Authors Access » Writing

Tom Cornett – Writing Humor and Satire

Victor Volkman — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:51:19 +0000

On July 21, 2011 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with humorist and songwriter Tom Cornett. He is a Midwestern writer who has collaborated with country singers in Nashville as well as writing and co-writing novelty (comedy) songs and parodies. Tom is a student of the observational school of comedy and enjoys putting a twist on reality. He releases his comedy music under the pseudonym “Twisted Tom“. He spoke with us on a variety of humor writing points including:

Basics of comedy songwriting
Observing human nature as the source of the absurd
The importance of collaboration
Humor vs. satire
Parodies
Point-of-view in comedy
Handling rejection effectively

Tom Cornett

Tom also writes a blog in addition to his music sites on ReverbNation and MySpace

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Dion McInnis – Turning Memories into Memoirs, Autobiographies, Short Stories and Nonfiction

Victor Volkman — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:49:24 +0000

On July 7th, 2011 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with writing coach and author Dion McInnis about how anyone can learn to write an engaging memoir. He teaches Memories to Memoirsworkshops at a variety of outlets, as well as teaching photography. He fell in love with writing by the time he was 12 and photography at 6. During the day, he is a university administrator, and every moment of every day he is a writer/photographer/speaker/poet. We covered a range of topics on memoir including

Using writing cues to jog your memory
The Horizontal Timelines and how they can co-ordinate the story of your life
The importance of preserving your point-of-view while recovering memories
Choosing fiction or non-fiction as your final product
Using old photos to stimulate memories and discover context
Non-verbal methods of bringing yourself back in time
And much more!

Dion McInnis

Dion McInnis has always loved the stories of his life and the lives of those he encountered. He believes in the richness, wisdom and humanity of stories. Over time, he realized that it is harder to rekindle memories and find the ways to turn them into stories, whether for memoirs, autobiographies, short stories and so on. So, he developed a way to find the memories and turn them into words. His most recent book is entitled Daddin’: The Verb of Being a Dad.

Daddin': The Verb of Being a Dad

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Patrika Vaughn – The Right Mentor for Your Book?

Victor Volkman — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 23:35:29 +0000

On June 1st, 2011 Irene Watson and Tyler R. Tichelaar interviewed writer, publisher, and marketing guru Patrika Vaughn on how to choose the right mentor. Patrika Vaughn has 25 years of experience include every aspect of writing, publishing, and marketing. She is a columnist with articles published in more than 100 national journals and magazines. She spoke with us today on these key points:

Know your audience and what potential mentors know about that audience
Interview them: find one who is ‘on your wavelength’
Know what type of help you need
Be able to take criticism
Don’t choose a dictator!

Patrika Vaughn

Patrika Vaughn’s books have appeared in print, audio books, and eBook formats. As a ghostwriter she has written books of both fact and fiction for industrialists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists, world travelers and international executives. As a Literary Agent, Patrika has placed writers with Prentice-Hall, McGraw Hill Publications, Harcourt Brace Jovanovitch, and other top tier publishers. She is currently publisher and President of Acappela Publishing

Everything You Need to Know to Write, Publish and Market Your Book

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Carolyn Scarborough – The Book Whisperer

Victor Volkman — Sat, 21 May 2011 13:24:13 +0000

On May 19th, 2011 Susan Violante and Alan E. Smith spoke with writing coach Carolyn Scarborough on the “Book Whisperer” — what one is and why you need one! Carolyn is a writing coach, who works with people to turn their “whispering” to write into a reality. Her most recent book is Backyard Pearls: Cultivating Wisdom and Joy in Everyday Life. She is an award-winning magazine writer, editor and newspaper columnist and has published more than 500 articles in magazines around the world. We touched on many aspects of the writing process, including

What is writer’s block and how can we dissolve it?
How do we stay motivated to write?
Why do we tend to get so sidetracked with distractions instead of writing?
How do we get in touch with our “writer’ voice.”
What can we do to make writing easier and more joyful?

