Writer’s Block

Sep 27, 2012 by

Writer’s Block

The problem with trying to write about writer’s block is that to write about writer’s block you can’t have writer’s block and it’s very difficult to write about a block you are currently experiencing. Follow that? Then the rest of this will be very easy to understand. Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be an author to experience writer’s block. Anyone who writes at all can be hit with it – from the pen-pal to the executive editor. It’s better described as “blank page syndrome”. You might, in fact, have a topic already in mind when you sit down to write, pen in hand (or fingers on keys) but nothing comes. You stare at the white space in front of you and fifteen minutes later wonder how it could be possibly...

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To Keep Or Not To Keep

Sep 21, 2012 by

To Keep Or Not To Keep

Any avid reader understands the issue of too many books, but a writer builds up a collection faster than most. From reference to finished client projects, books related to my day-to-day professional life end up taking more room than the books I want to read. And when I end up running out of room, the first thing that always pops into my head is “maybe I should just sell those novels.” See, because I need the reference books, and each of my contracts calls for me to get one copy of the final published book. Why, you ask? Because I worked very hard, and I don’t take credit or a piece of the money from the sale. I’d like a copy of the actual book. But my novels and the other books I read...

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Community Etiquette

Sep 7, 2012 by

Community Etiquette

I use music when I write, because it helps me tune everything else out. I work on a main street in an office with other people, so if I can’t concentrate through random cars, typing, laughs, chatter, and in many cases a very loud cat meowing incessantly because he wants to be fed now, now, NOW…I listen to music. However, that’s a bit rude, eh? I’m in a room with other people. They may actually need to speak to me. It’s been known to happen. So putting on headphones isn’t exactly the most polite thing I could do. On the other hand, I do need to get my work done. It’s how I make my living. And especially when someone’s on the phone, it’s very difficult to write around the voice. Really, though, when it comes...

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Thinking NEXT to the Box: Business books...

Aug 13, 2012 by

Thinking NEXT to the Box: Business books

Thinking inside the box is not something most people verbally advocate, but in actual fact, it’s required in many situations. Or at least, preferred. How many times have you been behind someone at a Starbucks who took an hour and a half to order? They’re thinking outside the box, and you’re muttering under your breath to “just get a frap and get out of my way, I’m late!” But of course, when writing a book, you’re supposed to think outside the box. Except, of course, on those occasions when you’re not. See, for a business book, it’s a bit of each. You want to convey the information in an easy-to-follow format. So think inside the box. But you want it written and communicated in such a way that it stands out from the multitude of...

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Distractions

Jul 3, 2012 by

Distractions

I have mentioned that I’m a gamer. So let’s get this straight right off the bat: you should never be self-employed if you’re a gamer. It does not work well. Because no matter where you are, whether you work at home or have a separate office, you’re on your own. No one monitors your work activity, or checks to see that you’re staying on task. You’re not responsible to anyone but your clients, and they’re miles away most times. Actually, I don’t have issues getting client work done. Client work always comes first. But then I finish the client work and send it off, and I need to wait to hear back. There are now other things I should be moving on to. Other things that need to get done. For example, updating my website more...

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E-Book Conversions, vol 2

Jun 28, 2012 by

E-Book Conversions, vol 2

As it turns out, I can’t just convert a book to epub format and be done. No, no, no, that’d be too easy. And if I use InDesign the cover art won’t work correctly with the Nook or iPad bookshelves, though the Kindle seems to read it just fine and the cover shows up, but the pagination doesn’t work correctly and everything’s skip-lined like I’d forwarded an email eighty times and it was still 1998. This really is more of a rant than an article. The fact is, this is my own fault. If I’d been smart, I’d have simply hired someone to do this. We did in fact discuss that idea, and we rejected it for the simple reasons that we wanted to keep our hands on the project from start to finish....

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