Mark David Gerson's Blog, page 35

Tweet Write Sunday on Twitter

Join me Sunday afternoon for #writechat, a live -- and lively -- real-time chat about writing on Twitter.

From noon to 3pm PT today (Sunday, July 12), I'll be once again guest-hosting this weekly event, where aspiring writers and published authors come together to talk about what they do.

If you're on Twitter, simply access it however you normally do. Then open a new browser window to http://search.twitter.com. If the link didn't already do it for you, type the hashtag #writechat in the search bar

Upcoming Writing Workshops in Albuquerque

Dear Friends,

I'd forgotten how much I loved sharing my passion for writing with other writers until last month's workshop here in Albuquerque. You see, it had been a couple of years since I'd offered a full-fledged writing class or workshop -- partly because of my travels and partly because I'd been so focused on getting my own books out that there'd been little time to teach.

But June's event was so fulfilling, for myself and the participants, that I've decided to do it again.

More to the point,

To Write is To Publish...Even if No One Sees What You've Written

I'm not the one who invents the stories; I'm like a radio... Somehow, if I move the dial very carefully, I'll pick up the wave and get the story...
~ Isabelle Allende


Your stories exist...just as your dreams do. But it's the act of setting them to the page, of letting one word follow the next and then the next and then the next, that makes them real, that "publishes" them.

That's right: The act of publishing is an act of making public.

When you take your stories, those stories that have an existe

The Call To Write: An Albuquerque Workshop

Whether you're published or just starting out, whatever your form or genre, the fact that you're writing speaks to a deep call to express yourself and share your truth with the world. And whether you've worked with me or my book before, my upcoming workshop, The Call to Write: Answering the Voice of Your Muse, will take you deeper -- to the place where your stories reside...the place from which your Muse speaks to you...the place of ease, spontaneity and natural creative flow.

If you're not writi

"The Voice of the Muse" Named a Top Writing Book of 2009

Mark David Gerson's The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write was named one of the top writing books of the year last month in the Independent Publisher Book Awards, also known as the IPPYs.

Gerson's Silver Medal in the "writing/publishing" category was awarded in New York on May 29, in conjunction with BookExpo America, the U.S. book industry’s premier trade show.

The 2009 competition, the 13th for the Independent Publisher Book Awards, attracted more than 4,000 entries from the U.S., C

The Muse Speaks...and Delivers!

Just got this note from writer Malcolm Campbell. Kudos to me, but more important, congrats to him!!

Book Contract!

Let's hear it for The Voice of the Muse!!!

The book I wrote in 30 days using The Voice of the Muse and a few glasses of dark red wine is now under contract and may be released by late summer.

I'm rather astounded because I grew up in an era where the authors we all studied in school took years to write each book. So that's what I did.

Now, suddenly Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fir

Tweet Write Today on Twitter

Join me this afternoon for #writechat, a live -- and lively -- real-time chat about writing on Twitter.

From noon to 3pm PT today (Sunday, May 17), I'll be once again guest-hosting this weekly event, where aspiring writers and published authors come together to talk about what they do.

If you're on Twitter, simply access it however you normally do. Then open a new browser window to http://search.twitter.com. If the link didn't already do it for you, type the hashtag #writechat in the search bar. T

When Publishers Reject You, It Could Just Be Because They're Stupid

"In 1797, Thomas Cadell made one of the greatest mistakes in publishing history. A Hampshire clergyman had written to him, offering a three-volume novel for publication by a first-time author. Without a word of encouragement, Cadell declined the book, manuscript unseen, by return of post.

"Unfortunately for Cadell, the clergyman was the Revd George Austen, soliciting publication on his daughter Jane's behalf, and the novel in question was an early version of Pride and Prejudice, recently voted t

It's Time to Live the Dream

“You just have to keep your dream. If you lose it and get cynical, you die.”
~ Meryl Streep

"Where there is no vision, the people perish."
~ Proverbs 29:18

What's your dream for your writing? For your life?

Know that whatever it is, however improbable it may seem in this moment, it's not impossible. Nearly every success story begins with an "impossible" dream. Nearly every "overnight success" was years in the making.

Have you begun the book you've always dreamt of writing? Now is the time to put your

The Real Word About Word-of-Mouth

A Guest Post by John Kremer

New York Times bestselling novelist Brad Meltzer tells a story about how he found out which Barnes & Noble outlet sells the most copies of his thrillers.

When a B&N national sales representative asked the author to guess which store in the chain sold the greatest number of his books, Brad first guessed Washington, D.C., since most of his novels are political thrillers. Not so, said the rep.

Brad then guessed New York City. Again, a no.

Turns out, Brad was never going to