Carolyn Scarborough - The Book Whisperer

Carolyn Scarborough’s passion is inspiring people to tap into their inner wisdom, then share their message with the world through books, blogs or articles. She coaches people privately, as well in telecourse and live retreat formats. In addition, she serves as Program Director for the Austin chapter of the International Coach Federation, and is a member of the Writers League of Texas, Story Circle Network and The Association for Women in Communications. For more information, go to www.backyardpearls.com

Backyard Pearls: Cultivating Wisdom and Joy in Everyday Life

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Valerie Bradley-Holliday, PhD – Writing as a Working Mom

Victor Volkman — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 00:36:41 +0000

On September 16th, 2010 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with author, social worker, and busy mom Valerie Bradley-Holliday, PhD. Valerie’s doctorate degree is from The Union Institute and University, a distance-learning program based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her specialization is Social Psychology. She has a Master of Social Work Degree from Wayne State University. Valerie shared with us critical items to success as a writer and working mom:

Time management: keeping it all together
Respect for yourself and your craft as an artist
Professionalism and its importance in producing quality products
Dealing with frustrations and setbacks
Accepting success and being prepared to act on it
Self-publishing perils and benefits of using it.

Valerie Bradley-Holliday

Valerie has a husband, three sons and three adopted dogs. She has two published books (Places to Be Blessed and Northern Roots) and third book (Elmwood) is in progress. Her first love is writing. She writes like some people eat popcorn. Her varying interests include: art, singing, gardening, and reading. After being raised by her grandmother, Valerie put herself through undergraduate school by working as a kitchen helper and a certified nurse’s aide. She has taught several classes in her field at the graduate level, later served as an adjunct professor at Northern Michigan University and currently serves as an adjunct for online universities. As an active member of the National Association of Social Workers, she received credentialing for the Academy of Clinical Social Workers. Her professional experience includes working with domestic violence victims and facilitating related support groups. Valerie has also worked as a career counselor at Soumi College (now known as Finlandia University) in Hancock, Michigan. She counseled abused and neglected children and their families in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Valerie is currently working on a book about Elmwood, an African American Community that was located near Crystal Falls in the Paint River area.

Places To Be Blessed

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Ernest Dempsey – Earn Extra Income Freelance Writing for the Web

Victor Volkman — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:26:25 +0000

On February 19th, 2010 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with fulltime freelance writer, proofreader, and editor Ernest Dempsey. He shared encouraging information on how you can get started in the fun and profitable art of freelance writing. In addition to having written 4 books, he is now the editor-in-chief of the literary magazine Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing and also works as the country editor for Pakistan on the celebrated Internet news channel Instablogs.com. He shared with us on the following points:

Where are some places that I can go to look for freelance web writing?
Is it “ghost writing” or does sometimes my name get shown?
What about being a Foreign Correspondent for a news organization in another country?
How does getting paid work?
How do you manage personal time, schedules, and deadlines?
What types of writing projects are available: interviews, reviews, tutorials and how well does each pay relative to the others
How have you improved your knowledge of English by writing over time?
How does freelancing compare to a “regular job”? Do you get to travel more?

Ernest Recommends for finding gigs: Writer’s World

Karim Khan, pen named Ernest Dempsey, hails from Hangu, a small town in Pakistan. As a child, he enjoyed two things: The joyful company of his brother and Khan’s best friend, Shais; and making airy castles with lots of characters in his mind. At twelve, he started writing detective stories, horror, thrillers, and humor. He has a Masters degree in Geology and one in English Literature.He has authored four books including his latest The Blue Fairy and other Tales of Transcendence and, in just the last few years, seen the publication of his poems, essays, short stories, and literary reviews worldwide. Khan is now looking forward to completing his first novel.

