By Heather Kreke @HKreke Writing is often a solo endeavor, but it helps to have people around us. People who just get us. People we can brainstorm with, who can motivate us, give us advice, and celebrate with us when we accomplish a publishing goal. But how do we find each other?…

By Darlene L. Turner @darlenelturner Have you ever kept a secret from your mom as a kid? I did one time… “Don’t tell Mom,” I said to my brother Murray. “She’ll kill me!” Once again, I didn’t listen to my mom and decided to take our friend’s 5-speed bike for a…

by Blythe Daniel @BlytheDaniel We ask this question a lot. We may not even recognize it anymore. We ask someone who has just lost someone they love, “What do you need?” or we may ask a child who is hurt, “Do you need anything?” We are suggesting there is a…

by Maggie Wallem Rowe It’s less than two weeks until conference time! Those of you able to attend this year will gain so much from the general sessions, workshops, and faculty appointments. But do you know what attendees mention each year as the most valuable takeaway of all? It’s those…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin I’m involved in a couple of online writing groups and no matter how many times you say it, there seems to be a broad misconception about self-published books. These books simply don’t appear in the brick-and-mortar bookstores. Please don’t misunderstand me. These self-published books have their…

by Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes, Ed.D. @khutch0767 Sitting in my administrative office several years ago, I’d finished a series of articles for an educational publication. Though I was satisfied the pieces were factual, well-researched, and would be published, I was bored. I stared at my extensive bookshelf and longed to share poems, sci-fi,…