Tag Archives: self-publishing

by Marjorie | July 22, 2025 · 5:34 pm

First-time Author’s Musings

Guest post!

Lesia A Alexander is a published author and a poet who brings her unique blend of creativity, spirituality, and storytelling to her writing. As a first-time author, she shares her journey of self-discovery and exploration in her work, reflecting on the human/animal experience and our connection to the natural world. With her debut book and other written works, Lesia inspires readers to cultivate awareness, compassion, and a deeper sense of connection.

Writing a book for the first time is not for the impatient or those wishing for exact and predictable outcomes. One of the common metaphors applied to the process of writing a book is that of carrying and birthing a child. That makes plenty of sense, but I also see that writing a book is like raising a child. No one can prepare you for the process, and you never know how they will turn out. And like raising a child, it’s a massive learning curve.

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Filed under Self Publishing

Tagged as animal communication, author, author authorship, book writing, book writing process, books, nonfiction writing, publishing, self-publishing, writing, writing a book, writing books

by Marjorie | April 21, 2025 · 3:56 pm

Being Curious

Marjorie Turner Hollman helps authors self-publish their books. She is also a disability advocate, sharing information about Easy Walks (not too many roots or rocks, relatively level with firm footing, and something of interest along the way) in open space. Link to get in touch.

LISTEN:

You’ve likely heard it before: Follow your passion. It’s often framed as, “Follow your passion and good things will follow,” with the not-too-subtle implication that your passion will result in prosperity. I have always felt skeptical about this, since I’ve witnessed many frustrated folks who “followed their passion” only to discover that what they loved offered no particular value to anyone else.

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Tagged as author, authors, books, copywriting, creative entrepreneurs, curiosity, curious, editing, nonfiction, publishing, publishing support, self publishing, self-publishing, start your business, Storytelling, writing

by Marjorie | March 21, 2025 · 3:06 pm

Meltdowns and hissy fits

Looking for a light at the end of the tunnel

Want to get the scoop on self-publishing basics? Self-publishing 101

LISTEN:

Have you ever made a decision, then wondered why you ever thought it was a good idea? These days I help professionals who want to share in writing their skills and life lessons learned, then turn that writing into a self-published book. There was a time, however, when I needed all the help I could get.

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You can edit your own writing. Sort of….

LISTEN:

*Or perhaps you simply need to post your work elsewhere…*

Yes, you can edit your own writing. But should you? Well, sure. In fact, you really do need to edit your own writing. Raw writing is almost never the best you can produce. The very least you can do is take a good look after the flame of writing has died down a little.

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Tagged as copyediting, crappy first draft, editing, editing tips, publishing, read aloud, self-publishing, shitty first draft, writing, writing first draft, writing tips, writing-tips

by Marjorie | January 8, 2025 · 3:12 pm

Crest fallen, or Learning how to write after teaching it for 40 years

Guest post: Em Turner Chitty previously published this article on her Substack

I taught English language and writing for many years, edited (and graded) thousands of essays, raged at the inadequacy of the way we are taught to teach it, and now for the first time in my life am dipping my toes into the waters of actual writing every day for myself, maybe for a few others. And I’m finding it way more difficult, and myself feeling more vulnerable, than I ever expected the experience to be.

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Tagged as blog, blogging, books, copyediting, editing, em turner chitty, non fiction, nonfiction, self publishing, self-publishing, selfpublishing, substack, writing, writing process, writing support

by Marjorie | January 6, 2025 · 5:28 pm

Proofreading is Elementary?

The Girl Scout–happy to be in school. Not so thrilled to check or rewrite her assignments

LISTEN:

Proof reading: You learned that in elementary school, right? You remember elementary school. Even up into high school, you knew that when a teacher told you to “Proofread your work,” it meant that you were supposed to read through what you had written, looking for spelling mistakes. In later grades, you also needed to decide if your sentences made sense, and if not, to rewrite them.

What you likely never heard during your years of formal schooling (perhaps even into college?) was that “proof-reading,” in the publishing world, means exactly what the words say. Proof-reading is actually reading (reviewing) a proof (test) copy of a manuscript that has been laid out, almost ready for publication as a book (or ebook or audio-book these days).

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How to write a book

It’s a process–but it always starts with your first steps

LISTEN HERE:

Breaking down the process

Please note: this is a blog post, not a book! What is included here is not comprehensive. It’s a start, not the final word. Thanks for stopping by and read on.

Where to start?

It’s a process with lots of steps.

Start small. A blog post? A letter to a friend? A letter to the editor? It all counts.

Write what you know

Non-fiction–Write a useful book. I learned the importance of this from the best: Write Useful Books, by Rob Fitzpatrick. Plan to write a book that teaches what you’ve learned, shares skills you have developed, or inspires others who are coping with life challenges related to what you have faced.

Fiction–You will still be writing what you know, with a huge dash of imagination thrown into the mix. Of course there’s more to it than that, but it’s where you start.

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Filed under Self Publishing

Tagged as book editing, books, copy editing, developmental editing, editing, how to self publish, how to write a book, how to write my book, I want to write a book, proofreading, publishing, self publishing, self-publishing, write and publish books, write fiction, write nonfiction, write useful books, writing

by Marjorie | January 18, 2018 · 4:33 pm

Self-Publishing 101

Lots of self-published books to browse at the recent “Self-publishing 101” workshop I conducted

The world of self-publishing has opened up a world of possibility, especially for those of us who simply want to share family stories with our loved ones, or have an idea, but are not willing to jump through the hoops to convince a more traditional publisher of the worth of that idea. I started out learning about self-publishing as a way to help others easily share their family stories. Continue reading →

10 Comments

Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks

Tagged as book coaching, book editing, developmental editing, Easy Walks in Massachusetts, independent publishing, self-publishing, write a book, write your book, write your own book

Tag Archives: self-publishing

First-time Author’s Musings

Being Curious

Meltdowns and hissy fits

You can edit your own writing. Sort of….

Crest fallen, or Learning how to write after teaching it for 40 years

Proofreading is Elementary?

How to write a book

Self-Publishing 101

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