Calling Debut Authors! Now Accepting Applications for the 2018 Debutante Ball! Read this post to learn more. Hurry! THE DEADLINE IS JULY 28! This week we are writing about what we’ve learned in our debut year and what advice we’d give to forthcoming authors. My advice is simple: find the joy in this journey. One of the most surprising things about being a debut author is that in some ways, the stress is…
… but she’d like to. About a week before my book release, I received an amazing email. A reader who received an ARC through Goodreads went to the trouble of locating my website and emailing me to tell me how much she enjoyed the book. Not just that … she thanked me for writing it. Talk about blown away. It meant the world to me that someone actually took the…
IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a creative person in possession of a good story must be in want of a book. And a publisher. And readers to share it with. It is also a truth, universally known, that writers are balls of writhing insecurity held together by caffeine, lemon cupcakes, and unquenchable dreams. (Booze and chocolate may also be involved. Your mileage may vary.) Before publication, we worry…
Creatively, there’s not much that’s more daunting than a totally blank page waiting for you to spin it into either gold… or crap. Those are of course the only options — each blank page will either catapult your career to that coveted next level, or reveal you for the fraud you truly are. Know what helps me? Writing freelance, and having all kinds of deadlines. Since I still have all…
Good friends are the ultimate external hard drives: they enhance your memory. I remember a lot, but there’s also way too much that’s slipped through the cracks over the years. Yet when I’m with the friends who really shared my life at various points, everything comes rushing back like no time passed at all. For 6th grade through high school reminiscing, there’s no one like Temperance. Our friendship started rocky,…
Oh my goodness, this is the last time I’ll type a blog post and add “by Deb Katie” to the title. I’ve been thinking a lot about “what it means to be a Deb” as we coach the new class and prepare them for their turn in the spotlight. I can remember very well when I didn’t know which Deb’s book matched up with which Deb, or what any of…
(Before I begin, may I remind you that today is 2007 Debutante Mia King’s release day for TABLE MANNERS, her third novel? Longtime Friend of the Debs Larramie is featuring it at her website, The Divining Wand. You can even win a signed copy! Or visit Mia’s website.) Now, back to business. Our topic this week is: “You should go on Oprah!” because that is probably the single most common…
I love funny books. Not ones that are archly funny, always examining whether or not they’re funny all the time, but ones that seem to effortlessly reveal a hilarious new angle on life. I enjoy David Sedaris (his description of taking French in Paris is the best) and Bill Bryson’s take on American culture. They often are laughing at themselves as much as the people around them. And I always…
The problem with telling “LMAO” stories is that, 99.9% of the time, you had to be there. For instance, here are three incidents that had me crying with laughter: * The time in college when my roommate, who sucked at swallowing pills, tried to swallow one and came running down the hall gagging on it. Employing my lightning-fast (though misguided) reflexes, I leapt from my desk into the hallway, where…
So, married folks, you know how when some major household malfunction happens and you think, “Geez, some people are married to plumbers who can just FIX this and do it FREE and get it right the first time!” When I sold my book, I became aware of these things called “book trailers” that were available on YouTube. They were little videos designed to get you all hepped up on whatever…
