Mastodon
Close

blogging

Writer Dilemma: Private Life vs. Public Figures

Man pointing a camera at viewer with text: Are Authors Public Figures?

Many of us struggle with maintaining a sense of privacy online, yet being a writer requires us to be “public figures.” That means we have to find a balance between privacy and public sharing to be an author. Let’s take a look at some of the privacy issues we might run into in our writing life.

Pin It

January 19, 2016

Read More

Writer Sanity: Recognizing Takers & Setting Boundaries

Old West "wanted" poster with text: Takers Who Don't Give Back

Last week, I challenged writers to think about how they’re giving back to the writing community because it needs our help to thrive. Yet no matter what I recommend, there will be takers infecting our community, so let’s learn how to recognize them for what they are.

Pin It

January 12, 2016

Read More

Writer Karma: Don’t Be a Taker

Many hands reaching to grab with text: Are You Giving or Just Taking?

Everyone who knows me and follows my blog knows I love to help others. Most people who contact me are appreciative, and I really am happy to help. But there are a few… *sigh*

Pin It

January 5, 2016

Read More

What Are Our Readers’ “Must Click” Topics?

Fishing lure with text: What Topics Lure Readers?

We’ve probably all come across “click bait” headlines that create a compulsion to click, but another click-worthy aspect of any content is simply the topic itself. For blog posts or books, learning what topics appeal to our readers can help us develop content.

Pin It

December 8, 2015

Read More

The Best Reason to Blog — 2015 Edition

Path through autumn leaves with text: Finding Meaning

Every Thanksgiving, I write a “the best reason to blog” post because gratitude is such a powerful tool. Thinking about what we’re thankful for forces us to pay attention to what has meaning in our lives. The daily grind can make us forget why we do what we do, but being grateful for the good things reminds us of what matters most.

Pin It

November 26, 2015

Read More

Are You Able to Ask for Help?

Child helping a fallen child up with text: Can You Admit When You Need Help?

We often have too much to do and not enough time, so it’s normal to need help sometimes. Yet many of us struggle with asking for help. We might find it difficult to trust someone else, might not want to be a burden, or might feel like a failure for not being able to do it all. But we all will need help occasionally–like with guest posts. *smile*

Pin It

September 22, 2015

Read More

When Is a Good Editor Not Good for Your Story? — Guest: Misti Wolanski

Modern building beside old brick building with text: Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

Many writers write both fiction and non-fiction (even if the latter is just blog posts), but the two types of writing require different skills—from authors and from editors. The better we understand the differences, the better we can follow the right rules at the right time and the better we can judge whether an editor is skilled in the right areas to be a good editor for us.

Pin It

September 8, 2015

Read More

What 5 Years of Blogging Has Taught Me about Writing

Chalkboard with text: Lessons from 5 Years of Blogging

People tend to like nice round numbers like 5s and 10s, so reaching the five-year point on my blog feels like a major milestone. That means now might be a good time to look back at what I’ve learned over those five years, and share what those lessons might tell us about the rest of our writing career.

Pin It

July 16, 2015

Read More

How Can Guest Posting Help Us?

Arrows pointing in every direction with text: Expand Our Reach with Guest Posts

As writers, we have to be a one-man band for many aspects of our career. No matter how we publish, we have to do the majority of our marketing, and that can be a problem. Only so many friends or family members will spread the word about our work, so how can we reach people we don’t know?

Pin It

May 26, 2015

Read More