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Taking Risks: You Have to Play the Game to Win

Cover slide of presentation: "Get the Most Out of a Writing Conference"

Last night, WANA International‘s online writing conference hosted Gabriela Pereira of DIY MFA for a free workshop offered as part of the run up to next weekend’s WANACon (February 21 and 22, 2014). Gabriela presented at last fall’s WANACon, and her popular sessions earned her a return invitation with two […]

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February 13, 2014

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Tell Me When: Real-Life Stalking Isn’t Sexy

Dark tunnel with figure at the end with text: Stalking: Real Life vs. Fiction

I’m going to tell you a story in today’s post, but I first want to provide some context, as the topic is out of the norm for me. This post is part of Stina Lindenblatt’s Tell Me When blog hop. Her debut releases January 20th from Carina Press, and as Stina mentions […]

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January 14, 2014

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Ebooks: What We Buy vs. What We Read

Pile of books with text: What We Buy vs. What We Read

Between the rise of self-publishing and the agency pricing settlement, the industry is struggling with how to price ebooks. Before the settlement, many self-published authors enjoyed the attention they received at the low end of the pricing scale. On the other hand, many traditionally published authors bemoaned the high prices […]

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January 7, 2014

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What Does “Happily Ever After” Mean to You?

Sunset with text: Stories and Happy Endings

How were your holidays? Was Santa good to you? I’m still mostly offline, enjoying quality time with my family, so I’m rerunning this post from several years ago. My Christmas couldn’t have been any better, and I hope yours was everything you hoped for too. Of course, whether or not we’re […]

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December 26, 2013

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Are You Waiting for Permission?

Begging pug dog with text: Waiting for Permission?

This past week has been a good news / bad news / good news sort of week. The conflicting emotions have been *ahem* good for making me question my strategies (yet again). On the good news side, I received the scores from my last contest, The Emily. I mentioned a few […]

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December 19, 2013

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The Best Reason to Blog – Part 4

Basket of harvested apples with text: Blogging: Harvesting Benefits

Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S. The day we eat too much food, roll our eyes at the antics of our extended family, and think about all the things we’re grateful for. Or in my case, see if I can resist seconds of mashed potatoes so I can justify another […]

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November 28, 2013

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In Books and Beyond: Love vs. Lust

Two hearts with text: #LoveIsAVerb

The idea of love at first sight has a long history in the romance genre. Thousands of heroes and heroines have experienced the pitter-pat of their heart when first laying eyes on their love-to-be. While we might laugh at the trope, as we discussed a few weeks ago, many story […]

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September 12, 2013

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Google’s Fickleness: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Google Logo with text: Adapting to Changes...

If one thing is constant with Google, it’s that they always change. Over the past couple of years, they phased out most of Google Friend Connect and stopped supporting Feedburner. However, I realized recently that I hadn’t talked about their latest changes. Some of their recent changes have been good (Google Authorship), […]

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August 15, 2013

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Writers: What Would the Government Uncover?

Woman looking through a magnifying glass with text: Would the Government Find You Interesting?

Writers have a long history of joking about what government agencies would find if they investigated us. We’re known for researching the bizarre and the suspicious in the pursuit of accuracy for our books. Recent news about the PRISM program and others like it across the globe have made this long-running […]

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June 20, 2013

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When To-Do Lists Fail

Page labeled Things To Do with text: When To-Do Lists FAIL

Ever have one of those days where nothing on your to-do list gets checked off? When life has other plans for you? That happens to me more often than I care to admit. Despite my writing-by-the-seat-of-my-pants method to drafting, I’m a planner in the rest of my life. Or at […]

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May 30, 2013

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