My friend Angie Fox told me that she read this startling statistic in USA Today: 85% of all Americans want to write a book.Wow. That's...that's just an enormous number.I've been thinking a lot about how to make this blog special. As many of you know, I also blog over at http://killerhobbies.blogspot.com/ with six other writers of craft cozies. That's a pretty free-wheeling blog, although we often write about our crafts.And I contribute to the … [Read more...] about One Book at a Time
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Standing in the Footprints of Giants
Last night I did a signing at Left Bank Books.My heart was banging around in my chest like a pigeon caught in a trap. I was that nervous, and since I'm accustomed to public speaking, the question was, "Why?"Well, Left Bank Books is the premier independent bookseller in St. Louis. All the biggest names in literature come to town and sign at LBB. In fact, just the week before, I'd been in the audience to hear what John Lutz had to say. And last … [Read more...] about Standing in the Footprints of Giants
A Brief History of The Best of British Contest–and How That's Been a Great Promotional Tool
I started The Best of British Scrapbooking Contest to encourage the growth of scrapbooking in the UK. You see, scrapbooking became big here in the US due in part to contests which spotlighted new talent and added excitement to the marketplace. I lived in the UK in 2001-2 and I was there when the first dedicated, independent scrapbook store opened. No one there was doing a contest for talent, and having seen how that worked here in the States, I … [Read more...] about A Brief History of The Best of British Contest–and How That's Been a Great Promotional Tool
What's HOT Across the Pond
Whew. I finished judging "The Best of British Scrapbooking" a few minutes ago and sent my results to Rosie Waddicor, one of the editors. It was hard. Really hard. There were so many great entries, and I wanted to give out a lot more prizes than allowed. But enough of that.Recently, someone forwarded an email to me from Debbie Macomber. Not only is Debbie a great read, she's also a keen judge of the marketplace and emerging styles. Debbie noted, … [Read more...] about What's HOT Across the Pond
The Real Deal
"Do you really scrapbook?" That was the question I answered most frequently over my three days at ScrapFest, the nation's largest scrapbooking get together up at Mall of America. As I stood there in the Archivers' flagship store, all I could do was grin. I knew why folks were asking. They wanted to know if I REALLY knew what I was writing about in my book Paper, Scissors, Death or whether I was, gulp, a pretender.Well, folks, let me be clear: I … [Read more...] about The Real Deal
When Your Book Is Out, the Work Begins
Say It Isn't So"I thought you were done after you wrote the book," said the young woman standing beside me at the presentation by p.m. terrell, author of Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Your Book. (Learn more about Patricia at http://www.pmterrell.com/)I was standing next to my pal Angie Fox--that's Angie on the right. We're holding copies of each other's books. (Visit her at http://angiefox.wordpress.com/ ) I smiled at Angie, and she smiled … [Read more...] about When Your Book Is Out, the Work Begins
