Anne R. Allen's Blog, page 41
May 28, 2017
Why Writing Rules (Usually) Don’t Work, But Writing Guidelines Do
Writing guidelines can help us climb that “book mountain” by Ruth Harris A breath-taking article about a Polish team of mountaineers planning to climb K2 in the winter—a risky-to-the-max feat that has never been accomplished—reminded me that every book is K2, a mountain that has never been climbed. Like expert climbers, writers make progress step […]
The post Why Writing Rules (Usually) Don’t Work, But Writing Guidelines Do appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
May 21, 2017
Practice Novels: 10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Publish that 1st Novel…Yet
Most authors start with practice novels. Some may be publishable…later. by Anne R. Allen We often hear stories about authors who have phenomenal success with a “first novel.” I’m sure most writers fantasize about being one of those success stories as we begin our careers. I sure did. But here’s what I didn’t know when […]
The post Practice Novels: 10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Publish that 1st Novel…Yet appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
May 14, 2017
What’s Your Author Strategy? 3 Mini-Strategies To Jumpstart Your Career
Author Strategy? You mean there’s a strategy to this? by Carmen Amato I’m not sure what I was thinking of when I chose this quote from Louisa May Alcott to adorn my high school year book picture: “Far away there in the sunshine sat my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can […]
The post What’s Your Author Strategy? 3 Mini-Strategies To Jumpstart Your Career appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
May 7, 2017
10 Writing Career Mistakes I Made So You Don’t Have To
Writing career mistakes will happen, but these are some you can avoid. by Anne R. Allen Ruth and I like to say we made all the writing career mistakes so you don’t have to. I figure that I’ve collected nearly the full set of authorial faux pas since I embarked on a writing career. So today I’m […]
The post 10 Writing Career Mistakes I Made So You Don’t Have To appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
April 30, 2017
Rejection and Failure: Why There’s a Difference, and Why Neither Means You Should Quit
Rejection and failure make you think of quitting? Be like Thomas Edison instead. by Ruth Harris Rejection can make us want to cry and/or break things but rejection is almost never personal and often has nothing to do with your book, either. The sting of rejection can be bullied into submission with a can-do, eff-you […]
The post Rejection and Failure: Why There’s a Difference, and Why Neither Means You Should Quit appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
April 23, 2017
How Not to Start Your Novel: 6 First Page No-Nos
Start your novel any way you want when you write your first draft, but keep your reader in mind when you edit. by Anne R. Allen There are as many ways to start your novel as there are writers, so be aware that these are not hard and fast rules. But newbies tend to fall […]
The post How Not to Start Your Novel: 6 First Page No-Nos appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
April 16, 2017
How to Give a Book Reading: A Bashful Author’s Guide
Giving a book reading? Here’s how to do it right! By Melodie Campbell It’s a fact: when I read from my work in public, I sell books. When I don’t read, I don’t sell. This may seem obvious. If you are not on the New York Times bestseller list, then many of the people in […]
The post How to Give a Book Reading: A Bashful Author’s Guide appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
April 9, 2017
Author Newsletter vs. Author Blog: Five Reasons I Prefer a Blog, and Six Reasons You Might Not
by Anne R. Allen “The one with the biggest email list wins” is the current mantra of pretty much every book marketer on the planet. The author newsletter is supposed to be the most important weapon in your book marketing arsenal. Marketing experts tell authors their #1 goal should be to collect as many email […]
The post Author Newsletter vs. Author Blog: Five Reasons I Prefer a Blog, and Six Reasons You Might Not appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
April 2, 2017
Are Slow Writers Doomed to Fail in the Digital Age?
by Anne R. Allen I first blogged about the plight of slow writers back in 2014, at the height of the indie publishing boom. All the indie superstar gurus were telling writers to grind out ebooks as fast as they could type to take advantage of the “Kindle Gold Rush”. Three years later, the Kindle […]
The post Are Slow Writers Doomed to Fail in the Digital Age? appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
March 26, 2017
STRESS BUSTERS AND BURNOUT-BEATERS.
Burnout can hit the most motivated writers and Type A high-achievers by Ruth Harris We’re writers and we don’t need no lousy bosses to crack the whip. We can do it to ourselves–create the frazzle, the frustration, the deadlines, the endless to-do lists, negative feedback, and the conviction that we’re not doing enough fast enough. […]
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