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Hello, you guys. I know I’ve been MIA for a while in regard to this blog, and I apologize. I’ve been heads down creating a new cozy mystery series, and that’s been taking all of my time. When a writer changes genres, it’s imperative to delve in and learn as much as you can about…
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How a person writes is as individual as they are. Everyone’s process is different. My process has evolved into one that works for me. As an author, we are and should be constantly growing in our craft and learning new ways to be more efficient as well as more effective, so here’s how I go…
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Today I redesigned my website! So excited! Why did I do it? Because I am creating another site for my mystery novels. Tha site will be tanzykohl.com and will also be on the WordPress platform. I had considered keeping that site here but I would not be able to use the direct domain name, so…
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This is a question that haunts most authors when they are starting out. In my experience, having done this for nearly 15 years, I started out seeking representation, and when that didn’t work, I self-published. But along the way I learned some important points that I am going to share with you now. Make Sure…
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I just returned from a writer/reader/booktoker conference, and the one thing I learned is to not sell myself short. So the first order of business is to sell my books here on my site MYSELF instead of sending you to Amazon. This way you can get a signed copy or even a wrapped copy with…
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The sequel to my middle grade historical novel about identical twins with unidentical hair is finally on Amazon. The book follows Mavis and Camille Marconi after they convince Herbal Excellence Shampoo to feature afros in their ads. Mavis and Camille were set to star in the commercial until Lydia Hughes and her parents’ lawsuit against…
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If you are a writer you know where this is going. If not, listen up. As a writer I go through periods where I really want to write and I am on a roll; other times I get into a slump. I am in a slump right now but plan to pull myself out of…
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Yes, I had to do it because sales were not enough to cover the monthly fee on Shopify. That’s how it goes in the book selling world sometimes. BUT you can still get my books here just by clicking the cover; it takes you directly to Amazon. I hope to be able to offer books…
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OK you guys, I just got back from the festival and it was amazing! I met lots of indie authors and ran into a few I already knew. The atmosphere was inviting and I was ready with my set up. That’s the hubby sitting behind my booth. LOL. Yes, it was a lot of work…
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As you may know, the audiobook version of As Gray As Black & White is now available on Amazon and iTunes and will soon be distributed widely through Dreamscape. I am glad the process is finally over; took about two months and I’ve learned some valuable lessons: Lesson I learned: I do not intend to…
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Ever since I was accepted to the Decatur Book Festival in Georgia I’ve been stressing! That festival is a HUGE deal and its a tradition in the Atlanta area. Last year they did not have it so this year its going to be big. There will be traditional authors, indie authors, book sellers and book…
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Hey I know it’s been a minute since I’ve been on here so let me catch you up: As you know I started experimenting with marketing my book and I’ve found a few things that don’t work, one that partially works and one or two things that do work. First, what doesn’t work is trying…
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I’ve heard a lot about professional book reviews like Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly and initially I’d always thought they were free. That the reviewer heard of the book and decided to review it. Then I learned that these are actually paid. So I assume that in trad publishing the publisher pays for these reviews but…
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I don’t know if this is a term but it’s how i describe my writing approach. Aside from absorbing all I could from staple advice on the trade, from such authors as James Scott Bell, Jessica Brody, KM Weiland and others, it’s taken me a few years to develop my approach to the point that…
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I am beyond elated to tell you that I found a booktok reviewer who fell in love with my YA historical, As Gray As Black & White, and my sales are on the rise as a result! Let me tell you what I did: As you guys know I am horrible when it comes to…
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This post is directed to my newsletter readers but you can read it too 🙂 I wanted to explain the rationale behind my young adult historical novel, As Gray As Black & White. If you’ve been following me on other platforms you know that I start every book idea with ‘What If?’. And this book…
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Some will tell you, and rightly so, that this is not a real word, that’s because it’s not spelled this way. But it is a real condition (and I prefer this spelling). People who have it usually show signs of endurance, patience and the occasional *sigh*. Those who have sticktuitiveness are great role models for…
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I was reading a book the other day, by an author who I get a chance to chat with in a Clubhouse room that does writing sprints. She published a book that was subsequently turned into a TV series, and she had an insightful comment that I want to share with you: Do not compare…
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Some of you may know that aside from writing and sewing, I do wig reviews on YouTube. Well, one of my wig baes invited me to Clubhouse for some hair and beauty discussions but once I got on there, I filled my profile with writing related information and started connecting with a number of writing…
