The coffee shop is packed with them: young, hip, ironic writer types purporting to work on short stories, dissertations, even a couple of novels. Small wobbly tables support MacBook Pros with Retina Displays, along with half empty mocha latte cups, and the latest version of iPhone. The human operators of these machines are creative and intelligent, if somewhat distracted. In between all of their tweeting,… [Read More]
April 23rd is World Book Night in the United State. This annual celebration spreads the love of reading from person to person. Tens of thousands of people go out into their communities and give half a million free paperbacks to light and non-readers. It’s more than giving free books to those who don’t regularly read. It’s about reaching out to others and touching lives in… [Read More]
“Should I self-publish?” No. No. No. It’s one of the most frequent questions I get from aspiring writers and 99 out of 100 times my answer is no. If it’s Grandma’s recipes you want to put together, your wedding photo album, flash or fan fiction, or a poetry chapbook, then maybe. But I don’t recommend authors self-publish. This doesn’t make me popular and I’m certain… [Read More]
It is the author’s responsibility to seek endorsements for their books and publishers expect you to get them. Blurbs – often only a few words from an endorsement from a high profile author, celebrity or expert – appear on a book’s cover or dust jacket flaps. Blurbs are used in letters to solicit book reviews, on tip sheets to booksellers, in marketing materials and press… [Read More]
Vinyl records, No. 2 pencils, yellow-ruled tablets and cork bulletin boards. What I thought I needed in the 1970s to write has changed. But I still need a place to stick things that I don’t yet know where to file but inspire. I’ve used the outside of kitchen cupboard to tape up newspaper clippings, flyers for upcoming events, photographs, maps, postcards, and ticket stubs. Push-pin… [Read More]