Bear with me. This is a post about me being dense and finally realizing what to do about it. It’s also a post about money and about stress and about “finding balance” (whatever that means) and about blessing others. And letting myself be blessed. And not feeling like I have to constantly prove something to the world. Confession: I am always stressed. I have a wonderful life. I am a stay-at-home mom to two brilliant, adorable, sweet, well-behaved children. I have a husband who is the love of my life, selfless and brilliant and a total hottie. I have wonderful friends […]
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I wrote this post over a month ago, and I’ve only just now gotten up the courage to publish it. What’s different now? Well… Things Unseen, the first book in the A Long-Forgotten Song series is almost done (I’m working on the final copy edits and formatting), and the third book in Erdemen Honor (which still needs a title) is not done but is still POSSIBLY on track to be published by Awesome Con DC in April. Basically, I was so discouraged that I didn’t even want to admit how discouraged I was. Sad, right? My sales are still excruciatingly […]
But wait, you say. Isn’t self-publishing just vanity publishing? Not exactly. Self-Publishing is not Vanity Publishing Self-publishing is when an author pays for the expenses of having their work published – editing, cover art, formatting, etc. That’s a pretty broad category, and it includes a number of classic works. You see, publishing has always been subject to the whims of a number of gatekeepers – agents, editors, publishers, and bookstore owners, to name a few. Sometimes those gatekeepers hit a homerun – they identify and back a truly worthwhile book by a magnificent author. That’s great! But sometimes, for whatever […]
Tor.com has a post titled “Fantasy, Reading, and Escapism.” Fiction reading, particularly fantasy and science fiction, are sometimes derided as “escapist” and somehow less worthwhile than other forms of literature. Escapism isn’t a bad thing. How else am I going to be an amazing swordsman, a slave, a Roman soldier, or an aristocrat? Much less all in the same day? But I think there’s more to fantasy than just escapism. Sure, there’s plenty of bad fantasy out there (perhaps more than some other genres). But fantasy is also a, pardon the word, fantastic way of exploring the full range of […]
Every writer needs beta readers. But sometimes, finding the right beta readers can be a challenge. The best critiquers and beta readers catch the vision of the story you want to tell and help you tell it better, rather than fundamentally changing the idea. There are a few critical steps to identifying the right beta readers for your work and using them well. 1 – Know what you need from the beta readers. When you show a piece of writing to someone, it’s best to know what kind of response you’re looking for. If you need encouragement, show it to […]