By: Melissa Parks

We live in a small house with a total of one closet. It’s problematic for a modern family. And especially for a self-professed clothes horse.

When we moved in, we carved out a smal...

Most writers don't take the time to ask themselves why they're writing a book. They don't know the "why" of their book.

In this Author Gas Stops, Donna Freitas encourages writers to spend time gettin...

Every book needs a developmental edit. Even professional writers do. In fact, professional writers crave developmental editing, because they know they don’t know it all.

But too many new writers d...

By: Melissa Parks

I learned an important lesson about cohesion when we bought our 1923 brick bungalow 23 years ago and I painted my hallway pineapple yellow.

The color wasn’t a problem except its Mi...

By: Melissa Parks

My husband reads car repair manuals.

I’m grateful he has the brain to persist through that dreary copy—because when you own three used cars with hundreds of thousands of miles on e...

Commercially viable memoirs are akin to novels. They engage the reader through storytelling techniques.

But new memoirists struggle to write an engaging story. They spend too much time inside thei...

By: Dave Goetz

Don’t bury the lede.

That is a principle that can be applied to many forms of writing.

It is especially true in hard reporting stories.

In journalism, the “lede” or “lead” is the mo...

“You need to hire a PR firm.”

“You need a large social media following.”

“You need to appear on radio and TV.”

Book marketing is overwhelming. Hop onto Google and you’ll find hundreds of lists e...

By: Dave Goetz

I don’t think you can really learn to write. Which is why few fine art programs in writing turn out prolific writers.

Mostly, you need to be trained to write.

You train yourself when...

By: Melissa Parks

Before lockdown in March 2020, an HGTV producer (the team behind The Property Brothers) wanted to talk with me about developing a TV show around flea market decorating.

I’m not sur...

Is your writing time sacred?

Typically, people use the word ‘sacred’ to define what we’ve written. Confessional writing, memoirs, poetry and some narrative fiction are considered sacred because of th...

Do you feel an overwhelming amount of stress and anxiety when you think about writing?

Do you blame yourself when you don’t write?

Do you feel lazy, unimaginative, or self-indulgent when you want...