tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176295937953429332011-11-27T17:47:32.446-06:00Creativity, writing, research, books, publishing, education and training, and related topicsMary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.comBlogger211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-34298510350428257882010-11-03T14:11:00.002-05:002010-11-03T14:12:42.536-05:00

All writers revert to well-worn phrases sometimes.  Why not find out if you've done it again?  Use this handy Cliché Finder to identify those pesky trite phrases.  The site has an index of over 3,300 of them!  Happy hunting!  (Is that a cliché?)

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-67951871499513869352010-10-22T17:46:00.001-05:002010-10-22T17:48:09.182-05:00

National Novel Writing Month begins November 1.  For three years, 2005-2007, I spent frenzied hours typing every day to "win" NaNoWriMo, as it's affectionately known.  And win I did, all three times.  Just to enhance my accountability, I even blogged about the experience of NaNo.  In 2007 I wrote my novel in Second Life, as my alter ego, along with other Second Life residents.  You can see photos

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-21803649839730226412010-10-15T18:18:00.000-05:002010-10-15T18:18:37.098-05:00

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Bill Bryson www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes2010 ElectionMarch to Keep Fear Alive

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-22285283763721306902009-06-07T08:33:00.001-05:002009-06-07T08:40:12.586-05:00

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-76915943789034554752009-04-28T12:35:00.003-05:002009-05-10T14:11:59.259-05:00

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-17348382944508173812009-04-27T08:42:00.001-05:002009-05-03T21:40:37.001-05:00

Imitation may make me blush in its sincere flattery, but wholesale theft of intellectual property only makes me flush with anger. In my naiveté (my previous blog had only been around for nine months), I had assumed that entries written for it might accrue some small readership and relationship between me, the writer, and you, the reader. Instead, those posts merely provided a regular source of

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-42481485727202627832009-04-26T10:34:00.007-05:002009-04-26T10:54:08.765-05:00

Mike Shatzkin's article, Will You Recognize the Industry in 10 Years?, makes THE AUTHOR'S WAY think about a grander future for the "book" and for "publishing". Mr. Shatzkin, founder and CEO of The Idea Logical Co. (IdeaLog.com), describes a future for the book in which:... media consumption will take place by people choosing from a wide variety of screen configurations, the way they have always

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-39725240108163274672009-04-26T10:28:00.003-05:002010-10-15T16:44:08.151-05:00

Many thanks to Smashwords for the analysis of the uprise in e-book sales, as noted in this snippet:...wholesale ebook sales for January 2009, as reported by the American Association of Publishers, jumped 173 percent over the same period one year ago to $8.8 million. If you annualize that over 12 months, as I did at left, it means wholesale ebook sales are on track to surpass $100 million in 2009.

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-82441325161159456152009-04-26T10:19:00.006-05:002009-04-26T10:25:55.835-05:00

Booksquare noted that a boycott's underway:  A cadre of 'revolutionaries' won't buy e-books priced over $9.99, and they've even 'blacklisted' them on the Amazon website.  This is a phenomenon I mentioned in a previous post.I'm not willing to boycott, exactly.  And I'm a writer.  I know I want to get paid for my work.  But, if I'm completely honest, I do consider price when I'm seeking something

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-73006376903069457192009-04-26T10:02:00.009-05:002009-04-26T13:02:54.050-05:00

Twitter's been raising my awareness about publishing, e-books, and e-readers, thanks to some of those I've been following. For example, just recently Smashwords noted an amazing 173% increase in e-book wholesale sales for the month of January. And I've been following Joe Wikert's posts on these things in part because he blogs about publishing and also blogs about the Kindle.Electronic

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-51261421744399400522009-04-26T09:38:00.005-05:002009-04-26T09:43:50.169-05:00

I've been doing a lot of thinking about electronic publishing these days, especially since I received an Amazon Kindle 2 as a gift in late February.The race appears to be on in electronic publishing. Demand for e-readers has reached out to cell phone owners with wireless providers, and it may have reached a tipping point, which is why every week there are articles like these in the popular

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-35890471857741061762009-04-26T09:16:00.007-05:002009-04-26T09:34:11.032-05:00

