Mastodon
Close

perfectionism

Release News! Do Your Plans Succeed?

Path through a maze with text: Can You Stick with a Plan?

Yesterday marked the release of my fourth book, Ironclad Devotion, and I think I’m going to collapse now. This release marks the end of my “master plan,” also known as my daisy-chain release schedule. I first came up with that plan about a year ago, and I can’t quite believe it actually worked.

Pin It

October 29, 2015

Read More

Formatting for eBooks: Tips and Pitfalls — Guest: Angela Quarles

Graffiti scribbles on a wall with text: How Can We Avoid a Formatting Mess?

We’ve probably all heard stories about ebook formatting problems, but we can be at a loss for how to tell a good formatter from a bad one. What issues should we watch out for? What questions should we ask? Even if we traditionally publish, we might want to judge whether our publisher knows what they’re doing for ebook publishing.

Pin It

October 15, 2015

Read More

6 Tips for Finding a Cover Artist

Paint tubes squeezed onto a palette with text: 6 Steps to Finding a Cover Artist

Back when I started thinking of self-publishing, one of the first things I researched was cover artists. In my usual over-thinking/over-analyzing way, I uber-researched the cover artist landscape to track down cover artists and design trends. And I figured some of what I learned might be helpful to others.

Pin It

October 6, 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

Editing Mistakes: How Forgiving of a Reader Are You?

Wadded-up paper spilling from wastebasket with text: Do You Forgive Writing Mistakes

An interesting conversation grew out of Misti Wolanski’s guest post earlier this week. She mentioned that sometimes readers enjoy finding typos. Let’s take a closer look at what that means for readers and for us as authors? Should we leave typos in our work? What say you…

Pin It

September 10, 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’s Your Author Self-Esteem?

Man staring at the ground with text: How to Improve Your Author Self-Esteem

I think it’s safe to say that we often doubt ourselves as authors. If we’re not careful, that self-doubt can affect our business decisions. Sometimes we even reject ourselves to prevent rejection from others.

Pin It

August 20, 2015

Read More

Can We Learn from Reading “Bad” Writing?

Man with a disgusted look and text: Should We Read Bad Writing?

When we end up with a “dud” of bad writing from a book we’ve purchased, what should we do? Should we treat it as a learning experience or just close the book? My answer has changed over the years, so let’s take a closer look at when we might want to slog through bad writing to try to learn what not to do—and when we wouldn’t.

Pin It

August 4, 2015

Read More

Why Is Our Journey So Hard?

Person hiking on a mountainside in the snow with text: Why Is Our Journey So Hard?

One of the things I mentioned last time to soften the frustration we might feel for not reaching our goal yet is that life is a journey. There is no finish line. So if we’re constantly comparing where we are now with where we want to be for our goals or dreams and being frustrated about that gap, our life will feel lacking. Always.

Pin It

July 23, 2015

Read More

Are You Dreaming or Doing?

Woman daydreaming with text: Are We Dreaming or Doing?

Every time we start a new journey, we’re likely full of dreams based on the potential of that new phase. There’s nothing wrong with those dreams, but they are just the first step. A harsh truth is that most people won’t reach their dreams because there’s such a gap between wanting something and making it happen.

Pin It

July 21, 2015

Read More