Criticism is part of being an author. In fact, we even have a special name for one type of it: editing. I mean, think about it. Editing is, in its broadest form, a type of criticism. However, the best editors manage to share their suggestions in such a way that they don't seem like criticism at all! And those are the types of editors we all hope to work with--compassionate to our self-esteem yet focused on helping us create a better product.But … [Read more...] about Accepting (and Giving) Criticism–Some Great Guidelines
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70 Library Holds on Cut, Crop & Die
That's me and Marsha Ramey, from Sachs Library here in Chesterfield. Marsha was kind enough to set up a meeting with her book club, a lovely group of ladies. Here's an email from an attendee:> Joanna,> Thank you for your lively and informative talk with all of us at> Sach's Library on Wednesday,the 15th of July.> It was so interesting to hear about the publishing industry and your> own personal experiences as an author.> And what fun your Kiki … [Read more...] about 70 Library Holds on Cut, Crop & Die
Report on the Digital State of the Book Nation
Gordon Burgett is a publishing industry sage. Here's a link to his discussion of a report on the future of digital publishing.http://www.gordonburgett.com/digitalfuture.htmAn important point--the report notes that any digital product will be able to stay current, because it can be updated quickly and easily. But, a print product will become dated.This is very important. If you are writing a book with a lot of links, or even with an addendum with … [Read more...] about Report on the Digital State of the Book Nation
Guest Blogger Neil Plakcy
Please welcome my friend, Neil Plakcy--1. Tell us about yourself. I know you teach, Neil. What do you teach and where? How does that work with your career as an author? What sort of impact has this had on your writing schedule? What have you learned through teaching that you apply to your work?Though back in 1988 I signed up for the new Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing at Florida International University just to learn to write … [Read more...] about Guest Blogger Neil Plakcy
Writing Scenes that Create an Emotional Body Blow
Note: I was so impressed with this that I asked Christine if I could share it with all of you. Okay, even if you are writing mysteries, you still need to move your readers. Is your pencil ready to take notes? Should be, because this, my friends, is a master class in the art of writing well. joanna by Christine Wells I think all of us writing romance have heard of emotional punch, haven't we? One of the most important tasks of any romance … [Read more...] about Writing Scenes that Create an Emotional Body Blow
About Rejection…
I've had two people within the past week ask me how I handle rejection. One said, "Joanna, have you ever had anything rejected by your publisher?"Well, yeah.And I'll tell you how I've come to think about this...See you can't get to the east coast or the west coast without crossing mountains. You can fly over them, or you can drive over them, but one way or the other, you've got to pass through them.Rejection in this business is like mountains. … [Read more...] about About Rejection…
