Writer's Fun Zone by Beth Barany
Many writers, when they sit down to work, look with anxiety or stress at that blank page. Or they’re afraid to send their work out—to editors or publishers—or even for critique. Others are afraid they won’t sell. Or if they have sold, that they won’t sell again.
I’ve never had a special place to write. I’ve often envied other writers who post pictures of their little corner, with a chair and desk, notebooks and pens at the ready; often an inspiring view nearby. Sadly, I’ve never lived in a house that had space for a space.
In my early years of writing I believe that in order to be successful, I needed to follow the paths of more successful writers. Did my mentor meditate? I’ll mediate, it will make my work better. Did my mentor move to Taos? I’ll move to Taos, it will help me be more inspired and creative. Did my mentor write for ten minutes straight? I’ll write for ten minutes straight.
In my live #askaWritingCoach chat this week, I shared book production tips for self-publishing novelists. I answered questions and shared resources. And as I do each week, I gave away prizes to those people...
Once upon a time, a critique partner told me I should put my manuscript in a box and place that box under my bed and never take it out. Imagine for a moment that you’re me. How would that make you feel in your mind and in your creative heart? Devastated, right? I wanted to slam down my manuscript and walk off the writing-playing field before the whistle blew, and not ever look back.
Most writers know from the outset that this is a very solitary pursuit they’ve chosen, that there’s no other way to create than to spend long, often lonely hours at the keyboard or over a blank page, struggling to find just the right word, phrase or image.
SIGN UP HERE! In this webinar, we’re going to look at how to target genre for big sales. All too often writers pen a great novel, but despite tremendous effort and utilizing top marketing...
In my live #askaWritingCoach chat this week, I chatted with PJ Ferguson, founder of the Be Happy Now Club and author of The Shortcut to Happiness. We discussed setting boundaries, time management tools, scheduling, to-do...
I’ve had several occasions now where I’m talking to an author, and they mention how frustrating it is that this publisher has the rights to their book and, for one reason or another, the publisher refused to give the rights back when the author asked for it. I promptly ask the first question that comes to my mind: “So, do you think you’ll exercise your termination right when the time comes?”
Some writers enjoy the process of rereading and combing through each word, looking for ways to strengthen sentences, remove extraneous detail, sharpen plot and develop characters. But for many it’s pure torture. Editing can feel like it lacks the punch and excitement of the initial writing, too analytical and uncreative.
In my weekly live #askaWritingCoach chat this week I shared 12 book marketing tips and some underlying presuppositions, an overview of many of the topics I’ll cover in my upcoming Branding and Marketing for...
In my weekly live #askaWritingCoach chat this week, I interviewed Heather on the foundations of building a creative business — space to create and systems — plus answered your questions and gave away her...
On one of my recent weekly Wednesday live chats (on the 7 keys to author success), a writer asked me how I juggle working on my fiction while working full time. As you may know,...
I participated in Pitch Madness last year on twitter and while preparing I realized I had no idea what genre my book was. Before you begin they give you a list of what genre to put at the end of your tweet so that agents and editors can see if they would even represent your book. There were so many to choose from so I did some research on each of them.
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