Reading, wRiting, and Roaming with Author Valerie Biel

December 15, 2021

Writer Burnout: 19 Tips for Recovery and Prevention

Reigniting Your Passion for Your Author Career

How to Feel More in Control as an Author

A New Year - A Fresh Start: Sign Up Now

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Writer Burnout: Tips for Recovery, Prevention, and Reigniting Your Passion

As often happens, at the end of the year there are often a number of articles devoted to getting your writing career back on track in preparation for the new year ahead. This year is no different. The first of these articles on Writer Burnout comes from Jason Hamilton on the Kindlepreneur site helps you to identify what burnout really is and gives tips on how to overcome it and even... Continue Reading

November 29, 2021

The December installment of the 2021 Author Series wraps up our first year of asking published authors to share the advice they would give to their pre-published self along with what they wished they'd known before they published their first book. But this is not the end! I will continue featuring published author wisdom in this space in 2022!!

Author and literary agent Tina Schwartz joins us this month. I first met Tina as a fellow author, long before she began her agenting career, but back when she was negotiating her own book contracts. I'm guessing a number of my blog readers pitched their work to Tina at the UW-Madison Writers' Institute through the years. (Indeed, that's how I ended up joining Tina's literary agency as a client myself!)  

ABOUT TINA... Continue Reading

November 21, 2021

Acquisitions & Mergers in Publishing – 3 Big Stories

NaNoWriMo’s Not for Me! - Alternatives

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Penguin Random House – Simon & Schuster Merger

On Tuesday, November 2 the Justice Department sued to block Penguin Random House from acquiring Simon and Schuster saying that, “this acquisition would enable Penguin Random House, which is already the largest book publisher in the world, to exert outsized influence over which books are published in the United States and how much authors are paid for their work.” Here’s the full DOJ press release.

Follett Sells Baker & Taylor... Continue Reading

November 17, 2021

When I began my professional writing journey about thirteen years ago, I really didn’t know any other writers or publishing industry folks. Indeed, I wrote rather in secret that first year before attending my first writing conference, the University of Wisconsin Writers’ Institute. I’ve previously talked about how that conference changed my writing world—allowing me to find “my people” for the first time. I’m still connected with so many of those fine writers today, which is especially important now that the conference (along with the entire UW Continuing Studies writing program) is no more. I penned an ode to this conference here. But that conference was just the beginning of building a writing... Continue Reading

November 9, 2021

The November installment of the 2021 Author Series, where a published author shares the advice they would give to their pre-published self along with what they wished they'd known before they published their first book, features Barbara Britton. I think I met Barbara at my very first writing conference more than a decade ago. Since then, it has been fun to watch her writing career take flight! I have often featured her books, celebrated her book launches, and interviewed her about her publishing journey in this space. I love all of her books--her Biblical Fiction titles are just delightful! Scroll down to see the gorgeous covers--including the one for her... Continue Reading

November 2, 2021

I just finished reading Where Echoes Lie by Shannon Schuren last night . . . at midnight  . . . as the clock ticked over to the beginning of All Souls Day. How perfect! 

Why?

Because this is a story about a lost soul -- a ghost story -- a fabulous, eerie, page-turning ghost story. 

But what makes this book so special is the rest of the story surrounding the legend of the ghost bride and the modern-day characters who interact with her. What does she want? What does she need? Will she harm them to get it? Shannon Schuren does a fabulous job of intertwining a coming-of-age story with the secrets of the past. As a stellar storyteller, Schuren creates characters we immediately care for,... Continue Reading

October 30, 2021

What Are You Traditions for October 31?

New Social Media Platform for Authors

Black Voices in Publishing: Is It a Trend or a Movement?

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What Are Your Traditions for October 31 & November 1

My recent article for the Blackbird Writers blog to takes you on a little journey into the past, detailing where all of our Halloween and All Saints Day traditions originated. You may be surprised as to how this holiday has evolved!

This Founder Created a Social Media Platform for Authors that Aims to Disrupt the Publishing Industry

Author Allison Trowbridge will soon launch a new... Continue Reading

October 19, 2021

Given that it’s now October and we've entered the spooky season, I’m writing about the ghost-like feeling that plagues writers: imposter syndrome. Putting ideas onto the page and then releasing them to the world for critical feedback is a risk. The most successful writers, including Sandra Brown, have revealed doubts about their writing talent.

As parents or psychologists will tell you, external praise won’t change a person’s self-esteem. For writers, who experience... Continue Reading

October 12, 2021

Welcome to the October installment of the 2021 Author Series, where a published author shares the advice they would give to their pre-published self along with what they wished they'd known before they published their first book. Kristin Oakley is our October author. I first met Kristin at one of the many University of Wisconsin continuing education writing programs (which alas are no longer continuing!) We've collaborated before in this space on articles about critique groups, attending writing conferences, and... Continue Reading

October 7, 2021

Harry Potter and On Wisconsin (Authors)!

AH, HARRY POTTER—fond memories were recently rekindled with the recent gift of the ILLUSTRATED Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (thank you daughter #2). An unbelievably gorgeous book with such beautifully detailed illustrations that I would often just sit and stare at the page to take it all in. I really didn’t intend to READ the entire book (again for the umpteenth time.) But I was drawn in AGAIN, and thoroughly enjoyed it. What’s fun is that this is the British English version . . . so it was all favourites and colours and crisps and biscuits and car boots and lifts etc… However, then shouldn’t the cover have read “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”??? NOT Sorcerer’s Stone. Hmmmmm.

Our eldest was 11 when the first... Continue Reading

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