Tips for Creating a Platform

Last week, I blogged about author platforms. A couple of people responded and I think that their comments reflect how many writers, including me, feel about marketing: It’s a full-time job, it’s overwhelming, and it’s exhausting. Also this past week, I attended a writer’s panel that discussed the current situation (good and bad) of a [...]

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Punchy Endings

Hey, everyone. I saw this brief article on WritersDigest.com and wanted to share it with you. It’s called “How to End a Novel with a Punch.” It’s a great encapsulation of the elements of a successful ending. Not just successful, in fact, but a great ending that will blow readers away. The 9 key elements [...]

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PayPal polices erotica content of ebooks

Thanks to GCLS for Tweeting this today, as I might not have caught it otherwise. PayPal is cracking down on what it calls “obscene content” with regard to ebooks. Violet Blue has the scoop over at ZDNet. From that article: On Saturday February 18, PayPal began threatening indie book publishers and distributors with immediate deactivation [...]

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Save a bookstore?

Hi, all– Heard through the grapevine that the fab True Colors Bookstore in south Minneapolis is looking for some help. That is, a benefactor or new owner. The current owner is willing to make it a turnkey operation and will stay on to help train people on the new software system and whatever else she [...]

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Claiming Genre

First off, the winner for the Free Book Drawing is (drum roll please) Catherine Wilson, an author in her own right. Congrats, Catherine! And thanks to all who entered. Now, onto a subject that has been captivating me. If you’re like me, you covet well-written novels with lesbian characters. Make it a lesbian protagonist and [...]

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Pride…and Prejudice

Hi, folks– For those of you who identify as LGBT, June is a special month, because it commemorates the birth of the modern LGBT rights movement. If you’re interested, PBS ran a stunning documentary about Stonewall, called Stonewall Uprising. source To this day, I still cry at Pride marches, and I think about that first [...]

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In the aftermath

Hi, folks– Yesterday I posted a link to my LiveJournal post about organizations that are helping with the disaster in Japan (and other areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami). HuffPo also provides a list and here it is. This Yahoo blog offers a similar list. A writer at this forum at HarperCollins provides links [...]

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Japan–how you can help

Hi, folks– We here at Women and Words share the world’s horror and grief at what’s happened in Japan and other areas affected by the earthquake and the tsunami. I’ve posted a list of organizations that are mobilizing and accepting donations (via web; a few are also accepting donations via text message) over at my [...]

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Buried But Not Forgotten

We all have them—the half-written novels, scraps of paper with story ideas, and chewed up pages with random scenes that we knew we’d fit into a novel some day. Sometimes there’s even a fully written novel floating around that, for whatever reason, never saw the light of day. Some of us throw them in a [...]

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Guest Blog! Ruth Perkinson!

The winner of a copy of “Piper’s Someday” is Jeanne Barrett. And yes, in honor of Ruth and River, my dog Taylor did the drawing. That is, I put the names in a canvas bag, shook ‘em up, shook ‘em up again, and then again, and then tossed the names out of the bag onto [...]

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