“You can’t wait for inspiration; you have to go after it with a club.”—Jack London Some of you may know I do farming, so sorry up front for my farm slang. My observation is that just as consumers increasingly want quality locally-grown farm products, readers want well-written books with a sway toward local authors. There are likely many reasons for this, but for me overall author marketing greatly resembles farmer marketing. Some Marketing Generalities First, some words about advertising’s role … Read More »

I hope this unfortunate stay-at-home time finds you healthy and itching to write. Indeed, did you know that this year marks the 200th anniversary of James Fenimore Cooper’s first novel The Spy?  Many recognize Cooper as our country’s first great novelist. Since I was a teenager, his wordy novels have always drawn me in with their heroic accounts of difficult times in early America. Consequently, those of us who might want to honor Cooper this year with our own Great … Read More »