I wrote this as a post on Linkedin a few weeks back. I keep getting emails about it from indie writers (indie writers disguised as people who want to sell me viagra). I thought that I would share it here. Plus, I am sick as a dog’s butt and don’t want to write anything new. Anyway, if you want to sell tons of books, talk to someone else. If you want to sell as many as I do, listen to me! Continue reading “How to promote your work…”
Day: December 27, 2011
The Healed Writer: Impervious to Praise by Alix Moore
Writing Heals
Writing, like other forms of creation, is a vehicle for learning our life lessons. As writers, we must find the courage to speak our own idiosyncratic truths, and learn to stand in the limelight and be seen by others without flinching or trying to hide. If we are good writers, we are tempted to stand in ego, but ego is just puffery on a foundation of insecurity, and one bad review is enough to send us crashing down into discouragement. One of the biggest gifts writing offers us is the chance to become convinced of the value of our work. Writing invites us to learn to love ourselves, to become so solid in our self-love that no one else’s opinion of us matters.
In the beginning, of course, those opinions do matter. We show our words to our teachers, often when we are quite young, and we are lifted or dropped depending upon the response we get from them. As we age, our writing expands but so too may our insecurity about it. Know any writers whose books end up in the desk drawer, attracting mice? Know any writers whose books end up unwritten, bouncing off the insides of their heads? Continue reading “The Healed Writer: Impervious to Praise by Alix Moore”
Meet the Character: Mr. Pish, the Traveling Terrier
My name is Mr. Pish. I’m a traveling terrier, star of children’s books, Facebook, Twitter, educational videos, print, radio and even television. I’ve done a lot in my 14 people years. (That’s 91 in dog years if you’re counting.) So I wasn’t really that surprised when I was asked here for an interview.
But you have to understand, I’m a dog. All I think about is food. And naps. And sniffing. And food. Did I mention food? Well, they’re using that love for food against me. I’m told there are some major treats waiting for me when I’m done with this feature piece. I can work with that!
Indies Unlimited (IU): Mr. Pish, tell me about traveling across country with your people. Were they hard to look after? What was your biggest challenge? Wow. Start with a hard question why don’t you? My people were very high maintenance. “Where should we stop?” “We have to be here at this time or that time.” “What’s for lunch?” It’s so easy for me. Put a bowl of food in front of me and I’m happy. My biggest challenge was that everyone wanted to pat me. I was supposed to look at the camera and smile while they were doing that. I’m a simple dog, I just want to have fun. It’s a big responsibility being in the right place at the right time so we can trick…um I mean teach children about important places and things. Do I get my treat now? Continue reading “Meet the Character: Mr. Pish, the Traveling Terrier”
Meet the Author: Raven West
Author Raven West describes her writing style as one of light entertainment with great, believable characters in somewhat unusual settings. She says, “My first novel ‘Red Wine for Breakfast’ is set in a Los Angeles radio station. My second novel; ‘First Class Male’ takes place in both the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York and Manhattan. My third novel ‘Undercover Reunion’ is set in a small town in Minnesota. Even though each is very different, there is a universal theme of relationships, work ethic and overcoming obstacles and challenges they never expected. My novels may be fiction, but there is enough reality in each of them that a reader believes the characters are real, and these situations are definitely plausible.” Continue reading “Meet the Author: Raven West”