News about a disturbing proposal regarding the copyrigh terms of Australian book editions -- and what we can do about it.
Read MoreProfessional writer
Bill Shakespeare made a personal appearance at this year's London Book Fair!
Teachers and writers
Teachers and writers have more in common than you might suppose -- a theme I explore in this article written in 2008.
Read More
What I've been reading: Borges
It goes without saying that in order to write well you have to read well. This slim volume of Borges' essays is perfect for the creative non-fiction writer.
Read More
Keep on blogging! Photo from pixabay.com CC0
7 Things that every serious blogger should do
If you're serious about blogging, here's a list of things you must do.
Read More
4 things that writers must do
Here is a list of four things that I think you have to do in order to a writer. Well, I do anyway!
Read More
An old typewriter
John Steinbeck's advice to writers
John Steinbeck on writing.
Read MoreQuick look: Publishing 101 by Jane Friedman
My thoughts on this book for would-be published authors, having read around a third of it up till now. Executive summary: so far so good.
Read More
Review of How to make a living with your writing
Writing full time is not likely to earn you a living. Best-selling author Joanna Penn shares her ideas and experience of using her writing to earn money in other ways.
Read More
We should disinfect our writing against ugly language! Picture from www.pixabay.com CC0
"Driving" should be driven out!
Management-speak, clichés and just plainly ridiculous terms that nobody uses in their normal everyday lives should have no place in our writing.
Read More7 characteristics of good writers
What do good writers have that bad writers don't?
Read MoreReview of Help! for Writers
Writers' block is just one of many writerly ills. In this book, Roy Peter Clark offers over 200 practical tips.
Read MoreGetting paid is nice too!
When it comes to being paid for your work, it's good to know when payment is expected. You can achieve this quite simply.
Read More7 ways to manage technical support for writers
Most writers use a computer of some sort these days, and the thing about computers is that they go wrong. It’s not an ‘if’, but a ‘when’. In my experience, it happens when you have a deadline for the same day or when you were just about to dash out of the door to start your holiday. Unless you’re working for a company or some sort of co-operative, chances are you are your own technician. So what can you do to minimise the pain?5 Ways to further your writing project when you can’t work on it directly
There can be several reasons why it is not possible to work on your book, blog or other writing project. Maybe you’ve saved it in the cloud, and don’t have an internet connection. Perhaps you didn’t think you would have the time to write, so didn’t take your laptop with you. Or maybe you’re waiting outside the school gates. Whatever the reason, you can usually still do something. Here are the strategies that I’ve found work for me.7 ways to tackle writing a book when you need to write articles too
My aim is very simple: I should like to generate a passive income. I could do so by selling affiliate products or by having ads all over the place. But I prefer to do it, mainly at least, by writing.
But there’s a problem.
How to make a living from writing: new video series
Joanna Penn has launched a new series of free videos on the theme of how to make a living from writing.My Scrivener Dashboard
After a year of prevaricating about using Scrivener as my main writing tool, I am rapidly heading towards doing so. The reason is that I discovered that I can have a view on my work in which I can see everything I need to see all at the same time. I call this “My Scrivener Dashboard”, and in this post I point out what each part of it is, and why I am starting to fall in love with Scrivener.Freelancing vs authoring Part 2: Authoring
If, like me, you enjoy writing and you would like to earn money from it, should you go down the freelance writing route or write books, or both? In the first part of this two-part series I looked at the advantages and disadvantages of freelancing, ie writing articles for newspapers and magazines. In this part, I consider the advantages and disadvantages of authoring, ie writing books.Review of Polish Your Fiction
Polish Your Fiction is another title in Jessica Bell’s “in a nutshell” series. It is subtitled “A quick and easy self-editing guide”, which is a very apt description.Freelancing vs authoring Part 1
If, like me, you enjoy writing and you would like to earn money from it, should you go down the freelance writing route or write books, or both?
From my experience, here are the pros and cons of freelancing.