To shelve or not to shelve. Not only is that the question, but it’s a heartbreaking one. If you’re not familiar with the term, in author world, shelving a manuscript means the author has effectively called it quits on getting that project published. Sometimes, an author may shelve a near complete manuscript because they realize…
Tag: writers
Giving Life to Faulty Memories
What would you say is the best remedy for a faulty memory? A diary? A photo album? Home movies? Whatever it is you are currently reading this blog post on? You could make a solid argument for all of these, but today I want to talk about that last one. Or rather, something that you…
Incentivizing Pesky Writing Goals
Is it just me, or did summer in the northern hemisphere fly by? One moment, it’s June and I’m posting about my new tattoos, and the next, we’re into September. I planned to be MIA from my website for a couple of months, and I like to think you noticed my absence. No need to…
When Self-Promotion Becomes Self-Distraction
I recently debuted new branding and a redesigned website for my online author platform. Not to brag (okay, totally to brag), but I think it looks great. It captures the genre and spirit of my writing. The “glow-up” has been a long time coming, as I’ve never been completely happy with the elegant but boring…
How to Pick Your Next WIP
I’m done. Finished. Finito. It’s a wrap on “final” edits to my middle grade novel. I’m now a query critique-and-revision cycle away from sending it back out to agent slush piles. I can’t do much more to get this book noticed, represented and published, so short of edits requested by an acquiring editor, I’m calling…
Breaking the Shelfie Optic
I have a confession: I wince when fellow authors post their shelfies—photos of their glorious bookshelves, filled top to bottom with volumes of literary treasures. Not because I hate seeing them but because my own shelfie would be appallingly, even embarrassingly, lacking. I love books. I love buying them. I love reading them. I especially…
Social Media: Taking a Break or Breaking Away?
Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of deleting my Twitter account. My philosophy on social media is that it should earn its space in our lives. We should be getting something positive from it, whether its financial, social, or emotional in nature. If I’m being honest with myself, I’m not getting what I need…
Distractions That Keep Writers From…SQUIRREL!
Taking on the task of writing a full-length finished novel can be daunting and often more laborious than bargained for. That’s why distractions are the number one enemy of writers. It’s not that we want to be distracted. Rather, when faced with a painstaking task, letting minds and bodies wander is simply the path of…
Top Ten Reasons People Don’t Believe You’re a Writer
Have you ever told people that you’re a writer, only to be met with scoffing doubt? Perhaps you don’t fit their preconceived notion of what writers are like. Maybe you break all the author stereotypes. That’s a good thing, because there is no wrong or right way to ~be~ a writer. (Well, okay, there are…
Escaping Writer’s Tunnel Vision
A few years ago, I wrote a book that was everything. It was brilliant and compelling, imaginative and fun, heart-wrenching and heartwarming. I just knew this book was going to get me everything authors want and expect for their creative work: a fawning agent, a lucrative publishing deal, credibility as a bona fide children’s author,…
D.M. Domosea 