• Alicia Rasley Part 2

    I’m pleased to welcome author/editor Alicia Rasley back to the blog, continuing her article about preparing her backlist titles for e-pub. Take it away Alicia… Editing With Myself Part OneTwo  Last week I blogged about the initial tasks involved in preparing old backlist books for republication. I have to keep reminding myself this isn’t as hard as writing the books in the first place! But no doubt about it, the next two tasks were the most mindbending: Choosing a cover, and editing the content. Covers Hey, turns out covers are copyrighted! And to the artist! Who knew! So I couldn’t use the original covers from the print books, however convenient…

  • A Winter Saturday

    So the scene is this: mid-morning at the breakfast table. I’m facing the windows that look out on the snow-covered back yard where a crimson cardinal is perched on the arbor in the herb garden. The sun is finally shining after days of dreary gray skies and rain, but since the temperature is only 32 degrees I’m resisting the urge to go outside and bask in its warmth. Besides, that means I’d actually have to rise from my chair and I’m disinclined. I’ve been a weird state of mind since Christmas, and I’m not sure why. I think it’s partly because of worrying about my health, although since the cardiologist’s…

  • I’m at the ‘Verse Today!

    We’re talking about cravings at the Bettyverse today–what do you crave for your life in 2012? Come on by and talk to us.

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  • Welcome Alicia Rasley…

    …as guest blogger today.  Alicia Rasley is a Rita-award winning author and nationally known teacher of writing workshops. She teaches composition and tutors students in two state universities. She grew up in the mountains of Southwest Virginia but now lives in the Midwestern flat land. Her book The Year She Fell has been a Kindle fiction bestseller. Her blog is at: www.edittorrent.blogspot.com, and her website is www.rasley.com. Her writing book, The Power of Point of View, is still available from Writer’s Digest Books. All her books can be found on her Kindle page and are listed at the end this post. Stop by and click the “like” button or add…

  • Savoring

    I’ve been hungry for ice cream and not low-fat frozen yogurt or that fat-free nasty stuff from the grocery store. (You do what makes ice cream taste good, right? It’s the fat!) I’ve been wanting some Ben & Jerry’s Everything But the… Best ice cream ever! “A Collision of Chocolate & Vanilla Ice Creams with HEATH® Bar Chunks, White Chocolatey Chunks, Peanut Butter Cups & Chocolatey-Covered Almonds.” Ordinarily when I get ice cream, I go out to Ritter’s or someplace like that and gobble up a dish of whatever deliciousness is on the menu that day, or I buy a pint of B&J’s and eat the whole damn thing right…

  • Stop SOPA

    No blog today in protest of SOPA. Go here to learn more: Stop Online Piracy Act End Piracy, Not Liberty How SOPA Would Affect You: FAQ  

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  • Confessions of an Addictive Personality

    I’ve been watching TV this winter. Not a lot, just occasionally. But since I don’t usually watch television, it feels like I”m spending too much time in front of it lately. We started watching PBS’s Downton Abbey on Sunday and it is great! Sort of like the old Upstairs, Downstairs, which I used to love. That was back when I was a television addict. Seriously…I was! Here’s a confession that I’ve never made publicly before: At the height of my TV addiction, I was also at the highest weight I’ve ever been. Son was in kindergarten then, and I used to drive him to school. Every day, on the way…

  • Guest Today Is Editor/Writer Ally Peltier

    I’m so happy to welcome editor, writer, and consultant Ally E. Peltier to the blog today. Ally  has worked with small and large book publishers, including Simon & Schuster, where she acquired and edited books. Ally loves using her insider knowledge of the publishing industry and more than a decade of writing experience to help others reach their publishing goals. She offers tips, advice, and news at www.allypeltier.com and provides editorial services through www.ambitiousenterprises.com. She’s also the co-sponsor of the Self-Publishing Success Intensive, a new event for indie authors coming in March 2012. Visit www.selfpublishingsuccessintensive.com for details. Take it away, Ally. Why Fiction Writers Need Editors You’ve slaved over your…

  • Book Review: ONE MORE SUMMER by Liz Flaherty

    I come from a family of voracious readers. I started reading at age four, thanks to my sisters who were both in school. They played “school” after school each day and I was their student, so learning to read early was the natural result of that. Also, Mom read aloud to us constantly and was a big reader herself. Honestly, only my sister PJ rivals Mom’s ability to be so completely absorbed in a book that she can read anywhere, anytime, while anything at all is going on around her. I once saw PJ read a book in the middle of a chaotic, crowded airport with Kate and I on…

  • Welcome, Lani & Alastair, Creators of StoryWonk.Com

    Today, I’m excited to welcome Lani Diane Rich and Alastair Stephens to the blog. They are the creators of StoryWonk— a daily podcast for people who are passionate about writing and storytelling. Introductions are their own words: Lani is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nine novels. Currently, she’s writing romantic fantasy for St. Martin’s Press as Lucy March; her first novel, A Little Night Magic, will be released in February 2012. She has been teaching writing workshops across the country since 2004, and has been an adjunct professor at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School for Public Communications, teaching introductory television writing and production. Alastair is a…