General and Informational

YOY Social Media Growth 2024

Social media platforms are the main way I share my content. Because I believe so much in transparency, as the year comes to a close, I'd love to share the YOY brand growth results I've...

6 Reasons to Outline Your Book

There's nothing wrong with pantsing a manuscript -- I've done it and loved it. But here, I give you half a dozen reasons why plotting it all out makes sense. https://youtu.be/W9m26GIxVMw Watch/Subscribe For me, when...

Takingdictation.com Goes Biweekly

Dear readers, Those of you who follow my work know that I have maintained a weekly blog schedule for a long time. I have no shortage of ideas and advice I want to share, so...

Portmanteau: When Smashing Words Together Sets Writers Free

If you know me really well, you know that I absolutely love bad TV. We're talking Xena tossing around a baby in the middle of a fight, classics like The Blob, and of course, Mechagodzilla...

5 Places to Write That Aren’t Coffee Shops

The picture is familiar -- a writer, furiously typing away at a laptop, sipping a beverage, contentedly pausing here and there to people watch as people come and go from the coffee shop. The first...

28 of the Most Inspirational Quotes About Writing

Sometimes, when I sit alone at my desk writing, I get despondent. What is it all for, all this sitting and typing and churning out words? Who in the world possibly could understand? In fact,...

8 Influential Books That Changed My Life

Write for the right reasons. There are other professions where it's way easier to make money, so focus on making a difference with influential books or other content. Because I didn't have a lot of...

Why I Ditched My Social Media Scheduler (and How I Survive Without It)

For years now, I've used one social media scheduler or another, planning my posts in advance. I don't plan for any particular campaign strategy, but rather to gain flexibility in my schedule. But just this...
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6 Benefits of Having Multiple Writing Projects

With a Type A personality, I have to admit there’s something beautiful in being laser-focused on just one thing for a while. You can get into a state of flow that enables you to produce...
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The Three Main Options to Publish Your Book

You’ve got three big options if you want to publish a book: traditional publishing, independent publishing, and self-publishing. These three options are very different animals and will suit different authors in different ways. Traditional publishing...