Random Musings

Are Ebooks Ever Done?

May 10, 2012 Random Musings
Thumbnail image for Are Ebooks Ever Done?

In the world of traditional publishing, if errors make it through the editing process for a book, authors (and their readers) are stuck.  A lucky few authors are able to get egregious mistakes like wrong character names or missing paragraphs fixed in later print runs, but most of time, errors remain in the text forever. [...]

Click here to read more

What’s the Hardest “First Step” You’ve Taken?

May 1, 2012 Random Musings
Thumbnail image for What’s the Hardest “First Step” You’ve Taken?

As I write this post (late) Monday night, I just returned home after the regional writing conference, Desert Dreams.  I had a great time, met wonderful people, attended thought-provoking workshops, and pitched for the first time (and the second time and the third time). I think the pitches went well.  I got requests and I [...]

Click here to read more

Are You Missing Blog Readers?

April 10, 2012 Random Musings
Thumbnail image for Are You Missing Blog Readers?

Now that the dust has settled from the disappearance of Google Friend Connect (GFC) from all non-Blogger blogs, I thought I’d post a followup examining how much the discontinuation affected people. Those of us who never had the GFC widget on our blogs weren’t affected at all.  Same goes for those who have Blogger blogs and [...]

Click here to read more

Smeagol Presents: The Hunger Games

April 1, 2012 Random Musings
Thumbnail image for Smeagol Presents: The Hunger Games

In honor of April 1st—otherwise known as April Fool’s Day—I have a silly treat for you.  Many of you know my Tech Guy, as he’s not only an awesome Jedi Master of everything computer, but he’s also a beta reader extraordinaire and all-around goofball. Recently, I uncovered yet another one of his talents: voices.  In [...]

Click here to read more

Exploiting Our Brand: Is There a “Right” Way?

March 29, 2012 Random Musings
Thumbnail image for Exploiting Our Brand: Is There a “Right” Way?

Our brand is the impression others have of us.  So we all have a brand, whether we know it or not.  Hopefully, we’re building a brand that reflects who we really are, in a way that shows us at our best (however we each define “best”). Once we have a brand, we might wonder what [...]

Click here to read more

How Do You Handle Disappointments?

March 27, 2012 Random Musings
Thumbnail image for How Do You Handle Disappointments?

Over a thousand writers stared at their phones yesterday, willing them to ring.  Only around 150 of them received the call they were waiting for.  Yesterday the Romance Writers of America (RWA) announced the Golden Heart and RITA finalists. One of the largest writing organizations in the world released the names of the finalists for their [...]

Click here to read more

Using Google Search Terms for Fun and Education

March 20, 2012 Random Musings
Thumbnail image for Using Google Search Terms for Fun and Education

After the last few weeks of “serious issues,” I needed a silly break, so I looked up the search terms that recently brought people to my blog.  Google didn’t disappoint, as several phrases caught my eye. Every blogger should check the search terms associated with their blog occasionally, and not just for amusement.  If someone [...]

Click here to read more

When Does Fan Fiction Cross an Ethical Line?

March 6, 2012 Random Musings
Thumbnail image for When Does Fan Fiction Cross an Ethical Line?

Fan fiction, also known as fanfic, refers to stories written by fans about the characters, situations, or world of existing works created by others.  This definition sounds broad because the world of fanfic is broad. On some level, everything from Wicked, inspired by The Wizard of Oz, to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies could fall under the umbrella [...]

Click here to read more

Goodbye, Google Friend Connect–Now What?

February 28, 2012 Random Musings
Thumbnail image for Goodbye, Google Friend Connect–Now What?

We’ve all seen the Google Friend Connect (GFC) widgets on websites and blogs we visit.  Some sites have asked us to join GFC to qualify for a contest or giveaway.  On our own blogs, we enjoy seeing the avatars of our readers (and the numbers of our “members” go up). However, Google is retiring GFC [...]

Click here to read more

What’s the Power of Your Network?

January 17, 2012 Random Musings
Thumbnail image for What’s the Power of Your Network?

Let me start by profusely thanking everyone who bravely participated in Pitch Your Shorts and everyone who helped spread the word about the pitch session.  I was out of town all last week for my grandmother’s funeral, and yet the pitch session was a great success because of all of you.  Thank you! (I’ll share [...]

Click here to read more