Reader Communities: LibraryThing
LibraryThing, which was the first social book site, allowed users to enter their own books in order to catalog their library. People signed up immediately.
Archive for the ‘Tips for Beginners’ Category
Tools for Writers: Wikis
If your writing features a richly detailed universe, full of names, places, and historical events, you may want to explore using a wiki to chronicle it. A wiki’s structure allows intricate details to be recorded in a way that both preserves it in an easy to locate fashion but also allows devoted fans to browse the longtime story of your work.
Writing With Stolen Time
There’s a difference between being a writer and wanting to be a writer. There are plenty of conversations about it, about whether payment, time spent, or day jobs land you on either one side or the other. But the consensus seems to be one major thing: writers write.
The Joy Of Failure: Improv And Writing
How can taking an improv acting/comedy lesson improve your writing? Well, for one thing, it forces you to think differently about story.
Jealousing Is the New Writing Exercise
When I get professionally jealous it’s often an exciting thing. “Wow! I never thought of doing that. That’s amazing!” But excitement can turn into sad feelings…
Guest Post: Elusive Genius
Too often the burden of “genius” is placed on the fragile shoulders of individuals trying desperately to create, to live up to expectations, to outdo their own previous creations, and to essentially justify daring to call themselves artists (or writers, or musicians, etc.) to begin with.
Guest Post: There is no That
It’s 2130 on a Saturday night, and I’m alone in my apartment, in front of my laptop.
I can’t shake the feeling that there’s some amazing party, filled with fascinating people, somewhere nearby. Artists and intellectuals and adventurers, all mixing and charging the air with stories. I wasn’t invited.
Guest Post: Working with the Obstacles in Your Path
et’s say you are sitting at your desk, with something to write, and you notice some anxiety, and an urge to go instead to one of your favorite distractions.
And let’s also say you decided to adopt my approach, the Obstacle is the Path.
Rejection and Reinvention
Since I can’t tell why, for sure, a story was rejected, I keep submitting to places that meet my minimum requirements. When I run out of places, I put the story in a folder that’s labeled ‘stories I still believe in’ and I review it once in a while.
Marketing, Sales, and Publicity. Part Two: Topics in Publicity
Is book publicity necessary? In my mind: yes. Do you need a publicist? It depends! I’ve long felt that authors are small business owners; what publicity means to an author is going to vary widely depending upon the resources available.
