It’s that time of year again.  The Children have hung their stockings by the fireplace with care and I’m on my fifth rum and eggnog.  Ah, the holidays! But what do I really want for Christmas?  Should I go with the tried and true “Peace on Earth and good will towards men (and women)”?  I think I’ll pass on that one because that’s something I wish for every single day. Should I ask for a new job?  Yup, that’s right at the top of the list if for no other reason than it is tough to do the things you love if you don’t have any money to do them with.  I’ll call that one an obvious request and move […]

The days when an author’s only job was to write books and leave everything else to the publisher are long over if they ever existed at all.  I learned that long before I had any aspirations to become a professional writer.  If this is a revelation to you, sorry for the spoiler, but it’s time to face reality. The reality is, authors have to wear many hats:  writer, publicist, marketer, spokesperson and advertiser.  Some publishers are able to help out with some of the aforementioned activities, but the truth of the situation is, most publishers have limited dollars to spend on a single book’s promotion.  That means it’s up to you, the author, to promote your book.  When you think […]

I won’t deny that I have had some hard days since I was laid off in November.  Like many of you, I find some of my identity in what I do.  Prior to November 14th my identity included being gainfully employed.  After, it didn’t. I remember telling myself that this was the perfect opportunity to get some writing done and it is.  I just haven’t quite developed the routine to do so.  I’m working on it though. Things have started to turn around the past couple days.  I’ve wanted to do a podcast for months now but have been putting it off.  As of today, I have a solid idea for a podcast that I have begun to develop.  I […]

I suspect every writer out there has had issues with time management at one point or another.  I’m certainly not immune to the problem although, up to now, it has only been an occasional trouble. I’ve always done my writing in between family, job, scout leader duties, soccer coach duties, church obligations and various fundraiser activities.  Somehow, despite being busy, I was always able to get the writing done.  Granted, some days I had to settle for 500 words instead of 2,000 but I was still making progress. That changed on the 14th of November; I was laid off from my job.  Suddenly I had ALL this free time to devote to writing.  Except I’m struggling to get it done […]