I’m not saying I’m perfect. In fact, I’ve made most of these rookie mistakes myself. And I wish someone had laid it on the line before I first put my manuscript out there, because I got beaten up by publishers, agents and seasoned editors. So here’s what I’ve learned–and what I still observe–for those of…
It is said that an author has to “fall in love” a little with his or her characters. That certainly happened to me, and it’s why I extended my first novel, Town Red, into a series. I didn’t want to say goodbye. I read an article today that referred to a study by psychologist Arthur…
You may have heard the adage, “Nobody lives in a vacuum.” Well, you can apply that to writing, too. If you write a book, congratulate yourself, and then upload it to Amazon, I guarantee it will suck. Everyone–and I mean everyone–needs critique. A second, third, or tenth pair of eyes will give you a necessary…
I was about to write a snotty 59-character tweet: “I can tell by your book cover that you are self-published.” However I believe it’s better to be helpful than snotty. Most of the time. I am not an artist, but I am an author and I cringe when I see other authors making the biggest…
Yes, I just coined the term “author blindness.” It’s that inability to catch errors in your manuscript because you’ve read it too many times. This phenomenon tends to manifest at the end of the editing process when the publisher has sent back your manuscript for review near the lock-down date. By this time you may…
Fan: Do you know what happens in the next book? Me: I know what happens in the next FIVE books! Fan: Tell me! Me: Nope. (it’s good to be the writer)
I’ve had the pleasure of watching Star Trek (The Original Series) for the first time in my life. Even though it originally aired while I was alive, I was too young to “get it.” I am currently on the third season and have learned many lessons from the creator, Gene Roddenberry, that I can apply…
As the founder and CEO of BabyNames.com, names are extremely important to me. I put a lot of thought into naming my characters in Town Red. Names and the subject of naming even crop up as part of the story… Ryan Doherty – I wanted Ryan’s name to reflect his Irish heritage, but didn’t…