Reading time: About six minutes Every month I scour the internet malls pawing through more than 100 blogs and magazines with advice on writing. And each time I select 10 of the most beautiful, useful articles and wrap them up in recyclable but sparkly paper just for you. Here’s your […]
PubCoach Top 10: December 2019 Read More »
Begin by understanding that EVERYONE has setbacks when they’re writing. And most everyone will respond in one of two typical ways: Anger: If you’re angry, you’re saying to yourself, It’s all their fault: the editor, the publisher, the readers, the reviewers and everyone else who can possibly be involved. Everything feels terribly unjust and unfair
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Reading time: Just over 5 minutes Looking for some recommended books in time for holiday reading? Here’s my semi-annual roundup of books I’ve read this year. I aim to read 52 books every 12 months and my habit is to post a complete list of the names of them for
Recommended books: Christmas 2019 Read More »
My favourite writing quote of all time is: “I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning.” I had always attributed the comment to New Yorker writer Peter de Vries. More recently, I’ve learned that Herman Wouk, William Faulkner and a host of other writing celebrities
How can you write when you don’t feel like it? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 4 minutes Does your fine taste in reading make you despair about the quality of your own writing? Perhaps you have an expectation hangover…. Even when we write in a healthy way — without editing while writing and yet spending plenty of time editing, later —
Do you have an expectation hangover? Read More »
This is a post on how to pitch to blogs and magazines. Even if that subject doesn’t relate to your ambitions, give the post a quick glance. It may spark some ideas applicable to your own writing goals. Identify and develop your own particular subject area. If you try to be an expert on everything
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Each week I go through a Halloween grab bag of more than 100 blogs about writing, publishing and psychology, pulling out the Crunchie bars and Smarties I especially like. Here’s my take on the 10 most interesting pieces I’ve read or seen during the last month (each headline is linked
PubCoach Top 10: November 2019 Read More »
Keep in mind there is no “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to determining a writing schedule. The 16 tips I’m giving you below are designed to help YOU recognize what’s going to work best for you. While not all of them will work for every person, I’m know that everyone will be able to take away
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Reading time: About 3 minutes Wouldn’t it make writing easier if you knew you were not required to complete the work? I was listening to a 2005 radio interview last week with the late Harold Bloom who died Oct 14 at the age of 89. A famous American literary critic,
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If you’re like me — like most people — you probably have a hard time forgiving yourself. Forgiving yourself for mistakes to others is hard enough: the time you forgot to do something you’d promised to do for a friend the time you yelled at your partner or your children the time you failed to
The value of forgiving yourself… Read More »
