I grew up on the Canadian Prairie, which means that it gets dark in the winter by 5 p.m. I got a paper route when I was nine years old and spent a lot of time walking my neighborhood delivering papers, and telling stories to keep myself entertained. I was sure I was going to have my first novel published by the time I was 12. This is a little story I use on my LinkedIn profile to create an instant connection with people interested in finding out more about me. You are more likely to remember me … [Read more...]
Be The Wayne Gretzky of Writing
Raise your hands, how many of you have been ‘writing your book’ or ‘working on your book’ for longer than a year? Keep them raised if it’s been longer than two years…five…a decade…longer? I had a conversation with your unfinished manuscript and here’s what it asked me: what have you done for me lately? If you are not writing today, or you didn’t write this morning, or you’re not going to be writing tonight, then you aren’t actually writing your book; you are talking … [Read more...]
7 Biggest Lies Writers Tell Themselves About Their Books
It takes an average of about 400 hours to write a book. That’s a lot of time and effort. I’ve had many authors approach me who have poured blood, sweat and tears into a manuscript without the first clue how to get their book edited and published properly and out to the masses. Others have published their book without one ounce of marketing. And it has flopped. When I asked them about this, I find that they’ve been making assumptions based on myths they believe about the publishing … [Read more...]
Top 3 Tips To Banish Writer’s Block
By: Karen Rowe I’m going to say something and you’re not going to like it. Ready? Writer’s Block is a sham. It doesn’t exist. It’s a figment of your imagination. If you wrote yesterday, you can write today. It’s really just a question of whether you can do it to your own satisfaction. It’s not your fear of writing that’s blocking you; it’s your fear of not writing well. Think about this: Have you ever been blocked while playing Yahtzee? Eating blueberry pie? Playing … [Read more...]
The elephant in the room
About a month ago, I went to an Angel Card reader. She is particularly exceptional in her gift and quite matter-of-factly stated, “You’re going to be moving. Like, relocating.” As soon as she said it, my heart sank. I knew she was talking about Tampa. ‘It’s not Paris, is it?’ I asked her, hoping for the best. ‘No. It’s not Paris. It’s a place that keeps coming up and you keep putting it off.’ I nodded silently. Fuck. It’s Tampa. ~~~ Back in May, I … [Read more...]