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Dana Lynn Smith – Twitter, Tweeting, and Re-tweeting: Twitter Book Marketing

Victor Volkman — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:10:44 +0000

On January 22nd, 2010 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with book marketing guru Dana Lynn Smith about exploiting the potential of Twitter for marketing your books. Dana Lynn Smith, owner of Texana Publishing Consultants, LLC, has 15 years of experience in publishing and 25 years of marketing experience. She specializes in developing marketing plans for nonfiction books and teaching authors how to promote their books online. She is the author of The Savvy Book Marketer Guides, a series of ebooks on book marketing topics. Talking points include:

How does Twitter work
Why do you think Twitter is a valuable tool for authors?
What common mistakes do you see authors making on Twitter?
Twitter profile for a minute – what suggestions can you offer?
Can you give us some tips for attracting followers on Twitter?
A lot of people who use Twitter wonder what they should be tweeting about. Can you give us some suggestions?
I know there are several different types of messages that can be sent on Twitter. Can you explain the difference between Replies, Mentions and Direct Messages?
How often should authors tweet?
How can Twitter work with FaceBook or MySpace?
How can I run a contest with Twitter?

Dana ‘s professional background includes:

Overseeing book production, marketing, fulfillment, and bottom-line profitability at Hoover’s Business Press, with distribution channels including direct sales, library sales, online bookstores, and retail bookstores.
Writing search engine optimization content for a group of travel web sites.
Managing and promoting conventions and tradeshows for the Texas Restaurant Association, Texas Hospital Association, and other associations.

She has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing, and is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association and the Writers League of Texas. A fifth-generation Texan, Dana enjoys exploring Texas and the world, and she writes a Texas travel column for Examiner.com. She and her husband live on a small ranch near Austin, Texas, where they raise cattle and goats

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Donna Kakonge – How to Turn Your Writing Career into Journalism

Victor Volkman — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:32:13 +0000

On November 5th, 2009 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Toronto-based educator and print, radio, and TV journalist Donna Kakonge about how any writer can successfully refocus their work into the freelance journalism marketplace. She believes that you CAN break into the journalism business without having to have a specialist bachelor’s degree in the subject. Donna has been involved in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Radio Canada International (RCI) on and off for 15 years at the local, national and international levels of both television and radio. She has also worked for the Discovery Channel and Discovery Channel International, Vision TV, the BBC and various publications around the world. Key talking points of tonight’s talk were:

How can I educate myself to start a career in journalism?
What important trade associations can help me on my journey?
Besides book writing, what other kinds of journalism are out there now today?
Should I establish some sort of business identity?
Can I make money just form my blogs?
What about rejection, how do you deal with it?

Donna Kakonge started writing seriously at the age of seven. Her grade two teacher, Mrs. Chen, had the whole class keep a journal. She wrote a story about dinosaurs that Mrs. Chen deemed “outstanding.” Ever since then, she has been hooked.She went to journalism school at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada where she graduated with the Marjorie Nichols Award for being the student with the most promise of becoming an exceptional journalist. She has also been nominated for a Gemini Award (the Canadian version of the Emmy) for work done with the Discovery Channel and has been part of a W Network project “Tell it Like it Is” that won a Hugo Award.Her education continued with a master of arts in media studies and communications from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Her thesis was on the politics of black hair. She has written 31 books, one of them called What Happened to the Afro? that gives a different side to Chris Rock’s docu
mentary Good Hair. She has also edited Being Healthy: Selected Works from the Internet and has a book called How to Write Creative Non-fiction is published by Lulu. You can find her books on Amazon.com and other fin e-tailers.She can speak both French and English, a bit of Italian and Spanish. She has received a Quebecor Documentary Fellowship from DOC Toronto. She currently teaches at Seneca College and Centennial College in Toronto. Her subject areas are writing and broadcast.

