A few years ago I made this epic list of 300+ fonts to use for every genre. But the truth is, I rarely use those anymore, and some are even cringeworthy. So recently I spent a lot of time going through my collection and choosing NEW fantasy fonts I love. Keep in mind: most of
When I decided I wanted to be a writer, I got my hands on everything I could about plotting, prose, story and character development and the art of creative writing. Here’s what I learned: the majority of books from famous writers are self-reflecting memoirs with a handful of good life lessons. Inspirational, but not useful. Although...
A couple summers ago I decided to make a video series for teens who wanted to write novels. It was a free program and we had over a thousand students. But I realized, actually, it’s probably my best summary of all my writing advice and ideas, because I *tried* to keep things simple and organized.
I planned to spend my summer indoors quietly catching up on my backlist of YA fantasy and scifi novels and maybe doing a bit of book editing. But I’ve also been wishing I had a way to help out more and share my expertise. I practically grew up at summer camps, spending 3 months a
Recently I got featured on a couple lists of “best self-publishing sites (The Write Life & Feedspot). I thought I’d pay it forward by making my own list of self-publishing companies. When most authors start thinking of self-publishing their book (usually after years of failed querying, or with dollar signs in their eyes from...
Recently in my Guerrilla Publishing Facebook group a new member posted this: I have just finished the rough draft of my first book. Now what? I’m in the process of putting it in the computer and fixing spelling and sentence structure. I’ve been thinking about cover design but don’t know where to go or how
Yesterday I had a long Facebook conversation with an author who had previously done a strong physical book launch (hard book copies to influencers at events). After the launch, the sales dried up, because: 1. You can’t count on humans to do things 2. Physical book launches at events are expensive 3. No long-term, ONLINE
Passion is worthless. Joy is priceless. The last several weeks I’ve been staying in a castle. At night, I’d scramble up the steep ruins, my path lit only by the moon and the stars. Below I can see the thick pine tree hills and the warm glow of the cabin down the hill. I’d sit
You’d think writing a book about your life would be easy. You’re just sharing the stories of your personal experiences, after all. This isn’t an epic fantasy novel where you’re inventing whole new worlds to write about. Writing a memoir is just about remembering what happened, and then writing it down. Easy, right? Wrong. As
I made a short video series about my editing and revision process but never added it to my blog, so here it is: The 5 stages of self editing Once I’m done with a first rough draft, I go through a 5-step editing process to make sure my book is as good as it can
Improving Your Shelf Life: Are You Produce or Canned Food? Hey there, beautiful humans! I’ve got a fresh perspective for you today, all wrapped up in my latest food analogy. Have you ever wondered if, as a creative, you’re more akin to fresh produce or canned food? Stick with me; I promise this will make
EDIT: This is an older post so the dates will be wrong; but you can still click the links to see if these projects have upcoming events. I won’t be renting more castles any time soon. With the new year comes a new set of writing workshops to participate in! If you’ve joined a workshop
