I’m in querying mode again. It’s not fun. When animals fight, the loser will sometimes expose their jugular vein for a quick finish off. No such mercy in the publishing industry. It’s more of a slow death. Endless, sometimes. Not bitter. Just sayin’. “If you don’t hear from us within sixteen weeks, it’s a pass.” Sixteen weeks! And that’s not the worst of it. At least during those four months (!) there’s hope. Through this process I’ve relearned what I … Read More »

If you’ve read Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, you have been introduced to the concept of an artist date. To cultivate creativity, Cameron suggests that every writer set aside a weekly block of time to nurture the artist within. No partners. No work. Just an hour or two each week designed for a solitary diversion. Although the idea of an artist date may seem self-indulgent, you’ll find that setting aside time to nurture your creative self will yield a greater … Read More »

Lemme tell you something I hate. I hate it when someone comes to a writing group or asks me to critique something and says, “I just wrote it this morning.” Whatever you wrote this morning is not fit to be read by anyone but you. And if you’re any kind of half-decent editor, you won’t like it much. Rough Draft? Don’t Be Daft. The random collections of letters, some formed into words, that fly off your fingertips is not your … Read More »

We talk about the “Publishing Journey” because it would be too awful to call it what it is. Hard Slog. Impossible Mission. Death March. Do Everything Right, See If the Universe Cares Sorry, even if you follow all the querying and pitching advice on all the FWA Blogs and everywhere else, you still face an uphill battle. The most important thing is to produce a high-quality manuscript, so you hired an expensive editor. Also important is to research agents and … Read More »

You have a gift. You have ideas. You have the passion to form words into images, concepts, and aha moments for adoring readers. You can do this! Or, you can ruin it. So, here you go. If you want to fail as a writer… 1. Don’t write unless you feel like writing. Many people enjoy the idea of writing, but actually doing the work takes discipline, and discipline is not always fun. If you really want to write, you need … Read More »

Wikipedia calls writer’s block a “condition.” Sounds serious, doesn’t it? Like a chronic malady that a writer struggles to keep at bay, the threat of a recurrence is always lurking in the dark shadows of that last sentence, paragraph, or scene. It’s something you might get a bit of respite from, but is guaranteed to return at some point. I suspect anyone who writes has felt at one time or another that they are unable to move forward with their … Read More »