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 …
Tag: Author
What the Heck is “Indie” Publishing?
I've been involved in varies capacities in the publishing industry for twenty-five years now, as a writer and editor and policy advocate. I never could have imagined the transformations that have occurred in both technology and business models. And yet I repeatedly find myself confused by the use of the term "indie" in the context …
Is Kickstarter the Answer for Aspiring Authors?
Few unpublished novelists or memoirists are able to convince a publisher to consider their work until it is complete. But it can be daunting to spend months or years bringing a book to completion with no assurance it will ever be published. Established authors can at times secure advances based on book proposals and a …
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What are the Top 50 Blogs for Authors?
The Artist's Road turns two years old next month, and I've received some pretty fishy emails during this run, such as people wanting to pay me to run their blog posts. I always decline; my readers aren't for sale. Yesterday I was told I was named a Top 50 Blog for Authors. I was immediately …
What the Heck Should I Call Myself, Anyway?
Today I'm honored to have as a guest blogger Annie Neugebauer, who has authored short stories, novels, and award-winning poetry. She shares with her blog readers wisdom, thoughtfulness, and more than a bit of whimsy. Enjoy! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aspiring. Writer. Author. Indie. Poet. Literary. Commercial. Vanity press. Award-winning. If you’re in the book industry, you probably …
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Literary Agent = Book Contract?
Literary agents only get paid when a publisher writes a check. So that suggests if an agent signs with you, she must believe she can sell your manuscript. Believing isn't always enough. In perusing Alexis Grant's latest Writer's Round-Up I came across a blog post from literary agent Rachelle Gardner titled "Difficult Conversations II: I …
Three Authors Every Writer Should Read
I'm afraid I'm not going to give you the answer to that question. I'm asking it of you. This is a selfish attempt to crowdsource wisdom before I begin a low-residency MFA in Writing at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. I'm suspecting I'm not sufficiently "well read" to take on this challenge. My anxiety …
The Birth of a Novel
Today we're featuring a guest post from Ann Simon, who like me is a writer in Northern Virginia. Below she shares with us her story of turning the quiet hours of an ex-pat experience into a novel, Jaguar Sees: The Lacquer Box. Every now and then, life bestows a free and beautiful gift. It arrives …
Write There: Style is Not a Mystery
Today we're featuring a guest post from Milli Thornton, writing coach and author of "Fear of Writing: for writers & closet writers" (a copy of which is on my bookshelf ). There are oodles of books and courses out there designed to help writers with style and voice. But sometimes trying to learn these things …
The Artist's Road 