Like most people, I started out January with a lengthy list of goals. The list included, at the very top, finish editing my novel, read two novels a month at minimum, participate each month in a book-in-a-week challenge, and write in my journal every day. There was a lot of writing and reading involved. Unfortunately…
It is the day all unpublished writers dream about and the day all published writers remember well. It is the day when you get a phone call from either an agent or a publisher telling you they want to publish your book. For a writer, it is a high-lighted moment. It is when you go…
When I was small, one of my favorite books was called, Are you my Mother? In it, a confused baby bird wanders around asking an unlikely selection of characters – including a cow and a JCB digger — whether they are its mother. They are not, of course. One is too brown, another too big,…
One of my goals when we moved to Ireland was learning to write. To actually complete a manuscript from start to finish. I came to the right place. The one thing this country does is promote the arts. Writers and writing are everywhere. In fact, up until very recently, writers did not have to pay…
You can not be an aspiring writer without coming face to face with rejection. It is the nature of the beast. Most rejections tend to be the generic, mass-market “no thank-you” that are sent as a matter of form. However, once in a while, an agent will take the time to respond personally to your…
“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life… and that is why I succeed.” ~ Michael Jordan What are you willing to do to pursue your dream of becoming a published writer? It is the rule rather than the exception that most serious, aspiring writers write with the end goal being publication….
“The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.” ~ John Steinbeck It is a beautiful, sunny day here in Ireland and more than anything I want to be outside. The last…
One of the most difficult things as an aspiring writer is finding the time to write. We all have commitments that demand our time and attention. The two biggest are our families and work. You also have the day to day minutiae that rob us of our time: housework, cooking, gardening, appointments, the list goes…