MS Word Templates & Styles — Guest: Jordan McCollum
Jordan McCollum joins us with the inside scoop on setting up MS Word default templates with the styles we want for our manuscripts.
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Ask Jami: Can This Story Be Saved?
I do a lot of beta reading for friends, and sometimes they come to me with a question along the lines of: “I’ve really struggled with x aspect of this story, and I’m wondering if I should just abandon it. Can you take a look and see if this story can […]
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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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Handling Bad Reviews: Lessons from Amy’s Baking Company
On Facebook a few weeks ago, my friend Angela Ackerman dared me to order a pizza from Amy’s Baking Company and send it back (and to record the confrontation). Not one to create drama, I declined. *smile* But then I had to know what prompted her dare. The details were even […]
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Amazon’s Fan Fiction Model: Is It a Good Idea?
The internet exploded yesterday with Amazon’s introduction of “Kindle Worlds,” a new publishing model for writers inspired to write fan fiction (fanfic). Everyone and anyone has been commenting on this development, often with gnashing of teeth. Some see this as a win for the fanfic authors, and some see this […]
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Four Tips for Beta Reading in Other Genres
Recently, a good friend of mine asked for my help in identifying the issues with her story. She’d struggled with it on and off for years and was wondering if she should just chuck the whole thing. I offered to take a look at it, even though her story’s genre […]
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How Success Raises the Stakes…in Our Life
In writing, we always want the stakes to increase over the course of a story. The problems get bigger, the risks get bigger, and the reasons the characters need to succeed get bigger. The same concept can apply to real life. When we first start a blog, it doesn’t matter if […]
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Does Good News Make You Worry?
Being a writer can often feel like living on a rollercoaster, with huge hills and dips around every curve. Writer’s block, rejections, low sales figures, pirated books, and other bad news can make us feel heavier than gravity itself. We might wish we could sink through the floor and disappear. […]
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Is This the New Breed of Vanity Publishers?
A few weeks ago, author David Mamet announced he’ll be self-publishing his next book through his literary agency. Some think this is big news, some don’t, and some wouldn’t call David’s plan self-publishing at all. Regardless, this news means we’re seeing the second wave of self-published authors. While the first […]
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Do You Want to Be a Famous Author?
Every once in a while, I come across an article about figuring out our goals as an author. Heck, I’ve written posts along those lines. As we learn more about the industry and grow as authors, our goals might change, so it’s smart to revisit the question occasionally. But there’s a Step Two […]
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