conferences

What Makes You Feel Legitimate?

February 2, 2012 Writing Stuff
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Last week, we had a great discussion in the comments about whether we call ourselves writers or authors.  In general, we agreed that while we don’t judge others by what they call themselves, we each have our reasons for what we call ourselves.  Many echoed the idea that we want to feel legitimate before we’ll [...]

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The Ultimate Gift Guide for Writers

November 22, 2011 Writing Stuff
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The end of this week marks the unofficial beginning to the holiday shopping season in the United States.  Thursday is our Thanksgiving holiday, and the day after is known as Black Friday, the day retailers finally sell enough to put their accounting books “in the black” for the year. I’m not one of those who [...]

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How Vulnerable is Your Writing?

June 30, 2011 Writing Stuff
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A few weeks ago, we talked about about branding and blogging and how to create connections with others.  People who feel connected to us are more likely to be willing to give our book a try or to help us promote.  Connected readers might become our front lines in our quest for global best-seller domination. [...]

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“What’s Your Book About?”

April 21, 2011 Writing Stuff
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Do you dread that question?  If you tell the cashier at the grocery store you’re a writer and they ask what your book is about, do you have an answer? All writers who want readers have to be able to answer that question.  Whether it’s our brother-in-law at a holiday dinner or an agent at [...]

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Learning and Blogging and Writing—Oh My!

April 19, 2011 Writing Stuff
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Fantasy: To become an author, we just need to have a great idea, write it down, and then agents, publishers, and readers will all magically appear. Reality: Nothing like that. Becoming an author isn’t simple.  Oh no.  We have what seems like a never-ending list of things to learn and do if we want to [...]

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When Should a Perfectionist Call Something Done?

March 1, 2011 Over-Achieving Perfectionist
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Yes, I’m still in the deadline cave this week, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Yay!  While I’m hiding, I wanted to share this post I originally wrote last summer.  The lesson is even more relevant to me right now.  (That’s a look at one of my edited pages to [...]

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What Agents *Really* Want in a Query Letter

August 11, 2010 Writing Stuff
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First of all, if you weren’t at the RWA conference, check out my contest for a free book from the RWA registration bags. The deadline to enter is midnight, August 16th. So my new RWA-buddy, Roni Loren, posted a great article on her blog about the QueryFest workshop.  When I kept finding myself wanting to [...]

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How I Got 80 Free Books & a Contest!

August 10, 2010 News
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Woo Hoo!  It’s time for my first contest on this blog.  I’ll be giving away the book Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran. But first, the answer to your question… Why did I get so many books? Several times at the RWA National Conference, I heard this advice:  The best way to determine if your [...]

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When does a Perfectionist call something DONE?

August 6, 2010 Over-Achieving Perfectionist
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This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, but people have asked me about it, so here goes: I’m not perfect. Yep, it’s true.  Just because I’m a perfectionist does not mean that I am, in fact, perfect.  Far from it to be honest.  It only means that I really, really, really want my work [...]

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Are Writers Conferences Worth It?

August 4, 2010 Writing Stuff
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I’ve now recovered enough from the RWA National Conference to talk about my experience.  *takes deep breath*  Er, or not… The word “overwhelming” was invented for experiences like this.  I can try to describe it, but I fear I’ll run out of words (a horrifying thought for a writer!).  It was fabulous to meet so [...]

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