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A Year of Reading Dangerously

By Steve Laubeon March 21, 2016

Be careful what you read. It may change your life!

Franz Kafka wrote that books can “wound and stab us… wake us up with a blow on the head… affect us like a disaster… grieve us deeply.”

As we move, over the next month, into the Spring, a time of renewal…and this week as we contemplate the Resurrection…think about the books you plan to read the rest of the year.

What is on your to-read list? Is there a book with which you know you will disagree? Is there one that could rattle your cage a bit more than usual? Could we spend this year reading dangerously?

Tell us your book plans below. It will be “fun” to see what you come up with.

In Honor of St. Patrick’s Day — My Trip to Ancient Ireland

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 17, 2016

Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, I thought it would be fun to revisit a story collection I wrote about ten years ago with my wonderful and talented friends, Pamela Griffin, Vickie McDonough, and Linda Windsor. Brides o’ the Emerald Isle was a lot of fun to write, and an enjoyable change for me since my story, A Legend of Light, takes place in 500 AD. Inexplicably, the volume of stories is available …

Category: ReadingTag: Reading

Share Your Irish Blessings!

By Karen Ballon March 16, 2016

I think there’s a touch o’ the Irish—or at least a touch o’ the Blarney Stone—in every writer. So what more appropriate way to celebrate tomorrow’s St. Patrick’s Day than to write your own, original Irish Blessing? Irish blessings can be: Long or Short May the Lord be between us and harm and protect us from the harm of the world. Heartwarming May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be …

Category: Creativity, Writing CraftTag: Creativity

2020, Planning a Publishing Odyssey

By Dan Balowon March 15, 2016

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Books are the slowest and least “current” form of communication. News or short-turnaround events are best covered in articles carried in media that can reach an audience quickly. Sure, a book about the Super Bowl can be slammed together with pictures in a few weeks, but it won’t win any awards for literary quality. Indie publishing has given the impression to many authors that the seemingly …

Category: Book Business, The Publishing Life, TrendsTag: The Publishing Life, Trends

The Bookstore is Outnumbered

By Steve Laubeon March 14, 2016

We had a client ask why their book could not be found in the bookstores. It is a common question. One that I tried to answer last year in a post about logistics. Today I’ll approach it from a different direction. The sheer number of books that are being published. Let me start with two sets of statistics. Barnes & Noble (B&N) is the largest retail bookstore in the U.S. Their stores …

Category: Book Business, TrendsTag: Bookstores, Trends

Fun Fridays – March 11, 2016

By Steve Laubeon March 11, 2016

This is the perfect illustration on the importance of “voice” in a book. The first version is the way it should be. The second version is how so many books sound to an editor’s ear. Beyond that, the video is simply a brilliant expression of what creativity sounds like! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLhJIFC8xkY HT: Trissina Kear

Category: Fun Fridays

Turn Envy Upside Down

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 10, 2016

Envy is one of the seven deadly sins and not easy to conquer. Who hasn’t felt jealous over someone else’s success, especially when it doesn’t seem deserved? Seeing an outright enemy succeed is even worse. It doesn’t have to be this way. Instead, take your feelings of envy and put them to good use. That is, make those feelings work for you so you can succeed. Here’s how: When someone in your sphere …

Category: Career, Communication, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Envy, The Writing Life

What An Editor Does –Phase 1

By Karen Ballon March 9, 2016

As we saw from the comments last week, editors have many tasks. As do copyeditors and proofreaders, but for the next few blogs we’re focusing on editors. I’ve been an editor for over 35 years, both in-house and freelance. And I’ve worked with all categories of books except Children’s books and academic titles. So here, from that perspective, is my take on what editors do. First, let’s look at what …

Category: Craft, Creativity, Editing, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Editor, Writing Craft

Mistakes Writers Make in their Queries

By Steve Laubeon March 7, 2016

The pile of unsolicited proposal, queries, and manuscripts (both email and physical mail) is an unending source of delight and frustration. Delight when an amazing idea from an amazing writer arrives like a special holiday gift. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen as often as I would like. Instead there is a litany of things authors do time and again. If writers would treat their query or book …

Category: Book Proposals, Career