A Writer’s Life

Recently I visited the U.S. Olympic Training Center here in Colorado, one of only three in the nation, where elite athletes live and train full time. It’s like a college campus, but instead of classrooms there are different kinds of gyms for everything from martial arts to volleyball, gymnastics and weightlifting. In order to qualify…

I was wondering… if I go on vacation for almost two whole weeks and I never Tweet or post to Facebook about it, did it really happen? If I travel through six states, put 3500 miles on the SUV, and never mention it on my blog… was I ever really gone? And if I go…

I’ve said this before, but after all the comments on last week’s guest post about rejection, I thought it would bear repeating. Just because you receive a pass letter from an agent, it doesn’t necessarily mean your project wasn’t “good enough.” It doesn’t necessarily mean it didn’t fit the agent. It might not mean it…

One of the frequent complaints I hear from writers is that there are so many bad books out there. If you want my opinion on that, read my post “All Those Awful Books.” Today let’s put a positive spin on those books you don’t think are well-written. Instead of whining about it, why not try…

Last week on the blog we discussed rejection (as we so often do) and reader Daniel Friedman made an interesting comment, which I am reprinting here because I thought it was an unusually matter-of-fact perspective from a writer. Guest Blogger: Daniel Friedman Here is what I have learned during my submission journey, and in my…

We’ve been talking about contradictory messages all week, so for our last day, I wanted to address a topic that is integral to the life of anyone trying to create something artistic – and then sell it. There’s a constant tension between art and commerce, isn’t there? How do you balance the amount of time…

I often hear from moms with kids still at home who are working toward becoming published authors. No question, it’s a difficult season of life in which to find the time (and the focus) for a writing career. There are the usual frustrations of trying to find balance (whatever that means) like so many of…

Over the last couple weeks, the blog discussion has turned to whether writing is a lifestyle or a mindset or a calling. We’ve talked about how we fit it into the margins of our lives, or make it a priority. We’ve hovered around the edges of the question: What do we give up in order…

Awhile back I met with a writer who has a family and a great career, and has written a novel “on the side.” It’s been sitting in the drawer, but he’s decided he finally wants to figure out how to get that darn thing published. In the course of our conversation I realized, as I…