Tim Hawkins is a favorite comedian. This new video is no exception!
HT: Dan Balow (blame this one on Dan)
For more video fun by Tim Hawkins, visit his site: https://timhawkins.net/blogs/video
Fun Fridays – October 19, 2018
Prized Possessions
This blog is part one of six in a series designed to hone character development of protagonists in your fiction. I own a few possessions that I prize though they aren’t worth much moneywise. These possessions represent the love someone has for me. That love is far more valuable to …
The Best Parts of Being an Agent
I’ve been a literary agent now for just over fifteen months. I pretty much know it all at this point. As Foghorn Leghorn would say, “That’s a joke, son.” If you don’t know who Foghorn Leghorn is, you’re too young for us to be friends. But seriously, folks, I’ve learned …
The Biggest Question About Your Book
Authors are like small businesses. They have a finance department, a marketing department and an editorial wing. Then there’s the travel, human resources, IT and facilities management departments, all managed by one person, the author. While writing quality and author platforms are discussed at every writer’s conference, those aren’t the …
Of Making Many Books There Is No End
This past week Bowker, the company that issues ISBN numbers for published books, released their annual statistics. They broke out the numbers for self-published books and revealed a stunning statistic. (If you want the history and explanation of the ISBN, read my scintillating post on the topic here. Each country …
Fun Fridays – October 12, 2018
Stefan Xidas has Down Syndrome and a dream of singing the National Anthem before a Chicago Cubs baseball game. His wish came true a month ago. And, as promised, he now has raised over $20,000 for Special Olympics at this GoFundMe page. This one simply gave me a joy-filled smile. …
Caution: Loose Platform Planks
I love learning about authors on the internet. And as a literary agent, I enjoy the internet and find connections there that would be otherwise difficult to find and maintain. But as professionals, we must be cautious about what we share on any level. One reason is that we all …
Remove the Easy “No”
These are both amazing and perilous times for writers seeking to publish. Whether you’re pitching an idea to a magazine editor, book editor, or agent, an important part of your job is removing the easy “no.” That is, some submissions make it easy for an editor or agent to say, …
Eternal Words
Every time I read or hear a report of a prominent person’s life complicated by something they tweeted, posted or recorded a decade earlier, I hope the stories are a cautionary tale for anyone desiring to be a media communicator or public figure. We used to be able to put …
Words That Still Get Misused
The infographic below from GrammarCheck.com is a fantastic reminder of commonly misused words. They did miss one. I have to pause every time before I write “affect” or “effect.” Vocabulary.com reads, “Most of the time, you’ll want affect as a verb meaning to influence something and effect for the something that was influenced. The difference …