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How To Write When Your Mind Goes Blank

One of the most frustrating symptoms of my ADHD is when I'm writing a blog and my mind just stops. My mind goes blank. That train of thought has left the station without informing me of its destination, and I'm left staring at a blank screen wondering what the hell I'm going to write to finish this blog. Sound familiar? (By the way this is a symptom of ADHD, especially during menopause or even perimenopause, so feel free to check out this video to learn more.)

"My mind is like someone emptied the kitchen junk drawer onto a trampoline." (Note: Fun fact. I started this blog last week and then *points to above graphic* So yeah, here we go...how to write when your mind goes blank.) The question is, what do you do when this happens? Probably the easiest thing is simply to finish writing the blog later. In my case, I have my blogs come up on my "to do" app on a regular schedule, so I figured I'd just finish this "later". If you don't have a reminder system in place, then this could mean that the blog doesn't get written for a while, or at all, so if you're going to just write it later, then hopefully you'll make a note of it somewhere and not rely on remembering. If you're sitting at the computer and your mind goes blank, then this is a great time to strategize. Are you still feeling the overall blog, just not sure where to go next with it? Is it a matter of rereading what you've written and determining your next steps? Do you just need to set a timer, say for 15-20 minutes to go clear your mind with something not related to your blog (or ideally working on the computer)? If this has happened to you, first off know that you're not alone, and give yourself some grace. I suspect either I got sidetracked by a chore or something I needed to do and stepped away from the computer. There's a good chance I didn't come back to the computer until the next day (given how my workspace is setup), and so that's probably why I let the blog roll over to the next week. But I've also been writing and had my mind go blank. Usually a quick break or even just laughing it off helps to get me back on track. When it doesn't, then it's time to set a reminder and come back to the blog with a fresh set of eyes. Regardless of how you plan on finishing it, the important thing is to do just that. Make a plan to come back to your blog and finish it. What do you do when your mind goes blank or you get distracted when you're writing a blog? Let me know in the comments. Read the full article

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Why You Need To Backup Your Writing Beyond The Cloud

When it comes to making a backup of your writing, it's easy these days to default to saving it in the cloud. Services like OneDrive or Google Drive make it easy to keep copies, but with companies selling your data to train AI, increasing threats from political regimes, and companies cracking down on what's stored on their servers, making a backup of your writing needs to think beyond the cloud. When you backup your writing, it's important to think about the ramifications of where you're backing up, as well as how you're backing up. I recently experienced this when a hard drive on the computer I use as a file server got corrupted. All of a sudden, I almost "lost" the outline and paper I was working on for college. And there, I used OneDrive as a redundant way to keep a copy of my work while I restored my file server. But before that I used my pc backup solution, Backblaze, to grab a copy of the outline to save locally. Without Backblaze, I would have lost a day's worth of work, and while that doesn't sound like much, it was pretty vital work to my paper.

There are a few issues to be aware of when using services like OneDrive or GDrive.

- These companies (Microsoft and Google) are known for using your data to train their AI models, infringing on your copyright. - Google has been known to remove erotic or adult backups from Drive or prevent people from sharing files like ARCs with multiple people because they see it as a violation of their Terms of Service - With concerns over censorship and cracking down on LGBTQIA+ and adult content due to the political environment, you can't trust these companies not to turn over data or other identifying pieces of information in an attempt to avoid repercussions.

So what options do authors have?

If you do sync to online cloud services, make sure you keep a backup somewhere else. For example, I have the local computer that I use as a file server. This computer is then backed up using Backblaze, so there's always a cloud copy. They also encrypt your data to keep it safe. (They're not the only computer backup service, just the one that I've found is best for price and needs.) Build in redundancy. Try to have one backup available to you, such as an external hard drive so you can keep files accessible without relying on the internet or an external service. Use a cloud backup service just in case something happens like a natural disaster with your physical location. And be smart about how you use services like OneDrive or Google Drive, knowing that they are most likely using your data to train AI and may take actions to remove things they deem are violations of their terms of service or in order to avoid goverment scrutiny. I admit I didn't think OneDrive had a use (other than as an annoyance) until I had an issue with my file server, but also, I think we need to think about where and how we're storing our data. Having a good backup strategy is part of that plan. Read the full article

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Make Your Author Newsletter Count For More Subscribers

A few months ago, I blogged about what political texts taught me about marketing. And then a recent article crossed my social media feed that basically said that consumers are opting out (as many as 40% a week) from marketing communications due to a few reasons. The good news, I realized as I read the article, was that author newsletters are uniquely positioned to keep their subscribers, and this echoes things I've been saying for a long time about your author newsletter.

