Plotters vs. Pantsers

Author Life: Putting a Book on Draft2Digital

We’re starting out with the first, basic baby-steps to independent authoring. Well, no. The actual first step is to finish a book. Truly finish not just hit 60K, write “the end”, and shove that sucker out of the nest all bare-assed without even pinfeathers. Your book must hatch: cheep loudly demanding brainworms until you think you may well lose your mind: require hand-fed edits and critiques to grow: regurgitate some re-writes: and get a few more edits just to be…

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Surprise! It’s an IWSG Posting

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. You can find the group on social media with #IWSG. Also, ¡Feliz cinco de Mayo! Recuerda, no hay ninguna fiesta de alcohol los estadounidenses no robarán ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Every month, a group of wonderful co-hosts steers us all towards meaningful discussion. We owe our May thanks to  Erika Beebe,…

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Author Life: Setting Off on My Self Publishing Voyage

Agent querying has been what I would humbly term an “Epic Fail”. A solid year of querying the latest finished manuscript has netted exactly zero interested replies. And each publisher accepting un-agented manuscripts replied to my submission with an email which basically said “not for us, but if you do write something else—something, y’know, better—we would love to see it. Take care. Bye.” I’m still not willing to give up, though. This manuscript made it to the finals of an…

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group And Writing Slumps

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is the online place to discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writers – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. To join the group yourself, click here and get ready to sink into a warm, comforting bath of support. The awesome co-hosts for…

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Where to Submit Short Stories for Your Author Toolbox

This is the final Author Toolbox post for 2020 because we take November and December off (HOLIDAYS!). But don’t worry, you haven’t missed us. You can always sign up on Raimey Gallant’s website and catch us when we start posting again in January, 2021. For the last Author Toolbox post of 2020 I’d like to share with you three years of my experience in submitting. I love writing short stories. I also love submitting them to magazines, anthologies, and websites…

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