dawn.vogel | July 1, 2019
One of the best ways to edit something you’ve written is to read it aloud. Your eyes may try to skip over mistakes or correct them for you if you’re reading silently, but when you add your mouth into the equation, it makes you look at a manuscript differently. I edit professionally, so my brain […]
dawn.vogel | June 24, 2019
While my spreadsheet (of doom) is my primary method of organization for writing planning and submitting stories, I’m also a fan of redundancy and stickers, hence why I also use a day planner. The day planner I prefer starts each week on a Monday, and has large spaces for weekdays, with smaller spaces for weekends. […]
dawn.vogel | June 10, 2019
Most writers I know use a laptop as their primary working computer. But with laptops come a lot of problems in terms of ergonomics– you’re often looking down at your screen, typing on an awkward keyboard, and trying to avoid hitting the trackpad. Particularly for writers who spend a lot of time on their computer, […]
dawn.vogel | June 3, 2019
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve discovered that I have physical, mental, and emotional limitations that either weren’t there when I was younger, that I had the energy to work around, or the sheer bullheadedness to push through. However it worked then, it doesn’t work the same now, and I’ve had to learn to acknowledge my […]
dawn.vogel | May 27, 2019
When you’re world building, how much thought do you give to places that have shade and places that are brightly lit? And how do your characters react to the same? In this article, which talks about the lack of shade in Los Angeles, and how it is a marker of economic disparity, there are all […]
dawn.vogel | May 20, 2019
I started writing regularly in 2009 and lucked out by selling my first short story early in 2010. After that, things were a bit more hit and miss for a while. Between 2010 and 2014, I made a total of 11 story sales, some of them for no payment, and mostly for very small payments. […]
dawn.vogel | May 13, 2019
I recently got comments back on a story that complimented the fight scenes I’d written. This was a major achievement for me, since I’ve often groaned about needing to write a fight scene. And I credit my growth in this area to continuing to learn and continuing to do. I’ve now attended two workshops related […]
dawn.vogel | May 6, 2019
Thus far, I’ve talked about submissions trackers, submissions planning, and submitting reprints. Today, I’m talking about the stickiest submission trick there is: simultaneous submissions. Also known as sim subs, there are a HUGE number of markets that do not allow you to submit a story to them and another market simultaneously. However, there are some […]
dawn.vogel | April 29, 2019
So far, I’ve talked about submission trackers and planning submissions. This week, I’m talking about reprint submissions. Most of my inspiration for selling reprints came from two posts I read some years back by Deborah Walker, who is a prolifically published author who makes the most of her reprint rights. You can read those posts […]
dawn.vogel | April 22, 2019
Last week, I talked about using submissions trackers to keep track of the various submissions I have out at any given time. Today, I’m talking about planning for submissions. When I’ve got a new piece to put into circulation, I generally have a loosely planned out list of markets I want to submit it to. […]
