Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Today I’m in a mood. Thunderclouds have gathered over my office, and I’m not feelin’ groovy, even if I do live in California. I’ve observed that authors express less and less concern about making the deadlines …
Productivity
The Simplification Mindset
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Recently, I read a Harvard Business Review online article by Jeff Rodman, a corporate co-founder. The title, “How I Built a $2 Billion Company by Thinking Small,” is what first caught my eye. This type of topic …
Test Your Patience
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Writers are continually advised to be patient during the journey to representation. And once you have an agent, the need for it begins again during the knuckle-biting process of waiting for your first—or next—contract offer. Patience is …
Productive Communication
Blogger: Mary Keeley
You reach a milestone when your manuscript is finally “perfect,” and you are now ready to pitch it to agents. Then it dawns on you. “Whoa, I’m actually going to have to TALK to these people.” Yes …
5 Traits of Successful Writers
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Produce marketable, well-crafted books that readers devour and remember long after they turn the last page. This is the goal of any committed writer. But the path to that goal is almost always bumpy and loaded with …
The Work Day
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
What does the writer’s day look like? How many pages (or words) should a writer create a day?
When much of my life was spent writing, those were the questions I longed to ask. I’ve always …
A Writer’s Toolbox
Blogger: Mary Keeley
When we consider the basic tools a writer needs today, there really aren’t that many anymore. Technology has greatly altered the items in a writer’s toolbox, but the intangible tools necessary for the writing life will always …
Reading is Therapeutic
Blogger: Mary Keeley
I’ve always found May to be a killer month of merging the family’s spring sports schedules, end-of-school-year events, wedding showers, and graduations with my normal work calendar and church commitments. I’m naturally task-oriented, which translates to adding …
A Season of Writing
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Summer officially begins in a little less than a month. Of course, we all know that with Memorial Day the season really begins, regardless of what the calendar says. We sense those things that mark the real …
Making Changes
Blogger: Rachel Kent
Sometimes authors are faced with the decision to keep a query letter or project as is or to revise. Most authors feel pretty confident about the direction of a project when the project is sent out. It …