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Kate Harper – Getting Into the Greeting Card Market

Victor Volkman — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:18:41 +0000

On October 15th, 2009 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with greeting card and gift industry maven Kate Harper. Kate Harper started her line of humorous greeting card from a hobby of making greeting cards for friends as gifts. Over the next 15 years, Kate’s turned her hobby into a business, manufacturing and shipping cards to over 2,000 stores, including Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods Markets and the Papyrus chain. She informed us on key areas of getting started as a writer or self-publisher of greeting cards, including:

Card terends: research, seasonal cards, occasional cards, and publishers
What subject areas and categories to focus on, how to stay organized
Test marketing your cards and card verse.
Seven most common mistake card writers will make
Why competition in the card business is vastly over-estimated

Two years ago, she transitioned out of manufacturing and into licensing, where she now designs cards for Recycled Paper Greetings (a subsidiary of American Greetings Corporation) and gift items for seven other companies.

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Authors Afterburner – New FTC reviewer’s guidelines for bloggers explained

Victor Volkman — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:25:52 +0000

Authors Afterburner is the post-game show where we get to talk about whatever’s on our minds. Please note dear listener that this is not the regular Authors Access show and we don’t promise anything much except to present our news and views of interest to authors and publishers. So let’s light the afterburners and see what’s on our minds tonight….

Irene and Victor consider the firestorm surrounding the new FTC guidelines about bloggers and product reviews. Irene cuts through the hype to deliver a thoughtful consideration about what it all means.

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Moira Allen – Writing For & Reaching the International Market

Victor Volkman — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:31:16 +0000

On September 21st, 2009 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Irene Watson spoke with international freelancer and editor Moira Allen. Allen is the host and editor of Writing-World.com, one of the world’s most popular websites for writers. She helped us understand key points that freelancer must know to enter this lucrative market, including:

Why target international markets?
Where do you locate international markets?
What do you need to consider when targeting an international market?
What about format and language issues?
How do you contact/pitch to an international market?
What are the rights issues you need to keep in mind?
How do you get paid?
What are some pitfalls of the international marketplace?

Moira Allen has been writing professionally for more than 30 years, and is the author of several books on writing, including Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer and The Writer’s Guide to Queries, Pitches and Proposals, both from Allworth Press. Moira has been dealing with international writers and markets for many years, and was the editor of Global Writers Ink, a newsletter geared toward the international writer.

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Technorati.com: What EVERY blogger must do

Victor Volkman — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:59:43 +0000

www.Technorati.com is the authoritative source of information on Blogs, think of it as the Yahoo or Google of the blog world. Yes, it’s that important. Everyone with a blog should sign up for a free Technorati account and “claim” their blog. This involves simply pasting a cookie in your blog one time to proove that you are indeed the person who is posting the posts. Then you get to add a description of your blog, understanding your rankings, and see what other people are writing about your blog ( example: http://technorati.com/blogs/authorsaccess.com?reactions )

You also get a cool widget you can add to your website or blog showing your most recent posts and demonstrating your “authority”.
You also can add keywords to your blog for your most common themes so new people can find your blog.

1) Technorati State of the Blogosphere Survey

Over the years, Technorati has been tracking the State of the Blogosphere. Our annual study investigates how blogging is growing and changing, as well as its impacts on current events and the bottom lines of businesses and bloggers. Please share your perspective by participating in our survey.

We think you’ll find the survey interesting. It should take just 15 minutes of your time, and of course your answers will be completely confidential. Please feel free to send this link to other bloggers you know. And be sure to check back on Technorati in October for a summary of the results.

2) Become a Technorati Writer

Technorati is entering into the next phase of our evolution: original content. Beginning in October, Technorati will feature original content on the site written by bloggers just like you! This is an amazing opportunity to give your writing vast exposure, become known as an expert in your field/s of interest, and to join a vibrant writer community.

Get in on the ground floor by signing up via the Technorati Contact Page. Select the “New: Technorati Writer Signup” option from the “Message Type” drop-down box. You will receive information and writing instructions as we get closer to launch date. We very much look forward to working with you!

