Q4U

So NaNoWriMo is over, and all of you who participated are 50,000 words closer to a finished book, right? I’m interested in what you learned through this process. What did you learn about yourself? About writing? If you didn’t do NaNo, you can join in too. Tell us what you’ve learned about yourself through your…

This week another major publisher, Harlequin, announced their entry into the self-publishing business. The blogs have lit up over it and there’s a lot of interesting reading out there. I think Victoria Strauss gave a great overview on the Writer Beware blog (here.) I have to admit that the idea of all these major publishers…

I’ve been thinking about all these publishing blogs, and why we read them. (Yes, I read them too.) I’m interested in hearing your perspectives on the blogs. Feel free to answer any of these questions: What are your primary reasons for reading the blogs? How often do you read blogs? How often do you comment?…

Don’t you love how daily life offers so many great decent ideas for blog posts? This week I was being interviewed for a magazine article and one of the questions was, “What is something about you that writers would be surprised to know?” Of course, I share so much about myself on the blog and…

I’ve been a fan of editor-turned-agent Betsy Lerner ever since I read her brilliant book The Forest for the Trees when it came out in 2001. If you’ve never read it, you should immediately. It’s one of the best books for writers, right up there with Stephen King’s On Writing. Get the book! Anyway, that’s…

Many of you have been on this pursuit-of-publishing journey for awhile now. Whether you’re just starting to write, or you’re already contracted, or you’re somewhere in between, I’ll bet there are things that have surprised you along the way. I’ve been in publishing for so long, I’m not surprised by much of anything anymore. So…

First off, if you don’t read anything else this weekend, read this article from the Washington Post. It doesn’t say much that we haven’t already discussed on this and other publishing blogs. But I think (for many of you) it will confirm what you’ve already heard: Yes, it’s a whole new world for authors, and…

We started this month with my birthday (a shameless self-promotion, I realize, but I can’t help it, I just love my birthday). Let’s end the week celebrating another birthday of sorts: The day YOUR latest book was released. If your book came out in the last year, tell us about it and include the Amazon…

So here we are on September 11th. Many things have happened on this date in history. Perhaps some of you were even born or got married on this date. But I think we all carry with us a very powerful memory of September 11th, 2001. Let’s send up a prayer for all whose lives were…

Last week when I was camping with my family, I couldn’t help but notice how our attire advertised each of us perfectly. I was wearing a sweatshirt that said, “So many books, so little time.” My 12-year-old’s sweatshirt said, “I’d rather be riding” (she’s my budding equestrian). My 10-year-old’s sweatshirt said, “Gymnastics–it’s not a sport,…

What do you say we blow the lid off this whole social networking thing once and for all. I’ve got questions, you’ve got answers. You ready? What do you LIKE about Twitter, Facebook, or other social networks? What do you DISLIKE? What scares you about them? If you are NOT using Twitter or Facebook, why…

Once again, my blog is all about YOU. We’ve been talking a lot about self-promotion lately. Here’s your chance! Today’s assignment: Tell us about ONE book you’re writing, or have written. If your book is available for purchase, go ahead and include a link. Please stick to a maximum of 100 words per comment in…