Laura VanArendonk Baugh's Blog, page 60

Help Me Title the New Book!

Book titles are important things, you know. They’re supposed to resonate with the readers, and all that. That’s why I’m asking you to help me find one that resonates. The new book is getting dangerously close to completion. (That’s my non-fiction piece, for my day job as a trainer.) It still needs technical reviews and [...]

The post Help Me Title the New Book! appeared first on Laura VanArendonk Baugh.

The Rise of Ebooks

I read that December’s shopping will determine whether 2012 is in fact the year ebooks edge out physical books, or if that will happen in 2013. Regardless, it’s coming soon. Part of me is sad about that — I grew up with paperback books, hardback books, beautiful, real books with gorgeous (or terrible) typography and [...]

The post The Rise of Ebooks appeared first on Laura VanArendonk Baugh.

Signposts on the Way to “Making It” – Goals

It’s good to have realistic expectations as well as goals, right? And likely goals as well as shoot-for-the-moon goals, right? Authors — and everyone — should have many small goals as they make their way toward large goals. So in a fit of procrastination from Real Work, I’ve compiled a just-for-fun list of things which [...]

The post Signposts on the Way to “Making It” – Goals appeared first on Laura VanArendonk Baugh.

Announcement: a new book is coming soon

So you knew I was working on bringing Kitsune-Mochi to you, right? Did you know I’m also working on a non-fiction book? My day job is in behavior, animal behavior specifically (though I’m also certified in TAGteach), and I’m working on a book in that field. I’m focusing specifically on protocols to help over-emotional dogs, [...]

The post Announcement: a new book is coming soon appeared first on Laura VanArendonk Baugh.

On Spoilers. (I Hate Them.)

A 2011psychology experiment indicates that spoilers don’t ruin a story, but rather enhance it. With all respect, in this regard psychology has its headlight plugged firmly into its tail-lamp. And that’s coming from someone who makes her day job in psychological science, so you know I feel pretty strongly about this. The experiment showed subjects [...]

The post On Spoilers. (I Hate Them.) appeared first on Laura VanArendonk Baugh.

Happy Halloween!

So this is what was waiting for me when I flew home through Hurricane Sandy turbulence and walked in the front door. Isn’t that grand? My husband rocks. That’s McCoy, by the way (please, please don’t make me have to explain that name — just ask a nerd), and I bought him a couple of [...]

The post Happy Halloween! appeared first on Laura VanArendonk Baugh.

Self-Publishing, Royalties, and Self-Worth

So I just got an email notifying me of my first Kitsune-Tsuki royalties. So of course I had to tweet about it. Of course, I knew that I wasn’t putting out Kitsune-Tsuki for money. That’s good, because all single-digit humor aside, percentages on a 99¢ book ($4.99 in paperback) are not exactly going to pay [...]

The post Self-Publishing, Royalties, and Self-Worth appeared first on Laura VanArendonk Baugh.

Prepping for NaNoWriMo and Kitsune-Mochi

I don’t typically attempt NaNoWriMo in the way that many writers do — I mean, actually writing a new novel — but I do use it as a shameless excuse to dedicate more time to side projects I wouldn’t otherwise. I have no memory of what I did with it last year, honestly, but two [...]

The post Prepping for NaNoWriMo and Kitsune-Mochi appeared first on Laura VanArendonk Baugh.

How To Help Your Favorite Authors – Guest Post

A question I’ve received several times on Facebook or elsewhere is, How can we help promote?I love that people want to help me (and other authors) promote their books. Here’s a great little article by Lindsay Buroker on promoting an author’s work. Not just for me — do this for any book you enjoy! As [...]

The post How To Help Your Favorite Authors – Guest Post appeared first on Laura VanArendonk Baugh.

I Was Going To Write A Blog Post, And Then I Realized I Didn’t Have To

I've been working really, really hard on a writing project. Dedicated. I do most of this work late at night, and to be honest, there were nights when I'd probably have enjoyed snuggling with the Dobermans and watching a movie rather than yanking out my hair and wondering how to shave a few thousand more words.

I was thinking of writing a blog post on OC and staying on task with this project -- an acceptable form of procrastination, perhaps? -- when I stumbled upon another blog post and realiz...