Let's start with some stats

- 52% of customers feel that it's difficult to prevent marketers from using their personal information - 53% who unsubscribe do say it's due to the volume of the messages they receive. (Keep reading though!) - Most people say they receive high volume of emails that are irreverent, unwanted, and too commercialized (That last one is important!) (source for those stats if you want to read some geeky marketing stuff)

What does this mean for authors?

Current trends in marketing mean that it's more important than ever to stop treating your readers like an ATM machine that you can extract money from. The good news is that we know readers love our books. They buy our books. They subscribe to your author newsletter because they want....wait for it.... MORE BOOKS! That fixes the emails being unwanted. How about too commercial or using their information? Well, don't make every newsletter an advertisement for your books WITHOUT providing some value. Maybe this is a book by an author friend (newsletter swaps), some stories about your pets or a cool photo you took in the park. Be human. Ethical marketing is human marketing based on human connections. Finally, if you don't have news, don't send a newsletter. I still recommend at least once a month, probably two to keep your name in their minds, but every week? Only if you have real news to share that's meaningful to them. And the bottom line is don't be spammy or misleading with their information. When they opt out - opt them out. Don't add them to a million segmented lists and make them opt out of each one. And if you're going to be heavily promoting something like a class or a retreat, make sure they can opt out of just that list too, if they want. Treat them like a friend, and they'll stay subscribed to you. Oh and PS those political texts? All sending 20+ texts a day do was piss me off and make me unsubscribe and think even worse about the people sending them. You know why? Because they didn't follow these rules about being relevant, personal, and making that connection. They treated me like an ATM, and I treated them like the trash they were. Looking to get more out of your newsletter? Reach out and let's talk about how to make your service work for you. Or, if you want to cut your author newsletter costs, check out Epona Mail. It integrates with most major providers, like Bookfunnel or Story Origin, and can save you money. Stop breaking the bank just to email your subscribers and work with a company that says NO to AI, NO to outsourcing, and YES to authors. We use it here at Epona Author Solutions AND use it for all of our author newsletters and want to share it with you. Read the full article

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Vella's Closure Creates New Opportunities For This Horse Story

A long long time ago before I made a harder pivot to fantasy fiction, I wanted to dive into writing a young adult horse story. I began the first story in my Silverwood Academy series, Double Standards. My protagonist is the daughter of a senator who wants to be allowed to follow her dreams rather than be the poster child of a politican. Her free spirited nature gets her in trouble, and while I really enjoyed writing this story, I also felt a bit off about it. Why when it comes to writing a young adult horse story were we constantly telling the tales of rich people and the children of rich people? And yes, horses can be expensive (they also don't have to be). So I lost interest in the story. Then the Pegasus Academy happened. And while that series takes place from the point of view from the new director of the academy, I have written a few young adult horse stories that take place at the academy (such as Winter Unicorn, a free novella available here). The more I got into that world, the more I wanted to bring it into Silverwood Academy? After all, if the Musimagium is setting up regular academy-type schools for the Musimagium, then wouldn't it stand to reason that those who don't have magic, but are from magical families, would end up in non-magical academies like Silverwood. Following that thought, I pondered having a character show up who was *gasp* from a magical family, and of course Jilly's Senator Father wouldn't want his daughter to have anything to do with someone from a magical family, even if they didn't have magic themselves. It'd be a good foil for Jilly's free spirited nature and her sense of justice and fairness that I set up early in the story, not to mention a possible romantic connection down the road. Though looking at my schedule I'm not sure when I'd get a chance to write this story, but now, I have a chance. I wasn't sure about bringing magic into a very mundane story before. Now? This could be the kind of introduction to my young adult world that I need. It's something to think about. We'll see what the future brings for this story. I so do hate to leave things unfinished. Have some tokens to spend before Vella is gone? Check out Double Standards. Read the full article

