Two weeks ago I received an email from a regional magazine asking me if I’d be willing write a cover article for the publication on the subject of dance. I happily agreed. Not only will I get paid a reasonable fee, this article helps me build platform in a subject area of interest to me. How did this editor find…
Read More
Week #1 – Nuts and bolts of emerging trends On Monday, we talked about distinguishing between trends and emerging trends. The difference has to do with time. I place limits on emerging trends because of their rapidly changing nature. Trends within the current calendar year count as emerging whereas trends in the previous year are simply trends. Today, your job…
Read More
This post is a blogged draft excerpt from The Author Training Manual (Writer’s Digest Books, March 2014). Read the previous blogged excerpt, here. At this point in the process, you get to do some real writing. Whoo hoo! How much writing you do in Step #6 of the Author Training Process, Decide if Your Book’s Content Matches Your Initial Vision…
Read More
Week #1 – Nuts and bolts of emerging trends Welcome to our seventh consecutive month in our innovative 10-month training program for nonfiction writers. In the last six months, we have provided 75 creative and unique writing prompts using six distinctive monthly themes. This month, our theme is “emerging trends” and our related writing concept is “sparking creativity in writing.”…
Read More
The Piano as the Frame, Week #4 So sad. Today is the last prompt for the month of June! Before we begin a new theme on Monday, let’s take an unexpected walk in piano interpretation with a musician who is also a funny actor – Harry Connick, Jr. Your job is to express emotions about Harry Connick Jr.’s song, Do…
Read More
You know you need to blog to help build your author platform, keep your website content fresh and discoverable, and (hopefully!) sell more books. So you finally took the plunge, and you are posting to your blog regularly. It’s been several months now, though, and you realize that you only have a handful of followers—all of whom are related to…
Read More
The Piano as the Frame, Week #4 The piano becomes the teacher today, telling us how it should be played and in what order the keys should be. Our instructor emeritus is pop singer Marc Cohn. Your job today is to express emotions about Marc Cohn’s song, Walking in Memphis. Creative Idea Gal’s Thoughts I had heard the song Walking…
Read More