Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

Let me make a prediction. By 2015, based on current trends, 50% of the books available online and even offline, will be self published. How will this happen? Simple. Print on Demand technology has already progressed to the stage that even the big traditional publishers are using it - which means, yes, now we're all equal. Plus, distribution networks are now seeing that there is money to be made stocking and distributing self published books - as long as the writers are diligently involved in their promotion. Book marketing is now no longer the sole responsibility of a publisher's sales staff. More and more trade publishers are requiring, even demanding, that authors self promote their books. So, whichever way you go, you will have to get out there and sell your books yourself. But what does self promotion actually involve? Are there any special skills you need? Yes, but don't fret - you're a writer. Much of what you need to do is already within your skill base. Here are...

People are always asking me, "How do you manage to write so much?" It's funny to me because I never feel I have written enough! Each day I write a little more - an article, a chapter, a lesson or some fiction and each day I think, if only I'd had a few more hours I could have done 'this' or 'that'. There never seems to be enough time. We've just been asked by our movie producer to work on our Hollywood script - again - a new director wants some changes to it. For the next 4 to 6 weeks, we're intending to get stuck in to that script - and find time we didn't think we had. That's the writer's life. Just like everyone else, we have to find the time, whether we think it's there or not. People also ask me, "How do you write so fast?" Actually I don't think I do. I write slowly, considering every word and phrase as I go along. Just like the way I read. Okay, I get to write two to three thousand words a da...

We spend a lot of our time distracted by our daily chores and commitments. So much so we tend to ignore what our instincts are telling us. You know how it goes. You spend your time working or, unpaid and traveling to and from work. You spend time dropping off and picking up the kids. You use up invaluable hours of the day preparing food, eating, sleeping, relaxing with your loved ones, watching TV, socializing, caring, volunteering, whatever. All the time in the back of your mind you have this little voice that says: You really should be writing, you really should be writing... Your instincts know what you want but your activities are committing you to a lifestyle you don't want. There's the writer’s dilemma. How do you stop doing what you don't want and start doing what you do want? Simple - listen to your heart. I believe there's a reason why we have instincts - they are there to tell us what we really want. They are there to nag at you to deal with the things that ...