Since I received a Kindle 2 as a gift, I have a number of new books to read. [See my Kindle review here.]I am on track to make my goal (2 books per month plus one bonus book). So far this year I’ve read:Three Junes by Julia GlassRevolutionary Road by Richard YatesChange or Die by Alan DeutschmanMy Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor90 Minutes in Heaven by Don PiperA Sense of Urgency by John

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-83600430554727772862009-04-26T09:13:00.003-05:002009-04-26T10:12:46.800-05:00

Let me say at the outset of this review that I usually read literary fiction. This book was a departure for me, one that I took on the faith of the 1600+ positive reviews on Amazon.com. Those reviews misled me, I’m afraid.It’s mystifying why so many reviewers loved this book.Jacob Jankowski, now over ninety years old, looks back on his decision to run away with the circus life during the

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-83885992974892660472009-04-26T09:12:00.013-05:002009-04-26T10:14:04.886-05:00

Entry No. 2 in my list of 25 books I will read in 2009.Here is my brief review:This book won the National Book Award of 2002.Glass’ book is a family saga of the McLeods, in three parts, during three Junes. Part one, “Collies”, recounts the story of Scots Paul and Maureen McLeod and their three sons, Fenno, Dennis and David. Part two, “Upright”, tells the story of Fenno, an adult ex-patriot

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-37923522277979999542009-04-26T09:12:00.012-05:002009-04-26T10:13:01.149-05:00

Richard Yates’ Revolutionary Road is the story of Frank and April Wheeler, a young couple in the 1950s, who long for a life more uplifting and less stultifying than the suburban Connecticut where they come to raise their young family, because they see themselves as among the best and brightest. Frank has, by his own admission, “the dullest job you can possibly imagine”. But a plot by April to

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-32058204162599514872009-04-26T09:12:00.011-05:002009-04-26T10:12:31.002-05:00

Neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor’s memoir of her stroke, at the age of 37, brings the experience of stroke to the reader. Because understanding stroke requires some knowledge of the brain, Taylor presents a couple of chapters on brain anatomy. She then goes on to describe the gradual loss of her ability to function in the left-brain sense: unable to keep facts in order and use simple mathematics

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-92147951615409733942009-04-26T09:12:00.010-05:002009-04-26T10:12:14.128-05:00

Deutschman’s book lays out a three-step framework for change that appears to be universal, crossing cultural, economic, and social boundaries. He uses a mnemonic for his framework: Relate, Repeat, and Reframe, as well as one for its opposite: Facts, Fear, and Force. I’ve read a few books on change, and this is the first one I’ve truly enjoyed. Most are either fear-based or so bogged down in

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-2146106497276566942009-04-26T09:11:00.003-05:002009-04-26T10:12:01.463-05:00

I have finished this book, the first of my 25 books this year.Here’s my brief review:As he is driving home from a minister’s conference, Baptist minister Don Piper is hit by a semi-truck that crosses into his lane. He is pronounced dead at the scene. For the next 90 minutes, Piper experiences heaven where he is greeted by those who had influenced him spiritually. He hears beautiful music and

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-59461948166181002712009-04-26T08:07:00.026-05:002009-04-26T10:11:37.214-05:00

Note: The following review was posted to my closed blog, PROSELADY, and is reproduced here in its entirety.Bottom Line: I love my Kindle, I'm already addicted, and I'd rather read on it than anything else, especially paper. (That's it. You're done. Don't bother reading on unless you're curious.)The Long, Windy ReviewI'm a reader. In fact, it's fair to say I've had a love affair with books all my

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-70954577524549565772009-04-26T07:29:00.000-05:002009-04-26T07:41:48.501-05:00

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. -- Sir Richard SteeleMy eyes had been bothering me, so I had them checked out by an eye doctor.“Very dry,” she intoned with a cheerfulness and confidence that surprised me. Yes, my left eye had changed and I’d need a new prescription, but it was the medication-induced dryness that apparently caused my distress. The remedy would be expensive

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2917629593795342933.post-52386670273117893962009-04-25T19:59:00.000-05:002009-04-25T20:10:53.607-05:00

Welcome to The Author's Way. As a working writer, my posts will contain excerpts of current work, commentary on creativity, writing, books, publishing, and training and development (yes, writing for a living helping people learn is the day job). Related topics may appear occasionally as well. I hope you find something here you'll find interesting, entertaining, or useful.Due to blog piracy,

Mary Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531062035972138140noreply@blogger.com0