Keep The Gold
What to Consider When ‘Shiny Object Syndrome’ Threatens Your Work-in-Progress Having a surge of creativity can be a great feeling. Everywhere you look, you seem to find new ideas. But while this can be exciting, it can also make it draining to progress in your current work. Your half-written drafts will be dropped. You may […]
Romancing Your Readers: It’s Time to Start Sharing About Life Beyond Your Books
When Building a Relationship with Your Fans, It’s OK to Share About Life Beyond Your Books Authors everywhere want fans to love and purchase their books. We spend every day marketing our books to readers and potential readers, but sometimes we forget we need to market ourselves to our readers as well. Fans want to […]
How the Right Mindset Turns Storytelling into Sanctuary and an Answer to Doomscrolling
Turn on the news. Read a paper. Scroll through social media. No matter where you go, it’s hard to avoid today’s world. It seeps in through your pores even when you try your best to switch everything off. Go to the grocery store, and mawkish headlines greet you near the entrance. On the radio, advertisements […]
Discover the Art History Term that Rejects Originality, and Why Authors Should Embrace It
It’s All Been Done Before. But Only You Can Do It Your Way. What makes a story original? The question seems simple enough until you try to answer it. Plot alone certainly can’t make a book feel unique. Most writing resources agree that the world’s stories can be distilled into one of a distinct set […]
The Silent Struggle: The Author’s Self-Care Guide for a Healthier Mind
Angie Martin When dealing with mental illness, it’s often hard to power through the low points, let alone write your next book. But there are several things you can focus on during these times, as well as every day, to bring normalcy to your life as much as possible. The National Institute on Mental Health […]
The Silent Struggle: Ways to Manage Mental Health
Angie Martin With one in five Americans dealing with mental health problems, mental well-being is becoming a bigger and more important topic than ever before. Mental illness has been suggested to share a link with creativity, with famed cases such as Edgar Allen Poe, Sylvia Plath, Mark Twain, and Stephen King, and a plethora of […]
The (Un)Balancing Act: Bring Creativity Back to Your Business
When your creative career is designed solely around stability, you may be tempted to resort to strict word counts, long hours, and crushing deadlines. That’s a classic make-more-to-earn-more model. A creative career works best when it’s diversified. Steady, eddy, income–however small at first–is a worthy goal. But how do you make it grow? Once you […]
Four Tips for Preserving Your Energy and Streamlining Your Creative Process
Four R’s to Find Your Essential Work . . . Instead of Rabbit Holes! You’ve heard people talk about creating a minimum viable product. How about a minimum viable process? Your time and energy are valuable—and limited—resources. How much work do you really need to create and market your books? Use these 4 R’s to […]
You Go Faster When You Go Slower
The Power of Slow in the Writing World The indie author life can easily swamp authors with opportunity. The writing life can turn into a weary slog that never seems to bring success any closer. What if there was another way to supercharge your career? Rest—Rest is the key to making connections, gaining insights, and […]
The Truth about Comparisonitis
Practice Gratitude Instead of comparing yourself with others, try comparing yourself with where you were a year ago. Focus on how far you’ve come, not how far you have to go, and you’ll realize how successful you already are. We’ve all been there. We’ve all done it. We’ve all compared ourselves with others. We look […]