For Writers & Authors

Writing resources, the business side of writing, and writer and author branding.

build your audience for your creative work

3 Creative Ways to Build Your Audience

You've created something amazing—an important book, a stirring song, a cool website, an amazing new service—and now it's time to build your audience. These days there are more ways to get in front of more eyeballs than ever before. The…
Finding Your Voice in Writing

The Most Important Element of Your Writing Style & How to Find It

Sounding Like "You" “This is good Mom, but it doesn’t sound like you,” my son told me one afternoon, after reading an essay draft I had just shared with him. “Yeah.” My daughter nodded from her spot on the couch. I gulped…
How branding helps writers and creatives
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Why Branding is So Important for Writers and Creatives

One of the most common questions I get from writers and creatives is, "how can branding help me?" There are so many ways, but for brevity's sake let's just look at these few. But first, remember that great personal branding is all about knowing…
Personal branding defined

Branding is not platform, or marketing. Here’s the real definition.

Branding (or personal branding) is a term that gets thrown around a lot lately. It seems that everyone’s talking about it, but only some actually know what it means. If you're one of those who's scratching your head at this jargon, don't worry…
inspiration is for amateurs
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Inspiration is for Freakin’ Amateurs

“Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work.” -Chuck Close I realize this is a funny thing to say given that my work is largely infused with inspiration/motivation, but you'll see what I'm really getting at.…
More readers for your book launch

How to Get Readers to Actually Remember You

Being a professional writer is only half about writing that book, or screenplay (or whatever your big project is). The other half is actually getting someone to read your work. When I first started writing, a friend and I went to a day-long…
how to setup email form on website

How to Set Up an Email Sign Up on Your Website

For personal brands, I usually recommend either of these two email marketing service providers: ConvertKit and MailChimp. They each have their strengths and only you can choose the right one for your needs. Both email marketing providers…
best-selling-authors-JK Rowling, Elizabeth Gilbert, Neil Gaiman, Maya Angelou
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Nine Traits of Astonishingly Successful Authors

A Note: This post was originally published in 2017, before JK Rowling's problematic stances on gender and trans people and before I was aware of how classist and misogynistic some of Stephen King's opinions are too. Although I want to make it…
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Just Write

"There's a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don't, and the secret is this:  It's not the writing part that's hard. What's hard is sitting down to write.  What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance." I've just dipped…
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What Fear Looks Like

Warning:  What follows is very raw, unpolished and deeply personal.  I cried as I wrote this.  I'm sharing it with you because I want you to know there is freedom from what holds you back right now.  And, maybe just maybe, if I show you…