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Some of you may have heard the term R&R in the publishing world. It means revise and resubmit. An agent I sent a PB to about 6 months ago rejected it and requested other work. So I dug around to see what I had because I was still writing my YA rom com and I…
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Hey folks, it’s been a minute since I got caught up on here. My last post was probably in December or January when I had just completed my WIP from NanoWriMo. So as you know I took a deep developmental editing class that lasted until March 1 and wow was it intense! Most of us…
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I know I’ve been gone for a while — been working on polishing up my latest manuscript — and that is what I am here to discuss today. When will revisions end? After taking a deep developmental editing course that lasted TWO MONTHS, I am convinced that revisions NEVER end. EVER. There is ALWAYS something…
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Man! I cannot believe I did it. I am only 2K away from finishing NanoWriMo. I hope to get those 2,000 words written by turkey day and then the real work begins. As you have heard me say before, the first draft is NEVER the finished product. Once I put those last words into Scrivener,…
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Meeting your book halfway can mean a lot of things, but in this post it means reassessing where you are after you’ve gotten this far. I just surpassed 26K in my nanowrimo challenge and I’m feeling pretty good about my progress and how the book is shaping up. With 24K left to go, I am…
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NanoWriMo is finally here and we are off to a great start! I have a close friend taking this journey with me and I am so excited to see how his book progresses. On this very first day I discovered something that I actually expected: my Shot Sheet got altered. What does that mean? It…
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Yes, I am having them. I actually shared a few pages of the book I intend to create next month with an agent and she liked it! No pressure, right? But as you know, I have a plan and I intend to carry it out. The thing is, November’s end will only yield a first…
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You might be wondering what I mean by shot sheeting. Well, I will tell you. Back in the day, when I was a TV reporter, we worked with the videographer to cover news events and, once we got back to the station (as in TV station), he’d hand me the tape (3/4 back then) and…
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I don’t know about you, but I always make it a habit to talk to my characters prior to embarking on our story journey. Most of us never travel with people we don’t know – or don’t like for that matter – so I always find it helpful to take the time to get to…
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I suppose that you, like me, write in a genre not of your own age group. If you write MG or YA, nine times out of ten you cannot claim that generation. No problem! I am going to tell you how to get the inside info you need to ensure your book fits with the…
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I am sure you know what I am getting at when I say this – yes, it’s the old show-don’t-tell mantra. But even though I and no doubt you, have heard this a gazillion times, lately I have developed a keener sense for what it actually means. Here is my simple example: you walk into…
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Yes, I know September just got here. Yes, I know that NanoWriMo is two months away. And yes, I get that you are a pantser. But if you really want to be ready to hit the ground sprinting, you need to plan NOW. So, what I am about to share with you is my simple…
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Yes, it has been a good three years since I posted on my site and to be honest I am surprised they didn’t shut it down! After losing my full time job, moving to one, two and three different states to find work, and finally getting back on my feet, I am preparing to return…
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Yes, we writers are adept at coming up with great story ideas. In fact, our imagination is inundated with them! But, of course, all of them cannot (and should not) translate into a final manuscript. So how do we narrow them down to something worthy of our labor? Well, I don’t have a one-size-fits-all answer,…
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As a writer I am proud to say that I am on my way. Where? To being a good writer, a full-fledged author. No, I didn’t land an agent and no I don’t have a publisher. This is much more exciting than that. Let me explain. There comes a time when you reach a point…
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Every now and then I have one of those days when I feel like saying ‘what’s the use?’ even though I’ve been told countless times that the writing slog can be just that. You learn the craft and experiment. You read and take in knowledge. You interact with other writers. You learn from your mistakes…
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I don’t think there is a person on the reading planet who has not read the smash hit YA novel, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. It’s her debut YA and the sales and buzz has been bonkers. It’s one of those rare phenomenons we only read about and wonder about because, let’s face,…
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For some crazy reason, my first attempt to pub this blog failed; guess WordPress is having their issues… Anyway, I wanted to share what I learned from my introductory nano experience==2016 is my first year at this. I hesitated in past years because I either missed the start of the month or had more pressing…
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So today I want to talk about voice. We hear it so much as authors. Voice. The book ‘just has to have it’, the agents say. But you might ask, ‘what is it exactly? Don’t all characters have a voice, after all, they are talking?’ True, but just having a character talk is not voice.…
