Tag: Main Menu

Pitfalls you might avoid

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell1 Comment

Did you know when you pay companies such as CreateSpace, Lulu and the like to produce your cover and/or interior, they retain the copyright to those designs, not you? I do now. That’s just one of the tidbits I learned today.
So if you’ve ever thought about self publishing your book. Hop over to Shewrites.com and read Be Smart not Taken… STACEY AARONSON‘s  post is a must read. First time I’d heard of a Book Doctor.  Great info and things to do and not do. Red Flags to watch for and huge to mistakes to avoid. This is one article that is definitely going in my cliff notes file.

Click here

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Getting Creative

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell

Summer is almost over but you’d never know it here in Texas. The heat is still in the triple digits and I have the summer blues. My brain feels like it’s been cooked and turned to molasses. I must not be alone. Seems as if every other email today was regarding a must read book on how to get back to your writing muse. Well I’ve too many books, too little time now and did I mention it’s too damn hot.

Me, I’m all into short cuts. Easier the better. Now don’t go writing to me how nothing worthwhile in life is easy… Did I mention how hot it is here in Dallas?

Now where was I? Oh yeah. While I was reading yet another email, about another great book, I wondered if there might be an easier way to achieve the same results. Oh dear me, see my mind is mush. That was a terrible sentence. Anyway… the book this blogger ask me to consider was a book of prompts. So as my daughter is so fond of saying, I Googled it. And voila! I found quite a few.

But I’m not going to bombard you with them, it’s too damn hot. Here are a couple I liked and I found to be fun. Check them out. Creativity Games.net http://creativitygames.net/creative-writing-prompts, or http://stiobhard.tripod.com/html/javascript/words/writing_prompt_generator.html. Of course you could just Google Writing Prompt Generator and find a different one to your liking.

Here is the four word prompt I used from Creativity Games.net and the results. Have fun and find your Muse.

  • barrel
  • pyjamas
  • clown
  • decay

I slipped a coat on over my pyjamas and went outside. Some clown had left the barn door open. At the opening I wrinkled my nose at the stench of decay. No one had mucked the stalls in days. The smell grew worse as I neared a large barrel at the back of the barn.

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Insomnia, Wizard Vans, and Why Modern Women Read “50 Shades of Grey”

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell2 Comments

OMG! I get it! Wow! Maybe you’ve been confused too. But a certain big super duper NYTimes Best Selling Trilogy left me shaking my head and wondering if women everywhere had lost their fool minds.
A huge shout out and thank you to Kristen Lamb, for opening my eyes. I now understand something that has bugged me for the last year. No, women haven’t lost their minds. We’re just tired.
I’ve re-posted her blog for all to enjoy. When I grow up to a full-fledged writer I want to be just like Kristen.

Author Kristen Lamb's avatarKristen Lamb's Blog

We’ve been rather serious this week discussing the business side of the writing business. Today, we’re going to take off on a bizarre tangent another topic, namely because I haven’t slept in days and why put all this insomnia to waste?

I feel a lot like That 70s Show, the episode when the group decided to record all the “brilliant” ideas they got when they were stoned in the basement. Ideas that later…?

…yeah.

Some of my ideas (concocted at 4:00 a.m.) seemed sheer genius at the time when I was held fast in the grip of sleep-deprivation. Then later? Upon reflection, they were completely asinine didn’t make the cut. Namely my idea for a 24 hour manicure-pedicure spa, for people like me who COULDN’T GET TO SLEEP.

At least we could get our toes done :D.

Then, I decided that when I made it big, the car of…

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Bloopers,Typos and Laughter

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell

Are you ready for the heat to break? For your kids to start school? I don’t know where you live, but here in Dallas it’s been a long hot summer and everyone’s been a bit grumpy. So a big thanks to my sister and her friends for her post. The laugh did me good. Enjoy.

Sheila McIntrye Good, Author's avatarCOW PASTURE CHRONICLES

We’ve all heard the warning, check and double-check spelling, punctuation, and grammar before submitting a piece for publication, but … what can I say, mistakes happen to the best of us. 

If you’ve made a mistake recently, relax. Laughing at one’s self is a sign of maturity, or in some cases, getting ahead of the other guy.

"If you find it hard to laugh at yourself, I would be happy to do it for you." 
Groucho Marx                                                                         CLICK TO TWEET
"Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone..."
―Ella Wheeler Wilcox CLICK TO TWEET

So, kick back and have a good, old-fashioned belly laugh. It’s good for your health and good for the soul. As demonstrated by these wonderful church ladies with typewriters. 

I can’t take credit for finding…

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