Published on March 24, 2010
Wednesday was the day Max was dreading. He started to get teary-eyed whenever he thought about leaving Andi. We woke up early and got all packed up. I’m pretty sure I will never get all the sand out of this RV! It is EVERYWHERE! Andi and her dad spent about an hour with us before it was time to pull out. Max said a tearful goodbye and we took pictures. We pulled away and Max and Andi were waving to each other. Max was very, very sad for the rest of the day and that evening. He called Andi after we got to our next destination. That cheered him up a bit, but not much.
It rained most of the day, which fit Max’s mood. Our next stop was a hotel in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. We parked the RV, checked in, and went to our room. It had quite a 70s feel to it with all the light greens and geometric patterns. I’m pretty sure Carol Brady herself decorated it!
We dumped our bags, and found a fantastic North Carolina barbeque place for lunch. If you’ve never had North Carolina barbeque, you have sadly neglected your taste buds and your soul…
Read more HERE.
This week I have a Masonism for you.
In the RV one afternoon, Mason (age 3) was sitting quietly (for once) and looking around. After a few minutes, he said, “We sure have nice doorknobs!”
Hugs to all!
Angela
Published on March 24, 2010
I’ve read lots of different stories online about authors giving away free copies of their ebooks to try to boost print book sales. Some, mostly from traditional publishers, say doing this increased sales (but nobody seems to want to give out the real numbers) while others say doing this hurts sales.
I thought I’d share my thoughts on this with you to help you determine if you should give away your book, or a significant portion of it, for free.
Published on March 24, 2010
Letters will return next week.
Published on March 24, 2010
It’s been a lean year for many, but there is hope on the horizon. Many businesses are revising and reworking their Websites to stay current, gain relevance or grab a larger share of revenue. All of this can translate to dollars if you follow these tips to land Web copy jobs.
Published on March 24, 2010
Angela,
What can you tell me about author submission services?
R.M.
Published on March 24, 2010
I have five children and over the last few years, I’ve made thousands of dollars writing about them. I write about our oh-so-precious “awww” moments, and I write about the times when they make me feel as though my head will explode.
Published on March 17, 2010
It was kind of depressing on Wednesday. Zach was gone, nobody else was coming to visit us at the beach, and we only had one week left at that beautiful spot right on the Atlantic ocean. Oh, sure, we wanted to get home soon and see our loved ones but we were going to miss the place that had made the worst month of winter the absolute best month of winter! In Maine, we wake up to the sound of traffic. In South Carolina, we were waking up to the sound of crashing waves…
Read more HERE.
This week’s Maxism:
“You know, Dora isn’t really an explorer.”
Hugs to all!
Angela
Published on March 17, 2010
For the past six weeks, we’ve spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the Winter 2010 24-Hour Short Story Contest. In case you’re not familiar with our quarterly contest, this is how it works. On the date of the contest, at start-time, we send out the topic for that specific contest to all registered entrants. We also post it online. Only registered entrants can submit stories and the contests usually fill up before “start time.” Entrants then have 24 hours to write and submit their stories by email. The stories “must deal with the topic in some way to qualify” and they must not exceed the pre-assigned word count.
After reading the entries for each contest, we can see how difficult it is to come up with a unique plot when working with an assigned topic. But, inevitably, a few writers do manage to successfully break away from the pack.
So, sit back, relax, and take a rest from your busy day. Hey, are you feelin’ crafty?
Published on March 17, 2010
WHO’S SCAMMING GRANNY? Snakes That Prey on Elderly Authors
Dear Ms. Hoy:
Your article about shifty agents conning the elderly was very sad and informative. It almost happened to my mother years ago when she used to write a local interest column for our city newspaper. She was working on a New England novel concerning the Isles of Shoals when an ‘agent’ contacted her. (He had read her column and gushed about how much potential she had.) He said for a reasonable fee she could get pubished, become famous, and not have to depend on my deceased father’s pension. Fortunately, my older brother got wind of this, became suspicious, tracked down the ‘agent’ in Worcester and discovered he had a ‘rap’ sheet’ of related scams beforehand. My mother was embarrassed and disappointed, but relieved.
I’m 61 myself, and I have learned to be cautious, and not quit my day job.
Regards,
Doug
THE AMAZON SETTLEMENT
Bravo! Congratulations on the settlement, Angela. You continually amaze and impress me with your committment to ethics, quality and doing the right thing even when it is far easier not to. Please know how much you are appreciated and admired.
My Best,
Debra Sanders
https://www.debrasanders.com
Published on March 17, 2010
“Diversify. Broaden your client base. Earn more money.” This is typical advice given to corporate writers. But the risk of non-payment runs high when working with new clients – particularly small-to-medium-sized companies with fluctuating cash flow.