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When You Can't Write, Give Yourself Kindness

I put 1125 words on my writing tracker last night, which goes by weeks, and realized those were the first words I'd written since November 2. Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why and even before last week's events, I was dealing with grad school research papers and other things that threatened to zap my creativity. But I also knew that I wasn't alone. There's a good chance that if you're reading this, then perhaps you haven't written as much as you've wanted to this month or can't write at all, and that's why I decided to write this blog. Stress, worry, frustration, anger...all of those emotions are creativity zappers. For those of us who are neurodivergent, getting overwhelmed is a real issue, and when we get overwhelmed repeatedly, we start to burn out. So it makes sense if you haven't written as much And I want you to know you're not alone. First, if you can't write, give yourself kindness. Treat yourself with understanding, the way you would if a good author friend came to you and said you can't write. Try to do something to help spur your creativity like rewatching a movie or series that you loved or going back to a favorite author or genre. Understand that emotions can be messy and difficult. We're human, and being human can be tough sometimes. So even though there are deadlines to meet and words to write, be as gentle as yourself with possible. Learning how to be gentle with yourself, I would argue, is one of the most important skills to have as an author today. The words will come; you will write again. In the meantime, if you need support, reach out. The writing community, and I, are here for you. Read the full article

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How To Keep Writing When You Have Unsupportive Family

Unsupportive family members suck when it comes to your writing. Let me share a story with you. I had an aunt who had read one of my very first published books. It was bit of an add series; I'm still not sure it'd do well in the market because it combined two romance genres whose readers I don't think overlap. But my aunt didn't see the book for what it is; she saw the book as a love story and wanted to know when I'd publish more. I did, but never in paperback, but nearly every time I spoke to her, for a couple of decades until her passing she'd ask, "when are you going to stop writing that other stuff and get back to this series? I really liked it." I don't think she meant it to hurt. I believe she truly enjoyed the first book and wanted to read more of it. Readers didn't quite agree, and after a while I became burnt out on the genre before going on to write something else. After a while, I began telling my aunt I'd stopped writing. "Oh that's a shame. That one book of yours was so good. I wish you'd write more." Like I said, I don't think she meant it to hurt, but it did. Certainly I didn't feel as if she saw me (and the book which had magical elements, that she told me she just ignored) and the writing I was doing. It was akin to my mother questioning my move into paranormal romance. "Why can't you write a cowboy book? Maybe with a baby?" Because while I wrote plenty of cowboys, there was no way I could write one of the "secret baby" books she loved. Nope. I'm sure those stories sound familiar and there may even be family members who choose not to support your writing even that tiny bit. it can be difficult to write when you don't have supportive people around you. Your creativity is affected. Your desire to tell people about your books (aka your marketing) is affected. And most of all, it just feels wrong, as if you're doing something clandestine when you write your stories. Sometimes that can be a thrill. There are other times when it can be a drag. So how can you keep writing when you have unsupportive family members? First, remember that it's not about them. It's about you and what you want to do. If you're writing, I'm sure it's for a darn good reason. You have a story that needs to be told, a character clamoring to get out into the world, or perhaps a message or a mission to share. The fact that you may have an unsupportive family member or two doesn't change those things. Second, we all have them. Family can be a good word or it can be a bad word depending on who you're talking to and what the subject is. There's a good chance even the big names you enjoy had people around them that were like "you're going to write what?" or "you do what for a living?". And if their tune changes when the money rolls in, then that's even worse. Because it truly shows that they didn't support that person for themself, but rather for whatever they are doing can get them. Third, find support elsewhere. The writing community can be a wonderfully supportive place. I've found a great community on Mastodon and a search for the tags #bookstodon, #writingcommunity, #WritersCoffeeClub, or other more genre specific ones, not to mention the ubiquitous #WritersOf(Social Media Platform) can bring you into contact with them. Discord is hard for me to remember to open, or look at (probably need to put that on the schedule), but there are several great writing communities on Discord and other places, too. Last, and perhaps I should have said this first, don't let it get to you. The people who aren't supportive of your work are saying far more about themselves and nothing about you, or your writing. Keep on writing, because when you're in the chair (or on the couch or wherever) and getting words down, the only opinion at that moment that matters? It's yours. Keep writing! Read the full article

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Are you excited to sit down and write?

