Writing is a bit like cooking. The more you do it, the better you get at it. If I think back to my first attempts at writing, oh, and my first attempts at cooking, I can look back and laugh until my sides split. While writing seems to many like such a natural thing to …
One unfortunate aspect about self publishing is that the amount of badly written and poorly edited books that proliferate on Kindle especially, casts a damning shadow over those writers who work hard in preparing high quality texts. The way ahead for self publishing is for more authors to take greater responsibility and show more pride …
I know a lot of Vandal readers are writers and authors. So I would like to pose a question to you. Is your promotional writing up to standard? The key to successful writing for promotional reasons is the first ten to fifteen words. This is even more important if the text is going to be …
As I know many Vandal readers are writers, I know they will understand when I say that there are times when the words just get stuck. Some call it writer’s block, but really it’s just a moment in a story when the ideas dry up or you feel that the story is drifting. While there …
Writing is one thing, but preparing your writing for readers is another. With so many writers now being given the wonderful opportunity to publish their work, there are many who are either sloppy and lazy, or are lacking in the grammatical and orthographic fundamentals necessary to write well. It doesn’t matter if it’s a book, …
It never ceases to amaze me how little effort some writers put into their promotional writing for their own books. After slaving away for months or even years writing a book, surely the book deserves a little extra time and effort to promote it in the best possible light. Some book descriptions, author bios, social …
While there is always doubt in a writer’s mind, there comes a day when you just know what you have written is not working or that it is simply rubbish. I have just had this day, and have decided to trash a project I have been working on now for a few months. There is …
For those who have read my book Louis, you will recall one of the main characters, Medeia. In reality, she was a wonderful, courageous and charming woman, whose real name was Maria. She was the wife of Louis and her passing a few weeks ago at the age of ninety-nine now closes the final chapter on her …
I know it’s an old journalistic saying that when a dog bites a man it’s not news, but when a man bites a dog it is. It is also a good example of how to attract attention by writing good titles, or in the case of newspapers, headlines. So, if you are reading this now, chances are …
Self publishing maybe an inexpensive way to publish a book, but without thorough proofreading and good editing it can turn out to be an embarrassing disaster. Engaging reliable and professional proof readers and editors, while a wise move, is far from inexpensive. Charges range considerably, but at say $0.02 per word for proofreading and $0.03 and upwards for editing, …
One of the advantages of being a blogger is that I can blow my own trumpet. After all, it’s my blog isn’t it, so I can say what I please. Let’s start with the facts. I’m ruggedly good looking, rich, articulate, sexy, slim, athletic, well educated and above all, exceedingly modest. I could also probably …
It has been quite remiss of me not to have addressed all the Aussies who regularly read The Vandal. Being an Aussie living in Switzerland for the last ten years hasn’t diminished my sense of being ‘Ocker’, so a hearty G’day to you all, and by the way, yes I do still miss cricket, AFL, State-of-Origin matches …
