Life
Some good tips passed to me by Valerie Comer on keeping the clutter in your life within reason:
http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2006/08/the_twentyseven.html
While I never consciously taught my kids to argue, I was often given odd looks as I discussed things with them rather than commanding. The whole “because I’m your mother” was a rare event, and often delivered as sarcasm brought on by frustration, at which point they gave in out of pity or knew they’d won the point. It has led to many difficult situations, but also to intelligent, self-aware kids in a world full of in-crowd, out-crowd, and people desperate to conform. This article makes a persuasive argument for why doing that deliberately is a worthwhile act of parenting. Considering my results, I can’t help but agree:
http://www.figarospeech.com/teach-a-kid-to-argue/
Promotion
A list of 22 tips for marketing your novel that offers enough variety for anyone to find something to adopt:
http://noveljourney.blogspot.com/2011/02/in-honor-of-my-birthday-22-marketing.html
A look at what not to duck when promoting your book:
http://www.phenixpublicity.com/blog/2011/2/8/running-your-campaign-backwards.html
Publishing
I’m playing around with the idea of a self-publishing experiment with some short stories that I won’t be unhappy to have out there, so I’ve been doing research on the whole concept with the help of a friend Erin Hartshorn. This blog post that she linked to is a good reality check to make clear what to expect in following this path:
http://storyfix.com/a-self-publishing-reality-check
Jane Friedman’s take on cover art. She’s very specific, and there are traditional publishing covers that break her absolutely not rules successfully, but it’s good to know what’s expected before you choose to differ if you do. (On a side note, I can’t help but laugh at the irony of a blog called “There Are No Rules” that frequently lays out specific dos and don’ts.)
http://blog.writersdigest.com/norules/2011/02/17/10TipsForEffectiveBookCovers.aspx
Submitting
A look at why editors might not appreciate your manuscript in the same way your critique group does:
http://edittorrent.blogspot.com/2009/11/top-ten-reasons-editor-doesnt-love-what.html
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The Happiness Project was one of the first blogs I started reading. Gretchen is a wonderful person. As for the arguing part, my parents being good Brits told us never to argue or get angry, so it wasn’t until my late 30s that I actually learned how to do it without feeling that the end of the world was coming (I think it was one of the reasons I ended up in fire-y Spain. 😉 )
Wow, talk about culture shock. Arguing is a way of life in Spain based on my experience.
Fortunately I’m in the north and the Basque aren’t as quick to argue, but yeah, you should see me know. I can argue like never before!
Ah, expanding your horizons. Always a good thing :D.