I spend the first fifteen days of each month (my goal is 1000 words each day) working on my serial stories I release both under my fantasy pen name, as well as my queer erotic romance pen name. Today marks the transition from portal fantasy to my erotic romance, and it's this kind of transition that keeps my ADHD brain really happy. Sure, I'm sad to leave the unicorns and the budding sweet gay trouple behind, but super excited to get back to my gay shifters and see where their newfound mating bonds lead. You may not be writing about unicorns or portals or even gay shifters, but I have a question for you: are you excited to sit down and write? Like really really excited. Like this excited? via GIPHY Because while you may not be able to sustain that level of excitement every day (Hey, that can be exhausting. I understand!)., being eager to write no matter whether you write at a keyboard and desk, notepad and pen, or jotting a few lines on your phone or tablet as you can, is a good way to keep up a sustainable career. And isn't that what we're all after here? And I'm a firm believer that if we're excited to write our stories that's going to show in our prose we offer to readers, and that will get them invested in the stories, too. If we're excited we're going to want to talk about them on social media (*whispers* marketing) and maybe even come up with future stories (backlist building). It all ties together. I'll be honest, I've never been more excited about my writing and my opportunities for it than I am right now. And while I may be working on telling readers about my stories, I'm at least starting to do that again, and that, dear readers, is why we want to be excited when we sit down to write our stories. Read the full article

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Recovering that Believing In Your Writing Feeling

In order to do most things believing in yourself is a big part of the process, but when it comes to writing books, I think belief is even more important. Think about it. We have these stories in our minds that we put onto the page, and then we believe in them enough to publish in them. Believing in your writing is vital to this work and to your mental well-being. So when you don't believe in yourself, it takes a toll on your writing. The same could be said if you believe in yourself, but don't have faith in your writing. Either way, you need to recover that in order to move forward. So how? One of the most powerful, and at this point said to the point of cliche, sayings in the business world is "know your why". In the case of authors, know why you're writing. And while "I'm making money and having fun" is an acceptable answer, if you're not making money or having fun, then there needs to be a why beyond that. In fact, I'd argue your why needs to go beyond that even if you're making money and having fun, because if you've been in this business long enough you know it has its ups and downs, both in the money and in the fun department. So why did you start writing? Knowing your why is the foundation to having belief in yourself. It helps you remember that you have unique stories to tell, ones that readers want to read. It will stave off imposter syndrome, and it will help you keep going on those tough days. Knowing your why may sound like a cliche, but it doesn't have to be. It can be a powerful tool to help you remember to believe in yourself. Read the full article

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Feeling Like You're Chasing Bouncing Balls?

Having an ADHD brain is an adventure. I'll be reading something for college, become very interested in it (dopamine activation + hyperfocus) and all of a sudden I'm on the library's website looking up footnotes and finding more books to read). Working on my author website is much the same thing. Though I start with one thing (add an opt-in after my excerpt for a weekly blog event) I'll think of half a dozen other things that will be nice and soon my to do list is blossoming. Sound familiar? It doesn't matter whether you call them shining objects, bouncing balls, or use some other term. All those things that come up when we're supposed to be working/focusing on something else can be as frustrating and nerve-wrecking as they are fascinating and exciting. Since I've heard A LOT of business coaches talk about "shiny object syndrome", I'm assuming this also happens to neurotypical people. But since I've always had ADHD, just haven't had a diagnosis, I can't tell you for sure. What I can tell you is that I've made dealing with them a part of my process to help avoid stressing out and getting into burnout. How do you handle those bouncing balls so you can stop chasing them? Corral them! I happen to use Word's sticky note app and jot down the things I want to do or think about to keep them all in one place. You're welcome to use anything from a notebook or bullet journal to a Word document or even a to do app like tasks or Todoist. Whatever works for you. The important part is to get those tasks in one place and written down so you don't forget them. Next, pace yourself. We're not meant to work twenty-four hours in a day or even twelve hours a day, though I know many of us do that between all of our obligations. Make sure you don't put too much pressure on yourself and work through those tasks at your own pace. On one hand chasing bouncing balls can be fun as you figure out more ways to reach readers and interact with them. On the other, they can be frustrating. The important thing to do is ensure that you don't get stressed out and those tasks work for you, rather than you working to complete the tasks. Read the full article

