The more you read, the [...]
Blogging here at aboutwritingandpublishing will be sparse over the next week, while I take a much needed vacation break. I wrote in another blog (journalsandpapers.com) about travel journals and writing and suggested a difficult exercise.
Writers have to think and be able to describe senses to set up a scene effectively. When I [...]
Continue reading about Taking a break - Writing Exercises- pushups for the brain.
So what makes the Twilight Series so popular with teens? Tonight in movie theaters around the country, teens are already lining up for the opening of the Twilight movie. The books, Twilight, Eclipse, New Moon and Breaking Dawn, a series about a love/vampire story written by Stephenie Meyer are simply entertaining. They are ripe with [...]
As writers, we all need them, have used them at one time or another, have even started one or two ourselves. I’m talking about writer’s groups. If you are starting out, love writing and want to be in a community of like-minded individuals, then a writing group is for you. If you are a well-seasoned [...]
