I’m thrilled to be a guest columnist on DIYMFA! Having recently gone through the process of self publishing my novel, Flirting with Monogamy, I’m looking forward to sharing a few pointers and helpful hints of what I learned during the process. First of all: 1) Do Your Homework There are numerous outlets for self-publishing a… Read more »
Continuing where we left off, let’s take a look at those genre specific cliches that can help make your cover a success. Are these hard and fast professional book package rules? Of course not. But someone looking to hook as many readers as possible would do well to pay heed to their genre guidelines. At… Read more »
#askbecca “I’m having trouble developing fully-rounded characters and showing how they change as the plot progresses.” — Charles E. “My go-to strategies for character development are either describing the clothes that a character is wearing or what they order if they sit down at a restaurant.” — Cooper S. Here is an actual character description… Read more »
Productivity has been on my mind a lot these past weeks. The new year always makes me want to reevaluate my creative process and push myself to become a more productive writer. This year in particular this topic has felt very relevant to me. Between launching DIY MFA 101 and getting ready for a new baby,… Read more »
Butt-In-Chair. It’s the struggle of all writers. We know it’s smart, the right thing to do, yet it can be so darn difficult. Sometimes, we’re not in the mood to write. A difficult rejection, news of an author snagging a huge deal on her first manuscript which took her three weeks to write and polish…yeah…. Read more »
That’s right, Team DIY MFA and I are on the brink of launching our newest, biggest program ever, called DIY MFA 101. I am so excited, I think I just might start squealing like a twelve-year-old girl. Part of my excitement is in seeing years of planning and mapping out ideas finally come together, but… Read more »
Hopefully by now you agree that a great book package is vital to your publishing success. That thought might even be overwhelming, especially if you have no graphics background. First, take a deep breath. Like any problem, if you break it down into steps it becomes much more manageable. Step One: Change Your Hat Take off… Read more »
Happy New Year! Time to start fresh and get a head start on marathoning those seasons on Netflix while actively avoiding your to-do list. Procrastination is the #1 reason that people don’t complete their New Years’ Resolutions (now that I think about it, that is kind of like saying that the #1 reason you ditched… Read more »
I’m an overachiever, so it I find it easy for me to get excited about a lot of different things and pursue them relentlessly. But sometimes I lose my way. Sometimes I feel like an overwhelmed workaholic who has spread herself too thin. But refocusing trims out the unnecessary so you can concentrate fully on the… Read more »
Writers are solitary creatures. We choose to isolate ourselves in imaginary worlds of our own creation for hours, months, years at a time. We often feel protective or possessive of our projects, hoarding our words away like Gollum with his “precioussss.” These are survival skills we learn as writers. We have to seclude ourselves and… Read more »