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We writers love to wax poetic about the industry and our place in it and in this post I am no exception. Today I feel compelled to discuss the recent surge of writers who are chasing the agent’s dream rather than their own. What I mean is, some writers are so anxious to get published…
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One of the things I am both excited about and frustrated by is the process of revelation. My new book examines a more serious subject than my first and as it is progressing I am seeing how all the elements fit together in a different way. First of all I decided to write this book…
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Lately I’ve been contemplating POVs. Should I write the protag in 1st and stay in his perspective or should I write him in 3rd and allow the reader to see inside a few other heads from chapter to chapter? Most of the books I’ve read caution against head jumping and I get that. It’s jarring…
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Yes I said it. I love my rejection letter. Not just because it is my first rejection letter for my first MG novel, but because I actually RECEIVED a letter. Some authors agonize over never hearing from the object of their desire. Others hear only words that spurn their affections. But I. I not only received…
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Do you remember the day you discovered the Internet? I do. I was working for a graphic designer and he had a computer. A computer I had access to use. In those days, you had to load 10-20 square disks to install a program, such as Ami Pro, WordPerfect, or Quickbooks. Now it all happens…
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For those of you who actually care, here are the answers to our mini-drivers test, according to the Georgia Department of Driver Services: 1) If a school bus is stopped in front of you on a 2-lane highway, with a solid yellow line is it legal to pass? Answer: Passing is prohibited on two-lane roads in…
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Is it just me or are drivers less and less aware of the rules of the road? I commute 60 miles a day and I can’t believe some of the idiotic behaviors I witness on the road. So I’m going to give you a little test to see how much YOU know about driving. 1)…
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I’ve decided that it’s time for me to add a new category to my blog postings and I am calling it Just Because. That way I can talk about anything that I want to…just because I want to talk about it. So, today’s Just Because post is about old movies. Yes, I am a BIG…
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I took another writing class this month, with picture book author Dashka Slater. And yes i attempted to write rhyme again. This time I really paid attention to meter, beats and all the rest. The finished story is called Mouse in the House, about a mischievous little boy who disobeys his parents and the consequences of that…
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OK, I admit it. When it comes to writing I have jumped from dating, to project management, to cooking, and now middle grade fiction. But I have three perfectly good reasons for all the bouncing around: 1) When I have something to say, I write about it. 2) I have not sought representation so I…
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Well I’m back after being VE-R-R-R-Y busy the last 30 days. As you know, I completed Susanna Leonard Hill’s PB class and now I am in Dashka Slater’s PB class! (yes I am a glutton for PB punishment!). But get this, I am also writing an MG novel! Yep, it’s a series called Halle Harris…
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Finally! The first day of the 30-days-to-my-first-PB-book session has begun! I apologize to those who read my other blog, writeafterwork because I have neglected it so terribly lately. But enough about that. We had our first assignment today and that is to create our character’s personality. This exercise was not new to me since I…
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Got up early this morning and started writing but not on my PB book. I started writing the intro I’ve been meaning to start for my MG (middle-grade) series, Halle Harris and the Truth Seekers. Halle is a young, inquisitive and stubborn 12-year-old-going-on-mature and she has a problem. It’s going to get resolved of course…
Chicago Bound!
I am so excited about my trip to Chicago where I will meet the organizers of the Indie Author Project. It’s the group that sponsored the contest that won me my first monetary award! You may recall that I entered the contest last year and won runner-up in the Historical Fiction category. Such a huge…
New Genre Series
Hello, you guys. I know I’ve been MIA for a while in regard to this blog, and I apologize. I’ve been heads down creating a new cozy mystery series, and that’s been taking all of my time. When a writer changes genres, it’s imperative to delve in and learn as much as you can about…
My Writing Process
How a person writes is as individual as they are. Everyone’s process is different. My process has evolved into one that works for me. As an author, we are and should be constantly growing in our craft and learning new ways to be more efficient as well as more effective, so here’s how I go…
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Redesign and new site
Today I redesigned my website! So excited! Why did I do it? Because I am creating another site for my mystery novels. Tha site will be tanzykohl.com and will also be on the WordPress platform. I had considered keeping that site here but I would not be able to use the direct domain name, so…
Introducing Dee and Lethal Lace Front
Now that book one of my Wig Maker Mystery series is written and in the hands of my street team, I am now working on book 2. The first book is called Lethal Lace Front. But I never introduced you to my protagonist (MC) Dee Alexander. Dee is a former TV reporter who left the…
Traditional or Indie?
This is a question that haunts most authors when they are starting out. In my experience, having done this for nearly 15 years, I started out seeking representation, and when that didn’t work, I self-published. But along the way I learned some important points that I am going to share with you now. Make Sure…