Last weekend I had an experience worth sharing with anyone who wants to promote his or her book. It’s worth sharing because it’s exactly what you do NOT want to do, a perfect example of how to generate a negative impression of yourself.

I was one of the many volunteers working our Sisters in Crime booth at a local book festival. In honor of the Halloween party to launch our Make Mine Mystery book club, I was dressed as a witch. (Typecasting? Maybe! All I know is I was dressed all…

Last post I covered the reasons a published author might say, "No," when you ask him or her to read your manuscript. Now I'll switch the focus to how and why a published author would agree to read your unpublished book for you.

1. You are friends. I met Emilie Richards at the Ohio River Valley Conference many years back. I had no idea she was a super-star among authors. But I did notice she was a nice person. We chatted and enjoyed each other's company. We…

We're all beginners at one time.

Therefore, we should all be ever-willing to help each other.

However, there are good reasons why an author will say, "No," if you ask him or her to read your unpublished manuscript.

1.) There's no upside. Here's what I mean. One author I know said, "Every time I read someone's manuscript they get mad about my comments. They SAY they want me to be honest, but .... It's not worth it." Yep, honesty can hurt. And ruin even good friendships.…

Nancy Pickard and Todd Stone will be featured speakers at WritersFest 2007: Concept to Contract—How to Write and Sell Your Book from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. on Saturday, September 8, 2007, at the Comfort Inn & Suites in Chesterfield MO. The day long seminar is presented by the Greater St. Louis Chapter of Sisters in Crime…

At this writing, I have twelve books to my credit. Nine have been published and three are under contract. Number thirteen is early awaited by my darling agent, Liz, who would be saying right now, "Joanna, finish that BEFORE you blog."

But I will temporarily ignore Liz because one of my fellow Crimespace pals asked a great question: How do you get published?

What I intend to do in this blog is share the various ways I've achieved publication, and perhaps if I'm ambitious enough,…

I meet every Tuesday with my critique partners, Judy Moresi and Donna Ross.

Today I brought along the first 10 pages of my newest book. I asked Donna, "How often have you read this starting chapter?"

She laughed. "What? Maybe, oh, five times?"

Yes, and that doesn't count all the times I've rewritten this without her knowledge.

Not long ago, someone asked, "How often do you rewrite a book?"

The answer: As often as necessary. Here's the deal: Those first ten…