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Episode 25: When To Tackle Projects On Your Own?

You're thinking about publishing a book, or perhaps starting a subscription story, or maybe a newsletter, or some new social media. But when do you use existing publishers, software platforms and packages, and when do you decide to do it yourself (self-publishing, open source software, etc.)? This is a pretty broad question, but one that's vital to the publishing world today. You have so many options? Which do you choose? Well, I can't answer those questions for you, but what I can do is talk you through why you want to think about this and give you some things to consider. And if you still have questions? Reach out! As an author technologist, this is what I love to do. Read the full article

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Unpacking The False Dichotomy Between Assistive and Generative AI

NaNoWriMo created a shitstorm (of their own making) when they released a statement on AI driven by their sponsorship by ProWritingAid, which has been used as an automated grammar checker, but now has unspecified AI features. (Pivot to AI) In this statement, NaNoWriMo says not using AI is ableist and classist. Whoa! Stop the presses, hold your horses, and sit the hell down and let disabled authors speak. I have so much to say about this statement, but first, let's make something abundantly clear. Assistive AI which includes speech-to-text and automated grammar and spelling checkers IS NOT the same as generative AI wherein you tell a bot to write something for you and it composes it whole cloth. And equating the two while invoking the ableism card is a complete and utter disservice to disabled authors everywhere. Companies which do this (and I'm including Ream in this because of their AI debacle a month or so ago) are using disabled authors to try and make their awful business decisions look better. Full disclosure, I am very much against generative AI, especially as it's being used within the neurodivergent community to make us sound more neurotypical. It's a form of masking, which is also a blog for another site on another day. I'm also against using generative AI to write and publish stories. And let's be clear, the whole point of NaNoWriMo is a personal challenge to write 50,000 words in a month. Sure, a lot of us have gone on to publish our NaNo stories, but we took pride in the writing of them, from our brains to the paper or the screen. We didn't push a button and let some bot regurgitate several tens of thousands of words, based on other people's writing often without their consent or payment and then go "yipee, we won!" Because I, and most authors I know, would not consider that "writing" anything. Programming, yes? Possibly? But not writing. Assistive AI on the other hand, is a useful tool that helps authors get their own thoughts and ideas into a final form. If I use Word's spell check editor, which I do, I am looking at each suggestion individually, comparing it to my known grammar rules (it's often wrong, and getting worse the more they feed random writing into it) and deciding if I want to use the suggestion. That's how I used ProWritingAid back when they first started, and frankly, why I quit using them, because they were having the same issue with their suggestions being incorrect back then. I don't think it's gotten any better. I type 100 words per minute, so speech to text just pisses me off, but if I typed slower, then I'd use speech-to-text to dictate my books and there's nothing wrong in doing so. I'm reading this in my mind as I type; there's no difference in speaking it out loud and saving my aching hands. Assistive AI has it's place and it's uses, and again, I don't know of anyone who is claiming that authors across the board, disabled or not, shouldn't use it. Which brings us to the classism and ableism claims, to which I cry BOGUS! Let's address the classism first because that's the easier of the two. I'm an editor. I also note that my prices are probably less than most people are expecting, but still ensure I make a living wage. But also, I live in an area with a low cost of living, don't have kids to support, and there are other factors in play in my pricing, the foremost being I believe everyone deserves a damn good edit that won't break the bank. But some people can't afford editors. I get that. Being able to drop four or more figures (of which mine are decidedly in the low three figures) on an edit is not for everyone, and it's not classist to say it. I sure as heck couldn't afford that at the moment, and I understand that not everyone is blessed to live in a grammar god, like I do. *smiles* What is classist is to think that the only editors worth paying charge four or more figures per edit. Saying "you get what you pay for" is classist, because there are editors like myself with decades of experience who don't charge an astronomical sum of money. And let's also be clear while we're talking about classism, the rate you charge isn't indicative of your worth. I know I'm worth a lot more, but again, see my cardinal rule "people deserve an awesome editor who charges reasonable rates" *waves* I have openings too, so if you need an editor, reach out. So let's talk about the ableism here. Making disabled people the scapegoat, using our accommodations to excuse your bad behavior, is the same ableist crap abled-bodied people pull when they don't want to take responsibility for their actions. In the academic setting many professors push back against accommodations or even admitting that their policies are ableist because "if I let one student do it, then I have to let everyone". No.

