The One Skill Every Writer Needs to Learn (and it’s not about writing!)

When was the last time you addressed a crowd of people? Or, for that matter, when was the last time you were in the middle of a crowd at a sporting event, concert or a rally?

If your answer is not that often then read on my fellow writer, because the one skill we need to develop is our ability to present ourselves visually and audibly. By the end of January, I will have conducted my third podcast interview and/or panel and well? Third time’s a charm?

The first podcast interview I did was to talk about a setting and game I had been designing at the time. When I say that I could have put your grandmother to sleep I’m being kind. You see, I wasn’t really sure what the best thing was to communicate, so I threw everything out there. Writing promotional material is one thousand times different than speaking it, because you have the chance to read, review and edit what you’re working on. In an interview, you may not have the questions beforehand so it’s even more difficult to think off-the-cuff.
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Oh, the Writer’s Life for Me… With Beer? Negative Self-Talk?

So here I am again, in the valley of a long series of peaks and valleys. Like most writers, I do not live a linear life. Linear — that mathematical “straight” line summed up by a series of experiences that happen at specific milestones. Grade school, high school, college. College sweetheart. Internship. Job. Marriage. 2.5 kids and a dog. First house. First divorce. Second job. And so on.

If you’re a writer or any other creative, chances are you do not live in a world made up of straight lines and right angles. We do things that don’t make sense to most people. We live in a world made up of daydreams and the occasional pot o’ gold because that is who we are and we’re usually fine with it — until something bad happens that reminds us that we still have to live in the so-called real world.

What is real? Is it living up to someone else’s expectations or your own? Do we have to put blinders on and move forward no matter what? Sure, there’s this little thing called “money” that we all have to deal with — I’ll never go back to eating mac ‘n’ cheese — but money is a flow. It’s a kind of a “chi” that we can get anywhere, but we have to block out the voices to focus on it, which can be hard when all you want to do is lock yourself in a room and hibernate through the winter with a tall glass of Guinness.

I remember the first time I talked to writer C.J. Henderson, who you may remember wrote Baby’s First Mythos. CJ is a personable fellow, but a very realistic writer who has lived several lifetimes like many of the rest of us.
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POD People

Beating the Print-on-Demand Stigma

POD People. Seems like they’re everywhere all of a sudden. Thousands of authors are publishing their books via print-on-demand, but only a very small percentage of them find any kind of success. Why? POD People must not only act as author, but also publisher, advertiser, editor, agent and graphic designer.

The sad truth is that many POD People don’t know what to do when they’re starting out and plunge blindfolded into the publishing world. Most POD books fade into obscurity, selling only a few copies and leaving the author disappointed and in many cases, broke.

This failure is due primarily to the negative POD stigma. Many people avoid self- published books and loathe POD books even more. It’s a harsh reality, but there is hope. Bestselling POD author, Jeremy Robinson, reveals how to beat the POD stigma and make your book stand out.

About the Author: Jeremy Robinson is the author of the wildly successful Print-On-Demand novel, The Didymus Contingency, which was a Barnes&Noble.com bestseller, an Amazon.ca bestseller and is now available in several languages from various traditional publishers.

POD People is available at Amazon.com

The Wand in the Word

Conversations with Writers of Fantasy

In a series of incisive interviews, Leonard S. Marcus engages thirteen master storytellers in spirited conversation about their life and work, providing inspiring reading for fantasy fans and future writers alike.

What kind of child were you? When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? Why do you write fantasy?

"Fantasy," writes Leonard S. Marcus, "is storytelling with the beguiling power to transform the impossible into the imaginable and to reveal our own ‘real’ world in a fresh and truth-bearing light." Few have harnessed this power with the artistry, verve, and imagination of the authors encountered in this compelling book. How do they work their magic?

Finely nuanced and continually revealing, Leonard S. Marcus’s interviews range widely over questions of literary craft and moral vision, as he asks thirteen noted fantasy authors about their pivotal life experiences, their literary influences and work routines, and their core beliefs about the place of fantasy in literature and in our lives.

The Wand in the Word is available at Amazon.com

The Renegade Writer

A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success

Written by two freelancers who broke the rules to win the game, this handbook contains a wealth of information for writers who are frustrated by the seemingly limited ways to operate in the freelance market. It explains that freelancers can negotiate for more money and better terms without risking their careers, shows that editors are not the writer-gobbling monsters many freelancers fear, and explains how to establish and foster work relationships.

In this updated second edition there are more ideas, more rules to break, and more resources to get started, including a suite of appendixes covering topics such as contract procedures, getting paid, services for freelancers, generating ideas, and doing research. As inspiration, the book includes examples of real writers who have gone against “expert” advice and flourished. Being shy doesn’t pay, and following the rules puts a writer in a long line of other sheep; with this text as a guide, writers can step out of the herd and build a successful business in a crowded market.

Available at Amazon.com

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