• Writing a Great Author Bio

    Your manuscript is done. It has been through the rewrite and revision, beta reading, and editing processes. You can see the finish line, and you are so ready to feel the sense of accomplishment that comes with crossing over that invisible line. Then, your dreams come to screeching halt! Your publisher asks you to submit your author bio. For a moment, you consider tossing the whole idea of becoming an author out the window because of one paragraph. I get it—the idea of having to write about yourself and your accomplishments seems hard. Instead, let’s look at author bios as…

  • How to Marie Kondo Your Writing

    Maybe you read her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing or you watched her series on Netflix. Either way, you’ve likely heard of the esteemed, Marie Kondo. She’s pretty popular these days for her ability to help families de-clutter and organize their homes. Her intention is to help families keep only the items that spark joy. While watching the series on Netflix, I wondered if Kondo’s methods for tidying living spaces also applies to writing. Episode after episode, I studied the underlying structures that facilitate change and the emotional responses of the…

  • Top Secret or Not: Sharing Your Writing with Others

    There is a common writing stereotype doing more harm than good for the writing community. Writing is not, and should not be viewed as a solitary confinement type of punishment. The task of sitting down to write has been glorified as this painful and disparaging task that segregates the writer from the rest of their community. No one else could possibly understand how torturous it is to sit down and stare at a blank screen, willing yourself to type even just one decent sentence that doesn’t fall victim to the “delete” button on your keyboard. That thought has gone through…

  • Finding the Balance Between Working and Writing

    Take a moment and think of your favorite author. Without even knowing who you selected, I can say with 95% confidence that they had to work a full-time job while writing his or her first or first few books. Writing begins as a passion project for almost all of us and learning how to balance it with all of our other responsibilities is one of the most challenging aspects of writing. Think about it. If we had all day to sit around and write—no work or family responsibilities—we’d be able to crank out at least two books a year. In…