Alexis Niki – 101 Screenwriting Tips

Victor Volkman — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:16:35 +0000

On December 10th, 2008 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with screenwriting guru Alexis Niki Alexis Niki is a writer, producer, and script consultant originally from New York and now living in Paris, France. She started her writing career with a seven-year stint as a freelance script translator and film subtitler for customers such as Columbia Tristar and Warner Brothers. Alexis shared with us some key questions about how to get started as a screenwriter including: what is an adaptation, how are novels different than screenplays, what is the “concept” of a screenplay and why is it important, how to pitch your screenplay, how to register your screenplay, and success tips for screenwriters from her new book 101 Screenwriting Tips.

Alexis continues to provide script analysis, translations, and rewriting services directly to writers and producers who are preparing their projects for the US market. In 2007, Alexis wrote the book 101 Screenwriting Tips (published by LifeTips), a practical guide to screenwriting that has been described as “fun, informative, and to the point.” In November of the same year, she partnered with George Leclere, former Executive Director of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the current Director of the Banff World Television Awards, to write and develop ecology-themed stories for film, television, and the Internet. Two of these projects are currently in development.As a team member of international film association DreamAgo, she helps choose the scripts for DreamAgo’s annual screenwriting workshop in Switzerland. In addition, Alexis is on the development team of the newly-for
med Pavaline Studios, New York. Alexis runs the Paris-based screenplay critiquing group Les Scénaristes, and she continues to work on her spec projects. She is also a certified Alexander Technique teacher. We are very pleased to have her on the line with us live from Paris for this transcontinental interview.

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Suzanne Lieurance – Developing Your Passion of Writing as a Career

Victor Volkman — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:00:30 +0000

On November 20th, 2008 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Suzanne Lieurance about how to convert your passion for writing into a viable career as a freelance writer. In addition to being the author of more than 20 published books, Lieurance offers a variety of coaching programs via private phone calls, teleclasses, listserv, and private email for writers who want to turn their love of writing (for children and/or adults) into a part-time or full-time career. We talked about all types of freelance writing and what it takes to get started as a freelance writer, common pitfalls and mistakes to avoid, how much you can really expect to make, how to build your writing resume, and ghost writing. We also touched on some secrets for success in writing for children’s books.

Suzanne Lieurance is a fulltime children’s author, freelance writer, and The Working Writer’s Coach. She teaches children’s writing for the Institute of Children’s Literature based in West Redding, Connecticut, and is the founder and director of the National Writing for Children Center. Lieurance has written articles for a variety of magazines, newsletters, and e-zines like Family-Fun, Kansas City Weddings, Instructor Magazine, New Moon for Girls, Children’s Writer, and many others. She hosts a talk show about children’s books, called Book Bites for Kids, every weekday afternoon on blogtalkradio.com.

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Yvonne Perry – How to Become A Freelance Writer

Victor Volkman — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:57:45 +0000

On August 21st, 2008, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Yvonne Perry of Writers In The Sky about the subject of freelance writing and how to get started in this rewarding field. She and her team provide ghostwriting and editing companies and individuals. With her wide variety of writing experience that includes résumé writing, personal and professional bios, high-quality press releases and articles, as well as business documents such as case studies. Yvonne shared with us many insights as an entrepreneur and owner of a small
business that does a variety of freelance writing assignments. Specifically, how to get started as a freelancer, the most common challenges you will face, typical misconceptions about the process, writing successful query letters, and how to be a ghost writer.

Yvonne is also the author of eleven children’s eBooks, a humorous book titled Email Episodes, which is about mid-life crisis, a paperback book titled More Than Meets the Eye: True Stories about Death, Dying and Afterlife, which provides comfort to those who are grieving the loss of a loved one; and Right to Recover Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America.She is the host of the Writers in the Sky Podcast a weekly show about the craft and business of writing in which she interviews guest authors, publishers, and book marketing experts about writing, book publishing, marketing, and a variety of topics to assist freelance writers.

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