Catch Up On The Art-Committed Life Newsletter!

The New Year is almost here, and I'm sure we all can't wait to put 2020 behind us. This seems a good time to remind you that if you want to keep reading insights on creativity, writing, and living an art-committed life, you'll want to sign up for the Art-Committed Life newsletter. Published approximately monthly, …

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7 Reasons You Shouldn’t Launch a Blog

So my telling creative writers not to launch a blog may seem a bit hypocritical, coming from someone who has blogged off and on for more than twenty years, and even taught blogging through The Loft Literary Center. I certainly don't want to kill anyone's dreams. That said, I think in 2020 most published authors …

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5 Reasons Why I’m Ending The Artist’s Road Blog

I'm asked a lot of questions in the blogging classes I teach for The Loft Literary Center, but one I'm rarely asked is, "How do I know when it's time to shut down my blog?" It is perhaps the toughest question to answer. It's also critical. If you just go by software registrations, there are …

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Social Media Dystopia: A Review of Dave Eggers’ The Circle

It's somewhat odd, sharing my thoughts on a novel via social media when that novel highlights the dark fate that can befall us when we become too enamored with sharing our thoughts online. That's how I opened my Goodreads review of Dave Eggers' The Circle. That review was automatically posted to my Facebook and Twitter …

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ICYMI: A Collection of Creativity Clips

Looking for a little creativity recharge as 2014 winds to a close? Not looking to have to open that pocketbook one more time this holiday season? Please enjoy this collection of creativity and creative-craft posts I have written for others during my blog tour for Committed: A Memoir of the Artist's Road. Let's learn from creatives: Committed features …

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Road to Publication: The Blog Tour Begins

Author tours rarely proved a profitable investment for book publishers, but I have to imagine there are moments of fun for the authors. Yes, travel has its nuisances--and I suppose I speak with some authority since I've written a travel memoir--but I do find myself inclined to put up with some of the hassle to …

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Road to Publication: Asking for Help

In my day job I sell people on the merits of my employer; that is what we do in public relations. One of the things I like about PR is that I'm promoting work that is not mine and people who are not me. That is much harder to do when the product is my …

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Road to Publication: Questions to Ask Before Building an Artist Website

I've owned a personalized domain name (patrick-ross.com) for about fifteen years, but have done little with it during that time. For the past four years I have focused on this free WordPress site instead. But with Committed: A Memoir of the Artist's Road publishing this October, I knew it was time to do something with …

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Internet Companies Don’t Serve Us; They Sell Us

Repeat after me: We are not Facebook's customers; we are their product. This sentence has been in my head ever since first noticing the kerfuffle surrounding Facebook in the wake of the publication of an article documenting how--prepare to be shocked--the company conducted experiments on how they presented our news feeds to see if they …

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Do Authors Need Two Facebook Pages?

It should come as no surprise that since signing a publishing contract for Committed: A Memoir of the Artist's Road, my mind has turned to marketing. It also isn't a secret to longtime readers of this blog that while I find Twitter somewhat intuitive, the secrets of Facebook elude me. So I'm pleased to have …

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