Equality is not equity. And let's be honest, those assistive AI tools like spell check fall into the first box, because everyone uses them and they're kinda okay for every body. Same with dictation or speech-to-text. Those of us who are disabled often don't get the accommodations we need, and again, that's a rant for another blog and probably on another site. But let's just say my November as a neurodivergent person with chronic pain is not the same November a neurotypical able bodied has, and neither of our Novembers are the same as a single mother trying to write a book and deal with her children without any spousal or family support. In short, none of this has been about the tools we use to help us write, but rather creating a false dichotomy so that way those who don't want to do the hard work can still pat themselves on the back and consider it a job well done. So let's cut the crap and quit saying that just because disabled people use a handicapped parking space that it's okay for the able-bodied person to drive through the front of the damn store so they get "equal access". Assistive technology isn't being taken away. It's not being banned. If anything, your generative AI technology is making assistive technology worse because AI rapidly aids in enshittification of anything tech. And most importantly, please stop creating a false dichotomy. Disabled people are tired of being thrown under the bus to make you feel better about your shittier decisions and lack of access. It's just making y'all look bad, oh and here's the more important thing that NaNo would like you to ignore. You have to paste those novels into their system in order to "win". I don't suppose they've told you what they're going to do with those novels, or who they're going to feed all that data to. And that, is a question worth asking. And no, it isn't ableist or classist to do so. Read the full article

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Writing at the Intersection of Story and Creativity

Welcome to my first blog at Author Yogi, where I help authors nurture their creative nervous systems so they write with more creativity and less stress. My focus is on neurodivergent authors and others who are not well served by our current publishing paradigm. If you feel like what's being sold as the current publishing and writing advice doesn't fit your life or the way your brain works -- you're in the right place! Ancient yoga philosophy talked about the division between matter and consciousness, with matter being our brains, bodies, and the physical world around us, as well as the processes, like emotions, driven by them. Consciousness on the other hand is the spark that animates us, the "special sauce" inside us that some call their muse or creativity, and others might choose the word soul to explain. Whatever you call it, as authors we're constantly weaving the words of matter (our fingers on the keyboard, for example), with our consciousness, to create stories that we enjoy. And, let's be honest, we hope our readers will love them, too. For authors this interplay of matter and consciousness can be thought of as the story and inspiration (or muse). The spark of inspiration, whether that's a setting, a plot twist, or a character's situation, is what drives us to write, and how we transmute that into words, a story, and eventually a book or other finished product. Being an author yogi means driving this transmutation with our whole authentic selves to transcend everything which weighs us down creativity. You know, the stuff that causes "stress". As a neurodivergent author (only recently realized and diagnosed), I know all about this "stuff". There were things even back in the mid 2000s when my writing career was really getting going that didn't sit well with me. I didn't know why at the time, and there were other authors that really questioned my choices. And yet, while I could go down the road of have beens and should haves, I also know that the choices I made contributed to my writing career lasting over twenty years, and I'm hoping for at least twenty more! As we get to know one another, we'll be exploring those things which get in the way of our transmuting inspiration to story and learn how to bring our authentic, whole selves to our writing, and more importantly share that whole self with the world, or at least the people who enjoy our stories and our communities. So welcome to Author Yogi, where my goal is to help you become one with the story. Read the full article

