Category: <span>Blog</span>

As you may already know, the title of this week’s blpgpost, “Noms de Plume,” is the French for “pen names,” not so often used now as the English term, but once very common, as was the practice of using pen names. They are also called “pseudonyms”: false names. You may wonder, quite understandably, why any...

I don’t often get asked the question that is the title of this week’s blogpost, but I do hear it from time to time. Of the millions of books that are published, damned few are best sellers. And I don’t personally know anyone who has written one.

A publisher who is also a writer herself posted a query on Facebook yesterday, asking other writers what their routine is: Do they give themselves quotas (she didn’t use that word) of turning out so many words per day or putting in so many minutes or hours per day of writing?

As you may know, I not only write but edit as well. And, as I believe I have stated in this space previously, my personal reading preferences run strongly to nonfiction. My leisure reading rarely includes novels, and only on select occasions does the nonfiction I read include anything political or scientific. But my work...

I have a friend who loves to go to book sales. Even better, last weekend there was a FREE book grab, and she absolutely POUNCED. What does she do with all the books she acquires? Some she reads and keeps. Others she reads and then resells on eBay. Some she buys for resale purposes from...

For all that we writers sometimes cuss, moan, groan, and fret over writing, writing is one of the most enjoyable activities I know. Yes, we face deadlines, and yes, there are times when we are hit with writer’s block, and there are times when we have to call a friend, desperate for help: “I can’t...

How do you divest yourself of books when you just have too many? Of course, you could argue that there is no such thing as “too many books,” and in one sense you’d be right, but in another sense—when your bookshelves are overflowing, and you have stacks of additional books here, there, and everywhere—it really...

Amazon.com had good news for readers and bad news for authors last week, concerning the book reviews posted on their site. Since so many people buy their books on Amazon, getting a good review there is highly desirable. It’s hit-or-miss, however, as to whether any readers will actually post reviews. What’s an author to do?

Today there is a proliferation of more books being published than ever—which is both good and bad. ~ It’s good for readers because they have more books than ever to choose among. ~ It’s good for authors because they have more opportunity than ever to get their books published. ~ But it’s bad for readers...

I gave a speech at one of the local libraries this past Saturday afternoon. Only a small group of people showed up. “We get so little participation in our adult programs,” the library director bemoaned as we conversed before the program started. “They come to borrow books and other materials, but they don’t take advantage...