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 …
Writing Life
Pitch Appointment Angst
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Pitch appointments can be stomach-churning, nerve-wracking moments of angst and brain freeze, which seem to last forever in too little time. It’s understandable when you view them as do-or-die verdicts on your career as a writer. Let’s …
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 …
Professional Jealousy
Blogger: Mary Keeley
This is the time of year when contests will be won and awards will be announced. A few will get the prize; most will not. Since I am out of the office attending BEA this week, I …
Lean In to Your Fears
I’m an optimist by nature — I usually expect things will all work out. But when I’m anxious about something, I find that I’m more successful and experience less disappointment when I lean into it, rather than trying to rid …
Necessary Adjustments with A Forward View
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Following a recent conversation with industry professionals, I’ve been reflecting on the shifting journey in publishing through the years. Nothing earthly stays the same for long in either life or business. We find ourselves continually tweaking goals, …
A Writer’s Career Resources
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Some time ago I posted a list of recommended books on writing here. It isn’t exhaustive and there have been valuable new books written since this blog post. If you’ve been writing for a while, you …
Love Learning
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Our brain sensors are always taking in information. Experts say that every brain is wired differently. Imagine that. I don’t even know how to wire an electrical outlet. How well we process the information filtering through our …
Sage Advice for Your Writing Life
Blogger: Mary Keeley
It’s good to be back in the office and conversing with you, our blog community, again. Always when we travel, we look for news and tips we can pass along to you. Today I have sage advice …
Wisdom and Incremental Goals
Blogger: Mary Keeley
For any author who, at one time or another, has felt as if you’ve used up every creative brain cell and have little left to give toward your writing dream, I have words of wisdom from famous …