Having to part ways with someone is tough. There's no getting around the fact that you're going to be upsetting someone. However, the more polite, honest, and up front you are about it, the easier the whole process becomes.Read More

Continuing yesterday’s discussion of what the real differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing are, let’s step into the nitty-gritty and lay out the pros and cons (I was tempted to write “prose and cons”) so we can compare the two side by side. Now that we have looked at the steps required in putting together...Read More

There are lines in the sand, and authors everywhere are examining the decision of how to publish differently than ever before. The change in the modern landscape of the industry is a significant one, and with the rise of e-books and outlets like Amazon and Smashwords authors have unprecedented access to tools only publishers possessed...Read More

Social media has revolutionized how we relate to each other as a culture and a society. I can share my thoughts, impressions, feelings, and silly photos with the entire world if I want to. Not that the entire world cares, but I can, which is unprecedented. I’m thirty, so I’m old enough to remember the dawn of...Read More

I almost titled this as “how to handle difficult clients”, but I thought for a minute and realized the techniques aren’t so different. Also, the differences between “difficult clients” and “difficult editors” (you can replace it with publisher, beta reader, coworker…) are minimal. In your career you will run into difficult people. I would even...Read More

Owing to a recent event I witnessed where a writer claimed to be an editor and author with Random House (and very much wasn’t), I thought it prudent to share my thoughts on the subject. The sad thing is that this incident isn’t isolated. I can’t count the number of people I’ve come across who...Read More

My least-favorite type of writer is this one, and I’m sorry to be the mean one to say it, but it’s true. There are many of them in the world, and I never stop being frustrated by them. It’s the people who, when they put their work up and you critique it say: “This isn’t...Read More

This is likely to be a controversial post because I am going to say a lot of things about the industry that I think are hard truths. Truths that suck to hear, but they are things I think need to be said. Despite pundits saying it, traditional publishing isn’t about to die. It isn’t “dying”....Read More

I recently saw this question and thought it might be appropriate to weigh in. To begin with – I did graduate college. I obtained my degree in history with a European concentration. As such I spent a lot of time reading and writing for my degree which I have no doubt helped my ability to...Read More

While I am a relative newcomer to NaNoWriMo, this being my second year, I don’t have a long-running history to be able to share about this project. However, I did win it last year (cue the confetti), and I learned a lot while doing it. If you don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, it stands for...Read More