A huge animal lover, Mary Colburn-Green has always had dogs, both purebreds and rescues. She currently lives with five Cavalier King Charles Spaniels that she spoils, writes about, and shows. In 2017 her charming portrayal of the breed, Cavaliers and Friends: My Two Favorite Things was published by Blue Dragon Publishing in the US. The […]
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Time Management with Kevin Kruse
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
15 Secrets of Successful People Know about Time Management 1 1,440 Minutes I am a member of the Williamsburg Business Networking group. We are not a typical networking group whose primary goal is to expand reach using new business leads from other members. Yes, we do pass each other leads when appropriate, but more […]
American Librarian Association Midwinter
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
American Librarian Association Midwinter Conference–Research Spent a great day walking through the exhibit hall of the American Librarian Association Midwinter Conference in Atlanta. Getting a chance to talk to other publishers, authors, editors, and librarians—I was in heaven! As I started my rounds, I felt awkward and unsure of what to ask. By my last […]
Looking for an Agent? Try Twitter
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
If you are ready to publish and don’t want to go it alone, there are ways to find an agent. I mentioned in an early post a few articles and websites to review. Now I’m going to add Twitter. If you follow certain organizations/people, they will sometimes tweet when they are looking for new clients, […]
Feeling Overwhelmed? Set Smaller Goals
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
Feeling overwhelmed? It’s a new year. A chance for new beginnings. Let’s make a new year’s resolution not to make a resolution. Let’s just get things done! When I think of all it takes to be a writer, editor, publisher, marketer (is that right?), and speaker, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. So I do what […]
Start Building Your Platform NOW
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
You need to build your platform now! I probably should have posted this much earlier. There are so many things that need to get done as a writer that it’s hard to keep juggling everything. Your platform is your contact base. Yes, it will start with friends and family, but hopefully, with the right attention […]
Apps to Improve Your Writing…or Not
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
I read an article from NY Book Editors where they highlighted 18 different writing apps to help writers get motivated or organized. I tried out a handful of them to see if they were useful. First off, I must remind you that everyone is different. What works for me, may not work for you. I […]
Elevator Speech
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
You’ve probably heard this term before. It isn’t just for writers. It’s for anyone trying to sell themselves or a product. If you are in an elevator with someone and they ask what you do for a living, you only have the 30 seconds it takes to ride the elevator to hook them. If you […]
The Difference Between Publicity vs Marketing
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
This was a lesson I learned not long ago when I was searching for help with marketing. Marketing focuses on advertisements, radio, TV, and newspapers—even blogs. Publicity is when OTHER people are talking about your book. A publicist is paid to pitch your books to magazines, TV, radio, etc in order to get reviews. They […]
What is a Query Letter?
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
If you are going to go the traditional publishing route (ie, getting a big-name publisher), you will need to do a query letter. Make sure you check the publisher’s website for the exact format but all will probably require need a few basic things. Jane Friedman does a great job of outlining a query letter: […]
Editors–Don’t Skip This Step!
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
No matter how good of a writer you are, you need an editor (or editors!). Don’t fool yourself. There are multiple options to search for an editor. The internet is full of advertisements. Don’t jump at the first one you see. If you have writer friends, ask them for recommendations—learn from their mistakes. If you […]
My First Mistake
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
Don’t make my mistake. I’m going to get ahead of myself, but I want to keep you, the reader, on the right track. I jumped from writing to publishing. There is so much more in between and I don’t want you to make the same mistakes. As a start-up, I wanted to do the economical […]
Long, Twisting Road
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
It’s a long, twisting road to publishing—don’t let anyone tell you differently. There is no one path and results are as varied as the methods to get there. My journey started as a simple quest to get my story on paper. When I was a second lieutenant in the Air Force stationed in Missouri as […]
Missile tourism
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
Missile Tourism The Air Force Times recently ran a story about F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming turning one of their missile silos into a museum for the Peacekeeper missile and opening it to the public. (http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2015/11/04/missile-tourism-wyoming-peacekeeper-historic-site-in-works/75161372/) Whiteman AFB, Missouri has already done this for the Minuteman II missile. “One of the most stressful and least glamorous […]
Book Signings
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
Book Signings – Blue Dragon Publishing If you ever see an author sitting behind a table with stacks of books in front of him/her, take pity. Stop and say hello, even if you don’t need another book. Give them human interaction so their time goes by more quickly. It’s really hard to put yourself out […]
Where does the day go?
Posted on by Dawn Brotherton
Where Does The Day Go? I’m at work and the day drags by, the clock barely moving some days. I rush home…to put off doing what needs to be done. I have so much to do, which makes me very unmotivated to get started. Once I get started, I feel pretty good. Once I’m finished, […]