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I Am Not Flattered
I am so angry right now as I type this. I am NOT flattered. Not one bit. They always show up in my inbox full of flattery for my work. Whether they actually value it is another story. In the pagan/occult writing/publishing world – we need to stop normalizing the idea that writers and artists shouldn’t expect payment for their…
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Indie Authors: Don’t Get Scammed
Dear Fellow Indie Authors, I care about you and and we need to have a talk. We need to talk about why the beginners among us are such easy targets for scams and bullshit. As you know, independently publishing your work does come with some legitimate expenses. But it also comes with a bunch of scam artists trying to take…
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No More Outside Publishers. Period.
I made a solid decision at the beginning of the year to no longer work with any outside publishers. There are two exceptions. The first being my friend Bernadette’s publishing house, 5 Prince Publishing, where Saving Sarah May (my first, and perhaps only, sweet romance) was published. The second, being my friend Andre Gonzalez publishing house, M4L Publishing, which publishes…
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I Have Haters – Now What? #haters #writers
So one of the facts of life about any creative career where you are in the spotlight is you’re going to have haters. Not everyone is going to like what you create – and that’s okay. I often get emails from writers/artists (especially in the occult world) asking me how to handle haters who make it their life goal to…
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The Myth of Exposure #AmWriting
Having been a professional writer for many years, and having worked at my career for over 25 years, the one word I hate to hear more than anything is “exposure”. When I was young and aspiring, and desperate for publication, I heard that word tossed around a lot. “Come do a reading. It will be great exposure!” “Submit to this…
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The Whiny Entrepreneur
We all know these people. They wake up one day, decide to start their own business, and when it doesn’t pan out immediately, they start whining how hard it is to be self-employed. I get it! I’ve been there off and on in my 27 years as a writer trying to make my living from my creative work. There are…
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More Author Mistakes #authorsbehavingbadly #marketingmistakes #cockygate
Ouch! Just when I think I’ve seen all the crazy, bad marketing mistakes out there – along comes another one. These are gold to me. I’m actually teaching a workshop at a writer’s conference in September about cultivating the online writer persona — and THIS will be one of those situations that serves as a bad example of what authors…
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Truths About Self-Publishing #writing #indieauthor
I recently had the unfortunate opportunity to run across another “old timer” who is under the erroneous assumption that traditionally published = better authors and better quality books. This antiquated idea is still perpetuated by those who make their living, somehow, through the big-five, or other large presses. They’ve likely been told by a publisher representative, agent, old-school author, or…
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Targeting Your Audience for Maximum Returns #marketing #recruiting
So it would seem this is an odd post for a writer to write for marketing and recruiting professionals, but I think they need a little help. So consider this post part of your career training. Take it from a writer — Reading and Research are Fundamental!!! Sit down and have a cup of coffee. Let’s talk. My husband is…
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Another God-Damn Post About Millennials #generations #crazyoldlady
“The current generation will be the death of us all!” – said of every generation by the previous generation. I keep reading article after article bitching about millennials. That is, the generation born after mine (Gen X). I’ve concluded, after much consideration, that every article I’ve read is wrong. It’s not millennials that are the problem. It’s just people. Employers…
