I love self-promotion. Cheesy though it may be, nothing makes me happier than handing someone a copy of a freshly-minted postcard emblazoned with my book cover. Unfortunately, what should be a sweet moment of pride for me is often discolored by tiny twinges of anxiety, wondering: Is it really appropriate to ramble on about my book and… Read more »
December 2011
That Eeemy-Squeamy Feeling
If you’ve been around literary networking events at all, you’ve probably met those authors who feel it is their mission in life to get everyone to buy their book. Personally. Right here. Why wait? They have copies for sale. They can sign one for you. Personalize it. Give you a plastic bag, and a bookmark,… Read more »
Brilliant Advice, Untaken
I have to admit that one of my struggles as a new author was parsing the various and abundant recommendations, comments, suggestions and plans that other authors shared with me. Suggestions came from people within the industry (agents, editors) too, and of course from well-meaning family and friends who really had no idea what a… Read more »
The Author’s Life Cycle
For a conference last year I developed a presentation about my experience as a debut author. I call it “My Journey with The Rock and the River,” and it’s all about the phenomenon I’ve dubbed The Author’s Life Cycle. The evolution of this presentation was pretty unusual, because the topic they had asked me to present on was “My… Read more »
Starting the Journey
The genesis for my new blog focus is somewhat sprawling. It’s taken me a long time to figure out what I want to say about the real world (fiction comes easy). But I like to think that when a course of action is the right fit, there will be multiple paths leading you to it…. Read more »