Can an introvert be a successful writer? And no, I’m not implying I’m an introvert, but this week I’ve been busy doing marketing, so the question came to mind. I used to believe a good book would succeed no matter what, but I’ve discovered that isn’t always true. Over the last couple of years I’ve read […] [ ... ]
Recently I spent some time critiquing another writer’s work. The writer does dialogue quite well, but every so often she went on and on with the dialogue without breaking it up with dialogue tags or narrative tags. Everything was correctly punctuated, even when she had three paragraphs in a row of dialogue from the same speaker, […] [ ... ]
I’ll admit it. I make lists. I’m more of a plotter than a pantser. I plan my day. I set goals. The problem is—Life gets in the way. Today my list included (1) send .jpegs of ebook covers to my virtual assistant, (2) write a blog about talking heads, (3) work on current work-in-progress, (4) […] [ ... ]
Last week, during the Romance Writers of America’s® National Conference the RITA and Golden Heart contest rules were once again modified. From what I understand the rules have basically gone back to what they were a few years ago. Even as the conference proceeded, several members posted messages about the contest, which in turn sparked […] [ ... ]
Hi Everyone! I had so much fun at the Feature Friday Block Party last week, I’m back again – This week’s party is co-hosted with author M.J. Schiller, and if you’ll be so kind, you can #FF us at @MarisSouthHaven and @MJSchiller. As I said last week, here in Michigan it’s blueberry season. My husband went […] [ ... ]
Last weekI blogged about the importance of a good title. So how do you come up with one? I’ve already mentioned the problem with titles that don’t give any idea what the book is about…or are so generic they could be plopped on a dozen books…or are so popular dozens of books already have that […] [ ... ]
Welcome – I’m participating in the Feature Friday Block Party Blog Hop hosted by Buy the Book Tours and this week’s co-host, author MJ Schiller! Please be so kind as to #FF me on Twitter W-My handle is @marisSouth Haven. As you can tell from my Twitter handle, I spend my summers in South Haven, […] [ ... ]
I’m not particularly good at picking book titles. I’ve had a few that started as working titles and actually ended up on the book. I later discovered that wasn’t always good. After having had more than a few editors tell me I needed to come up with a new title, I now think of most […] [ ... ]
When I started writing, I had several misconceptions. (1) I thought all I wanted to do was write and sell one book. Just one book, and I would be happy. Ha! The first book led to a second, and then a third, and… I just sold #29, and I’m hoping to sell one more. Just […] [ ... ]
Yesterday I signed and mailed a contract for EAT CROW AND DIE to Five Star Publishing a subsidiary of Gale/Cengage Learning. Of course, before I signed, I read through the contract and began thinking about all of the different contracts I have signed over the years. My first contract with Harlequin Books (signed in 1983) […] [ ... ]
This week I’ve been working on getting Storybook Hero ready to upload to KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), Smashwords, Nook, and Kobo. Although the story part of the manuscript basically stays the same (there is a slight difference for those uploaded for the Nook), the front and afterword portions vary a little. Creating the Table of […] [ ... ]
This past week I’ve been working with Rebel Ink Designs (http://rebelinkdesigns.com/) regarding covers for two romances from my backlist. Creating covers has been a relatively new experience for me. My first romances were published by Harlequin and the only input I had regarding the cover was a “Cover Art” sheet where I described the main […] [ ... ]
I started writing in the ‘80s. My first books were basically “Write what you know” books: teaching, Santa Barbara, Michigan, a farm community, and a local township supervisor who made me angry. I did do a little research: I talked to the local (female) banker about how the men in the community were reacting to […] [ ... ]
Two weeks ago I spoke to a group of women about my career as a writer. In general I answered their questions about both my books and the industry itself. One woman seated near me asked most of the “How do you…?” questions, and at the end of the meeting, she confessed that she’s been […] [ ... ]
I’m working on a story I thought I finished seven years ago. After sending it out a few times and getting some responses, I decided I needed to rework the ending. Which I started doing seven years ago, then decided to work on a couple new stories instead. Those stories sold, which is good, but […] [ ... ]
Image: Yours and your characters Yesterday I participated in a fashion show for a local organization I belong to. Prior to the show, I put on makeup, including eye shadow, and polished my toenails. As I was doing so, I started thinking about image. In many ways, I think image is similar to voice. It’s […] [ ... ]
Did you set goals for 2014? We’re fast approaching the middle of the year. How are you doing? Soon, at least for those of us living in the northern hemisphere, it will be summer. School will be out. When my children were young, I always found my writing time decreased dramatically in the summer. I […] [ ... ]
I am constantly amazed by how many writers seem to be afraid to make any changes from what WORD offers as its default. They still treat the program as if they were working on a typewriter. Need an indent, press TAB. Want to set a section of type farther in (so it looks like a […] [ ... ]
The main thing I learned is I’m not ready to own a gun. Through the Writers’ Police Academy, an MWA conference that included a special session at a shooting range, and a conceal carry class I took several years ago, I’ve been taught how to handle a gun. So there I am last Saturday, at […] [ ... ]
Last week I attended a writers’ meeting where the speaker started out saying that beginning writers are generally told that writing is hard, and she was there (at this meeting) to say they were wrong, writing is fun. In my opinion, her talk didn’t really support that statement. She tended to ramble and drift off […] [ ... ]