Aspiring Writers and Authors

I'm pretty sure that independentlypublishedbooks aren't considered for Nobel Prizes. They're not considered for many prizes. They're not accepted for reviews by most large, mainstream reviewers such as the NY Times or Kirkus. So how the heck does an Indie get noticed? I get asked this by a lot of indies, so I've composed a list of some of the moresuccessful& interesting ways I've tried to get attention.1. Internet Post-It Notes, aka: CheezburgersOtherwise known as socialnetworking. You know...Read Full Story

Many first-time authors, who feel their work doesn't receive the attention it deserves, often take rejection badly. Rejection is a big part of publishing, simply because so many submissions do not meet the guidelines laid down by different publishers. Although it may take time, it is worth finding out each individual publisher's requirements for correct manuscript format. There is a wealth of information on the Internet to help aspiring writers and authors. Elizabeth Lucas-Taylor has written...Read Full Story

This is the fourth post on the blog tour that I set up to begin on December 1st to give me the opportunity to reach new readers and to talk about this wonderful book. If you are following the tour, thank you for your support! If you missed the start of the book tour, please check out the three blogs for December1st-3rd listed at the end of this post. Forever Friends is now available to buy on all the major online bookstores. See the links below to amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. If you...Read Full Story

While I’m on the topic of the cartoons of Ruben Bolling, which I usually enjoy, here’s one where he misses by a mile. For the Village Voice he recently did this strip, which purports to be “Toy Story 3,” but written by Cormac McCarthy. While Bolling does get McCarthy right a couple of times, as with Woody’s line “I aim to,” for the most part he’s clueless about what distinguishes McCarthy. The abundant presence of commas is an immediate tipoff. McCarthy largely ellides them. Because he doesn...Read Full Story

I started writing Faron Young's biography with no idea how or where to publish it. I only knew it would happen. My plan? To write the manuscript and then find a publisher. Yes, the normal nonfiction process is to submit a proposal and get a contract before writing the book. But I lacked both confidence and subject material to do that. This was eight years before the 75th anniversary of Faron's birth, and I set 2007 as a publication goal, thinking eight years enough time to write the book...Read Full Story