Why do people blog? What’s the point? Isn’t it just about students putting their diaries up online, as a kind of extension of Facebook? Isn’t it just for those with far too much to say and nobody nearby to listen? * No candle jokes, please. the sheep are a bit sensitive about title of this post. I have to admit,…
Tag: Writing
Benchmarking Book Reviews, Or How To Untwist One’s Knickers
For a blogger, there’s nothing quite as sweet as gaggles of people getting their knickers in a twist over something. (Those of you who don’t blog yourselves probably don’t know that the blogging equivalent of Natural Law is a list, called “Things That People Get Very Angry About On The Internet”. Whenever we’re stuck for an idea of…
7 Suitable Jobs For Writers
Writers don’t make any money, let alone a living. This has once again become a hot topic. A writer behind a newspaper article in this country just a short time ago was praised for bravery for saying exactly this, but those of us who live half of our existences online could have told you this a good two centuries ago.…
The Thin Skin of Self-Publishing
I usually spend January looking for new trends in the book world (or making them up, which is more fun), and I’m seeing an increase in pronouncements about self-publishing online. It’s probably a seasonal thing, as people sketch out their writing goals. But a lot of what I’m seeing lately has been negative, particularly below the line. Last year,…
HELP! EVERYONE IS WRITING A BOOK
Here is a very important quote, which every past, present or future self-published author needs to see: “Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.” (Cicero, c. something BC) Now, here’s the catch. There is no evidence that this quote ever originated from the lofty Ancient Roman philosopher more than…
Tark And Mara Do Blog Awards
( I know, I know. This REEKS of dragging it out. But it’s a month today, and I did promise Tark and Mara’s take on the Blog Awards ages ago. Then we’re done, I swear.) Somewhere in a parallel universe, a large function room in Co. Kill Dare was brimming with hope, excitement, and alcohol, wherein the Blogerati had gathered,…
What Time Of The Year Should You Publish Your Novel?
I’ve been getting quite a few hits lately from search terms such as “when do I self-publish my novel?” and “when does a book need to be published for the Christmas market?” I already pontificated on the issue of self-publishing for Christmas in this post, but that only dealt with one time of year. Now I’d like to talk…
Lights… Camera…. READ! How Writing Goes Live
One thing which made the transition from my business brain to my bookish brain lately was a certain trend in the music industry, which now seems to be making inroads into the book industry. It’s all becoming more and more about live performance. Part of what I do for a living (my actual living, which pays…
What A Blank Page Says To A Writer
Blank pages. You know what they look like, right? Empty, white space? Wrong. A blank page can be full of things. Daft people – optimists and the like – might say they are full of possibility. But a blank page can be chock-full of insults, jibes, and taunts too. Just look at what a blank page says to a writer. You can tell…
Unbelievable New Tax Reforms For Writers in Ireland
Yup. That’s what I said, folks. Unbelievable. The Irish government issued its annual budget on Tuesday. In it, there were plenty of teeny-tiny measures to please almost everybody just a teeny-tiny bit, but nothing targeted at the artistic community, or at writers in particular. I reckon the government missed a trick here (particularly if, as I suspect, every second…
Tara Sparling writes 