Published on September 28, 2011
We moved to Florida and we LOVE it here. Problem is…fall is my favorite season and we’re pretty sure leaves on palm and coconut trees don’t turn red, yellow and orange. I read online that the mountains in Tennessee have beautiful fall foliage in October so we’re planning a road trip there next month…
Published on September 28, 2011
As you can see from our “World’s Worst Book Proposals” series, there are plenty of really bad books being shopped to publishers and, unfortunately, most Print on Demand (POD) publishers will print anything and everything just to get an author’s money…
Published on September 28, 2011
Letters will return next week.
Published on September 28, 2011
bookstores

I am still a little confused about the distribution through Ingram. So, does that mean we’re guaranteed to at least have a few books in the bookstores Ingram works with? Or, does it depend on how many copies the bookstores want to order from Ingram?
Published on September 28, 2011

With three book projects, family obligations and teaching, I needed a system to account for my time and maintain productivity. Lately, I’ve been experiencing a lot success implementing these ideas…
Published on September 21, 2011
Let me preface this by saying I am NOT a fan of amusement parks. A few years ago, we visited Six Flags in Chicago on a day when it was 112 degrees. Frank started vomiting almost immediately when we arrived and, of course, Six Flags would not give us a refund. We were out more than $300 and Frank was suffering pretty badly. He recovered very quickly once we left so we suspected it was the intense heat. On that day, I vowed to avoid amusement parks at all costs in the future.
Despite my vow, I reluctantly told Richard we could visit Disney World at least once when we moved to Florida…
Published on September 21, 2011
Letters will return next week.
Published on September 21, 2011
book marketing

I’ve always identified myself as a writer. Only recently have I come to admit that I’m also a blogger. I blog about writing, about the love of literature, about all things literary. But the truth is, I blog to sell books…
Published on September 21, 2011
I was dismayed to receive an email from a publisher this morning that made me wonder if he ACTUALLY read (my manuscript) at all! All of the issues he raised were covered and solved in the writing, so he is either extremely unintelligent or has simply browsed through the book.
I wondered what you think might be the motive behind his comments? After receiving some amazing reviews from both professionals and readers alike, I was aghast reading his comments.
Published on September 21, 2011
For the past year or so, I’ve been trying to break into a certain glossy women’s magazine. I’ve sent multiple queries, but every one of them has been rejected. Many of them have been the “good kind of rejection,” although if you ask me, “good rejection” is an oxymoron. I’ve gotten several personal rejections, where the editor said I was getting close, but my idea wasn’t quite right for their magazine. Encouraged by their words, I kept sending out those queries.
But the rejections – good kind or not – kept coming…