Writing

As an author, you want to know how to get people to read your book. But you need to understand today’s publishing market. The latest revolution in the book publishing industry is the ebook, and it is right up there with the printing press. Suddenly, you can get any book you want at a lower…

Creativity has often been linked to depression or a mood disorder. I wrote a short post some time ago about depression and writing. But I didn’t give much thought to the connection. It was only voicing, in a light-hearted way, an episode from my own experience. But I was surprised by how many people read…

Some years ago now, I clearly recall my doctor telling me that there was a definitive link between writing and depression. The only problem with his link was that he had no idea if writers became depressed through writing. Or if living with depression miraculously manufactured the circumstances for people to start writing. So why…

There are many proofreading tips and tricks, but online tools can make your proofreading easier. If you are preparing to publish a book, editing and proofreading a long manuscript is laborious and time-consuming. However, there are ways to make the task easier and to catch mistakes such as spelling, punctuation, formatting, and typographical errors. Once…

Is writters a word? No, but that doesn’t mean I don’t come across it occasionally on social media. So yes, the title of this article should read writers who should have done a free grammar check. But it caught your attention, didn’t it? A grammar checker is an essential tool for any writer because grammar…

Tom Waits’ writing, like all good writers, avoids common collocations and tired clichés. Waits has a way with words. And even though he writes songs, he should inspire writers and authors. His words are memorable for one very simple reason. He never uses a common collocation. Instead, he surprises and sometimes shocks with his choice…

For authors, writing for money usually means writing and publishing books. However, book sales can vary significantly from month to month, and there is more and more competition. In any business, relying on one income stream can be unreliable. It’s always better to diversify to cover the ups and downs. Royalties from book sales It’s…

Depending on where you live, there are many calculations to make as you approach retirement at age 62 or age 65. Our life expectancy has increased a lot in the last few decades. So you need to make long-term financial plans. You will need to calculate your anticipated pension and costs. It might be 401 k…

Can you dumb down text so your writing is suitable for an 11-year-old to read and understand? If your writing isn’t scoring a reading grade down at that level, then perhaps you might want to read on. There’s a fine line between dumbing down and opening up your writing to a wider online readership. But…

Writing is akin to being naked in the street, baring yourself to the world. This paraphrases the thought expressed to me by a friend recently when we discussed publishing one’s writing. The analogy of writing naked is very good. We write our thoughts hidden from public view and safe from prying eyes and ears. A…