Awards Season
It’s a hard go of it if you’re a self-published author, which I am. There is the burden of stigma regarding self-publishing, much of it deserved I might add, you have to overcome, so that your work has to go beyond good.
Essays
The Process
It’s what I call the act of writing — The Process.
How Hard Can It Be?
How hard can it be to have your books available in stores? Apparently very hard.
Working Spaces
Recently in one of the discussions taking place on Chapters’ Community pages authors have been sharing images of their work spaces, prompted by Gail Anderson-Dargatz who received an invitation from Hal Wake, artistic director of the Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival.
On the Eve of a Book Signing
I have a book signing tomorrow at Coles, Conestoga Mall, Waterloo, noon to 4:00 p.m. I’m spending the afternoon preparing for it, packing books, show cards, the paraphernalia required for a professional presentation.
The Face of Publishing in the Future
It used to be that a self-published author fought a stigma; only those who couldn’t make it in the conventional publishing world forked out funds for a basement full of books and a heart full of frustration.
Getting it Right
It isn’t easy, you know. Getting it right, that is. And even when you do you start second-guessing yourself, finding some minor flaw here, something to tweak there, and sooner or later you’re wondering why on earth you thought that ‘thing’ — whatever that thing is — just simply isn’t good enough for anyone to see.
On the Realties of Being a Writer
I remember teaching creative writing through Dufferin County Continuing Education. Every year I’d have about 15-20 students the first week, many starry-eyed with visions of best-sellers dancing in their heads.
The Print on Demand Revolution
Gather any group of writers together and you’ll often hear conversation eventually turn toward annual income, infrequency of royalty statements and payments. Get them in full blow and you’ll find complaints about lack of promotion from their publishers, difficulties with book signings, gripes about contracts, and unreliability of agents.