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Finding synergy between being a technologist and a word weaver

In technology, there's a dichotomy between those who are "computer people" and those who don't consider themselves technologically inclined. Among the authors I speak with, this usually leads to their brushing away opportunities or systems for their business (and if you claim it on your taxes, then it's a business) rather than dealing with the frustration. However, I've found that as an author technologist, I'm discovering that technology has the ability to enhance my creativity, to make my job as a word weaver easier, rather than more difficult. And I say that as someone who works in technology who has been known to laugh, shrug my shoulders, and say "It's a computer. Turn it off and back on again and see if that works." Now, I'm not talking about AI or autocomplete/automatic suggestions, or any thing that does the work for us. I believe that work created by actual humans, rather than mashed together from an amalgamation of different works and then spit back out by a computer, will always be superior. Sure, about half the time the suggestion that Word or Gmail gives to complete a sentence is correct, but it's not because I'm working on some fiction story or great magnus opus. Instead, the fact that Google can complete a sentence is because we say, "I look forward to hearing from you" or any number of benign, repeatable, throwaway phrases, thousands of times a day. So when you start to type "I look..." into your email, Google says "aha, I know what that's going to say" and finishes it for you. An author technologist is someone with a passion for technology, who uses it to help themselves make the business side of their writing easier. There's a synergy between the creativity of finding a specific software solution (For example, I'm currently experimenting with and on the hunt for open source website analytics, to get my data out of the hands of Google.) and the creativity needed to sit down and write this blog post, or get another 1000 words on one of my many WIPs. Being a word weaver doesn't just mean print, or digital text, either. For me it's part of my work hosting the shows on the MuseCharmer Network and finding technology, like the platform I use to distribute our podcasts, that works best for me and helps me to own all my data and processes. It may seem odd to find someone who is as much a technology coach and virtual assistant as they are a creativity coach, but to me, the two go hand-in-hand. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this. How do you use technology to stay more creative? Read the full article

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Three Things to Know Before Submitting a Story

Now that I'm looking at short fiction markets again, I'm starting to look at a lot of publishing house websites. There's a lot of good information out there about things to check for before submitting your work such as the rights requested, the publishing experience of those working behind the scenes, etc. And before I go any further, I want to encourage you to read and follow Writer Beware (WriterBeware.blog) as this has been an EXCELLENT and long-standing resource that will help you spot scams and those who wish to prey on authors. However, there are three things writers should know beyond the details about the market before they submit the story.

Writers need to know:

- What is your intention for the work? - How would the work be best served? - How does the work fit in with your other stories? Let's look at these in order. What is your intention for the work? I think it's safe to say that many authors, if not most of us, want to earn as much as possible from our work and have it read by the widest number of people. However, there are some stories we write that seem to have a life, and a destiny, of their own. Perhaps that story is the vehicle which you hope to achieve publication in a pro magazine. Having a plan for the story will help you to know where, and when, you want to submit it. Next think about how the work would be best served. Some stories serve as vehicles to introduce people to your work and your worlds. In this case, submitting them to a publication where you can find new readers would be a good option. Other stories may tie in closely with our work and be better suited to reader magnets or as free offerings to existing readers. Knowing where the work fits in with your publishing plan and what's already been produced will help determine the best fit for your story. This ties into how the work fits in with your other stories. It's important to know the details of any publisher you send your story to, including what rights they use, if/how they pay, and who the primary people are behind the business. However, by answering the three additional questions here, you can ensure your story is best served by your publishing plans. Read the full article

[kitauthor]

Some of your books make it seems like you believe in actual literal magic, do you? ()

I can write down a few words and make people thousands of miles away, whom I have never met and will never meet, laugh tears of joy and cry tears of true sorrow for people who do not exist and have never existed and never will exist. If that isn't actual literal magic I don't know what is.

[kitauthor]

thank you @lgbtqnation love is real