Robin Brande, Author, Dog Lover, Coffee and Chocolate Addict. Living an Interesting Life.

Fiction author Robin Brande talks about writing, reading, and other vital matters

For writers, readers, and independent thinkers–book talk for readers and writers, life chats when we need them, writers’ motivational articles, secret behind-the-scenes stories from the publishing trenches, and more.

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Having a business plan as a writer

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

I hope that you, my fellow published and aspiring writers, really do see your writing life as a business. You are the president, the CEO, the principal player, the monarch (in some of your cases)–call yourself what you will.
You could choose to just let things happen. To not take yourselves seriously. To [...]

Negotiation, part 3

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

Excellent new installment in Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s continuing series, the Freelancer’s Survival Guide. This week, it’s more on negotiation–including understanding the basics of the contracts you sign.
Remember, as Kris Rusch and her husband Dean Wesley Smith drill into our heads at the workshops they teach: “No one will ever care about your career [...]

Writers: Overcoming emotional setbacks

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Actually, these posts by Kristine Kathryn Rusch are for writers and other freelancers, but I assume other freelancers are reading other blogs, so we’ll just stick to the writer part of these.
Check out Kris’s latest post, on overcoming emotional setbacks. Do you see yourself in some of those examples? I sure do.
Makes you [...]

Another great post on the business side of writing

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

You know I love to pass these along. Here’s another great one from Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
And if you’ve missed any in her series, go back and read. It’s a great education for writers wanting to understand more about the business side of our business.
Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Freelancer’s Guide to Survival, Freelancing, Kris [...]

Great post about having a writing career

Friday, September 4th, 2009

I really loved this post from Christina Dodd, celebrating her 40th book in 18 1/2 years. Great going, Christina!
A lot of great career wisdom in there–especially in all her #1s. Take a look.

Technorati Tags: Christina Dodd, Publishing, Writing

Writers and patience

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Patience. If you’re like me, you need it, want it, and yet find it so hard to maintain.
Here’s a great post by author, teacher, mentor Kristine Kathryn Rusch about writers and patience. When you’re done with this essay, go back and read all the other ones in her Freelancer’s Guide to Survival. [...]

Writers: Let’s talk about time

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Hi! You thought I was in the wilderness, didn’t you? I’m in between wildernesses at the moment–we’re hiking and driving our way northward so it’s not just endless days in the car. But we’ve finally passed into Wyoming, where bigger wilderness awaits.
Anyway. Wanted to take a moment to give you all [...]

Why sometimes writers have to be tough, even if it goes against our natures

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

Another excellent post from multiple award-winning novelist and short story author Kristine Kathryn Rusch about the business side of writing. This week’s installment, how to get paid.
And if you haven’t read the previous installments yet, take the time to catch up on the whole collection. For those of you who want to making [...]

This is the fun stuff

Friday, July 10th, 2009

Actually, so much of the writing life is fun–researching topics you’re interested in; spending day after day in Fictionland while you ignore the rest of the noisy, demanding world; writing characters you want to be or want to fall in love with or at least want to hang out with for as long as you [...]

Writers, the importance of diversifying

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

If you haven’t been following all of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s posts on freelancing (including last week’s, in which she discusses what we can learn from Michael Jackson’s financial situation), do yourself a favor and catch up.
This one is part five, and discusses the value of diversifying if you’re a writer or any other kind [...]

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