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How Much More Do You Have to Learn?

Penrose never-ending stairs optical illusion from the movie Inception

In my last post, I lamented how it’s hard for us to see our learning curve and know how much more we have yet to understand.  I wanted to know how close I was to that elusive “destination” of knowing everything I need to know about writing. *pshaw*  Silly me for […]

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April 7, 2011

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Would You Ever Turn Down a Contract?

Thumbs down

The comments for my last post were fantastic—thank you!  The range of opinions really got me to think deeper about the traditional vs. self publishing issue. Many people wrote in with circumstances for when self publishing works (and possibly works “better”).  Others noted situations where traditional publishing is the only […]

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March 31, 2011

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When Is Rejection a Good Thing?

Runner at starting block

I get a brief reprieve from the deadline cave this week while I wait for feedback from my awesome readers.  When I first sent my work out to them, I felt great.  This work was as good as I could make it. But going back to last week’s perfection posts […]

March 8, 2011

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The Truth about Writing Contests

Chess Faceoff

Opinionated statement alert: Every writer should volunteer to judge a writing contest.   And not simply for altruistic reasons.  No, we should do it because we can learn from reading others’ work, as it’s much easier to see mistakes in prose other than our own. My friend Anassa Rhenisch had […]

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February 17, 2011

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What Do Readers Expect?

Sad girl

We’ve all been disappointed at some point during our lives.  As a child, I once discovered my Christmas presents early, hidden in my parents’ closet (it was by accident, I swear!).  My fingers ached to play with all those toys and I couldn’t wait for the big day. But when […]

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December 23, 2010

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Is a Blog Like a Query Letter?

Acrobatic Alphabet

Today’s post is the unofficial “part three” of the results from my poll.  I hadn’t planned this post, but the comments from last time inspired a new thought. In part one, we talked about how to help your blog readers find you.  And in part two, we discussed the things […]

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December 21, 2010

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How to be a Twitter Ninja

Ninja Eyes

To prevent being overwhelmed by Twitter, one suggestion you’ll hear over and over is to use a program like TweetDeck to manage all those tweets by creating lists.  But did you know you can also use lists to become a Twitter Ninja? It’s true.  But before we get into the […]

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December 2, 2010

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Story Tension: Real vs. Fake

Worried Woman

In my last post, we had a lively discussion in the comments that prompted me to think about things authors do  to trick readers.  Some of these are good and some of them I call “cheap author tricks”.  What makes the difference?  Whether or not the trick is faked. We […]

October 7, 2010

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Tweet Week: Twitter—A Social Media Love Story

Mercedes M. Yardley signing her Agent's contract

Last time, Kristen Lamb guest blogged for me about how Twitter can be a writer’s BFF.  And maybe some of you weren’t convinced.  (Really, Jami, we know you’re just trying to justify your time on that thing.  Of course a social media expert would say social media is important.  Duh.) […]

September 30, 2010

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Tweet Week: Twitter—A Writer’s New BFF

Kristen Lamb

If you’ve seen some of my previous posts (Are Writers Conferences Worth It and Finding Life’s Balance), then you know I’m a big fan of Twitter. I’m not alone. Today, I invited Kristen Lamb, social media expert, to guest blog about how Twitter can help writers.  Take it away, Kristen… […]

September 28, 2010

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