This post was part of the author toolbox blog hop, created and hosted by Raimey Gallant. It has gone on hiatus, but there are still plenty of great posts in Raimey’s archives to help you out! Do you know how to tell, at a glance, that you’re dealing with a new, inexperienced author? Telling. When the writing is chock-a-block full of telling, it’s a gargantuan, neon clue blaring out: This author is still learning. This author is hacking out the…
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group meets online, the first Wednesday of every month. Bask in the warmth of unqualified support. Breathe in the peace of knowing perfect empathy. In the flaming bag of dumpster fire which can be the internet, this is your oasis of calm green, I promise. If you’d like to sign up for the group and experience the support yourself, you can sign up here. The awesome co-hosts for the September 1 posting of the IWSG are Rebecca…
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group meets online the first Wednesday of every month to share, commiserate, and encourage each other. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! You can sign up for the group yourself by going here. The awesome co-hosts for the July 7 posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, Victoria Marie Lees, and Louise – Fundy Blue! And the IWSG chose to go straight for the superior vena cava today with the question: What would make you quit…
Inquiring authors want to know: What’s harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names? (It’s me. I’m inquiring authors.) My answer: Titles. Titles are the hardest thing ever. Titles are horrible, nasty, no good, very bad, brain-killing beasts. Compared to titles, naming my characters is a breeze. And not like, a fourteen-kilometer-per-hour windstorm breeze, one of those gentle zephyr kind. So many options, all of them easy breezy. I can use names I like the sound…
The stages of accepting constructive criticism, as told through gifs. We all can agree that beta reading is crucial to the success of a story. Having other eyeballs touch your story, pre-publication, is one of the necessary steps a book goes through. Whether it’s a kind friend who volunteers, a writing group, or a professional editor — the link goes to a good post by author D.E. Haggerty on why she uses editors vs. beta readers — you will be…
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…
As part of the celebration for author Chrys Fey’s latest book release, we’re talking about writer’s block, depression, and the varied obstacles life will throw in your way as you try to publish. My contribution for the blog hop is about dealing with bad feedback. This could be editorial comments, a scathing one-star review, rejection letters, dismissive friends or family; anything which makes you feel like a big anvil made of “NO” just landed on your head. I know about…
Happy Insecure Writer’s Day! Prepare to bask in the support and let your insecurities go, at least for a little while. To join in the hop yourself, head to their website here. The awesome co-hosts for the June 3 posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, J.Q. Rose, and Natalie Aguirre! Don’t forget to go thank them as you’re hopping today. June 3 question – Writers have secrets! What are one or two of yours, something readers would never know from your work? I’m going…
This is an Author Toolbox post. The toolbox is a free, monthly, open sharing of information between authors here on the Wild Wild Interwebs. Topics cover everything from writing basics to editing, querying, marketing, and publishing. There are over forty of us now, blogging away like helpful little bees. Come join in! After months and months of agonizing and writing and editing and changing and freaking out and writing some more, my newest book is done. Finished. FIN. Clocking in…
This is an Insecure Writer’s Support Group post. Once a month, authors from all over come together and post in a hop where it’s safe to admit that this writing job has its bad days. There will be listicles, support, and digital shoulders to lean on. To sign up for the hop yourself go here. The awesome co-hosts for the May 6 posting of the IWSG are Feather Stone, Beverly Stowe McClure, Mary Aalgaard, Kim Lajevardi, and Chemist Ken! The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is also on…