Looking for inspiration? I’m happy to announce that once again I’m partnering with West Grey Public Library to offer a writing workshop. This time it’s virtual in order to address not only the real concerns regarding this new pandemic world in which we live, but also to allow participants to gather informally from the comfort of their homes. The workshops run as follows: Wednesdays from January 19 through March 9, 7:30 to 9:30 PM, via…
A tricky subject There’s a reason I’ve left the subject of marketing and promotion to one of the last articles on the subject of writers’ craft: it’s a tricky and often highly individual decision, dependent on personal preference, budget, and influence. I don’t think there’s any one perfect strategy. Sure, there are alleged experts who are going to sell you their version of the holy grail of marketing. But I’ve been at this for 40…
How to bring your work to market In the past 20 years the reasonable choices available to a writer have expanded considerably, and the delicacy around some of those choices has diminished. Was a time if you wished to publish your work, you were left with some very stark avenues. You could choose to publish through an established publishing house, and used to be you didn’t require an agent to be read by any of…
Informed opinion There seems to be an accepted protocol that once you’ve finished your novel, you then put together a group of willing, knowledgeable readers — beta readers — to do what is essentially a market test. The reasoning behind this method seems sound: you want to be sure, after all your revisions and polishing, that you’ve crafted this story well, that readers will get what you’ve tried to convey. Retaining beta readers is a form…
So, you’ve written a thing You’ve just keyed in the final word, placed punctuation, and the sense of accomplishment that settles over you is profound. You’re done. Or are you? At this point it’s all too easy to think there isn’t another thing that needs doing to that piece of writing. You’ve been careful throughout, not only with the mechanics of good writing — punctuation, spelling, grammar — but with plot, literary devices, character development,…