The writing life

The Writing Life

Going home to a place he’d never been before, he left yesterday behind him (Rocky Mountain High by John Denver).              Last weekend I attended my first Story Circle Network Writer’s Conference in Austin. I’ve been to Austin many times and even lived there while completing my Master of Divinity studies, so the city doesn’t qualify as a place I’ve never been before. However, this particular group is new to me. The Story Circle Network consists of […]

Continue reading
Rochelle Melander

Meet Rochelle Melander, Author, Coach, Teacher, and Pastor

“The only way to lose in the writing life is to quit writing,” says Pastor Rochelle Melander. I initially met this successful author, teacher and pastor through the small world of female Lutheran clergy who also write. Colleagues of mine told me about another female pastor/author I ought to get to know. Though we share in common that we have both served parishes as pastors, I know Rochelle first and foremost as a very successful […]

Continue reading
three-legged stool

Three-Legged Writing Stool

As a teenager I fanticized about what a writing life might be like. I imagined spending my days writing beautiful prose and gazing out the window at the horses I was sure I’d someday have. I have since written thousands of pages of prose. Whether it is beautiful or not is for others to judge. I don’t see horses outside the window, but the colorful birds I see are an adequate diversion from the computer […]

Continue reading
Mary Hamilton Bible Camp Series

Sell What You Publish – Part Three

In our third and final installment of marketing tips by Author Mary Hamilton she offers sage advice on making the best use of blogs, discusses when to give books away, and ideas for utilizing paid advertising. I hope you’ve found her insights as helpful as I have. I’d love to hear your most creative ideas for how to sell the books you write. Share your ideas at HowWiseThen.com and I’ll share them with other aspiring, […]

Continue reading
Pendant by Mary Hamilton

Sell What You Publish – Part Two

Last week my writing friend Mary Hamilton introduced us to the need to do our own marketing if we want to actually sell what we write. This week she reviews some of the pros and cons of various methods she’s tested. I met Hamilton at a Houston area critique group. My first book launch event was one she hosted – in a local coffee shop type restaurant. It worked. I bought a copy of her […]

Continue reading