Let me begin by saying, the ideas that follow are not wholly mine. The idea of the survival kit was given to me during the “When Words Collide” writing conference. A very nice lady came to talk to me while I was manning the publisher booth and she asked me if I had a kit put together. She then explained what it was and some of the items that should go in it. Essentially, the purpose of the Signing Survival Kit (SSK) is to give the author the best flexibility and preparedness for any possible signing opportunity. It should be constructed in such a way that it is easy to carry, and store. So, here is the SSK in its […]
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Stupid Horse
I know I usually try to be ridiculously upbeat but there comes a time when life beats you down, pure and simple. When that happens, your writing and everything else in your life suffer. That’s just the way it goes. I know, I’ve been struggling the past while. I’ve been questioning my own decisions to take on more and more. I’ve had trouble getting words on the page and editing done. In other words, I’ve been in a bit of a funk. This is where people will often say, when you fall, you have to get back on the horse and try again. But what if you don’t want to get back on the horse, right away? What if you […]
Read moreGet Published Episode 91 – Mike Talks to Publisher of New Independent, Tyche Books
When I attended the 2012 “When Words Collide”, I had the opportunity to speak with a number of old friends and make a few new ones. One of the old friends is Tina Moreau. When I first, she was a young writer who also read slush for a local press. Shortly after that, she started to work as an editor for that same press. Then she took a break to start a family and I didn’t see her for a couple years. This year’s convention marks the first time I’ve seen her in a couple years and she came to Calgary as the head of a brand new publishing house. Tina is a co-owner and publisher for Tyche Books. I […]
Read moreSeeing Through New Eyes
I attended my first writing convention as a published author last weekend. I have heard other writers say how everything changes once you are published so I wasn’t sure what to expect. While there were subtle differences in the way people I know treated me (greeted several times as a “world-famous author”), people who did not know me treated me much the same. That is, until they learned I was a published author. Then they had lots of questions. Even so, not much different. What was different was the way I saw things. I now had a book to promote and sell. I had to be “on” all the time. It was both exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. […]
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