Need some great writing/publishing advice?

I'm not being compensated in any way, shape, or form, I just simply liked this book so much that I'm dedicating this entire post to it.

Why it would be worth your time? It's written by two successful authors, one a social media guru/author and the author of the bestselling novel Pay it Forward, which was made into a movie starring Helen Hunt. Okay, now who doesn't want advice from them?

Click on the title to go to Amazon to check it out for yourself

How to be a Writer in the E-Age and Keep your E-Sanity

Since reading this book I now have a strategy for my writing career, and clear steps that I plan to take to get there.

The book covers everything you could possibly want to know about writing and publishing. I learned about writing, great starts, blogging and social media strategies, how to view rejections, self publishing, movie rights, and so much more! It is available for a limited time for $2.99, which I promise you will be the best $3 you'll spend if you're a writer. It helped clear so much confusion that I had about the changing world of books.

It also had a shout out to blogger/author Alex J Cavanaugh and used his blog as an example of how to build a platform in your genre. Congrats Alex! Click on his name to link to his amazing sci-fi blog.

Happy reading!

Using a Pen Name

You may have noticed that I've changed the name on my blog to Rose Munevar from Honey. Don't laugh, but Honey was actually my dog's name.

Yeah, that one!

Why did I use a fake name! A lot of reasons, some silly ones I refuse to confess to. Now that I'm getting deeper into the writing world, I feel the need to be taken a little more seriously, and the new name is close to my real one. I still don't want to be found completely, because the truth is, I live a double life. My secret is that I am a writer. There, I said it. I am a writer.

Only five people in my real life know. My husband, two kids, and my sister.

Why I feel the need to hide it has to do with the naysayers in my life. Writing is a hard enough industry without people in my ear saying "You can't do that". I have myself in my ear already saying that.

There are many reasons writers use pen names. Check out this link.

I was surprised to learn Mark Twain was a pen name! Probably everybody knew that, but me of course.

What about you? Pen name or real?

Writing book on Amazon

I found this link for a book on writing from another blog. It was on promotion for free and I've found a lot of great advice in it. Click on the title to link to Amazon. It's not free anymore but I think the price is only $3 anyway. Great deal for a very encouraging book on the writing industry.

How to be a writer in the E-age, and keep your E-sanity

And who doesn't need a morale boost in this industry?

On my last post I mentioned I've had a preference for male authors, but I do read all kinds of books by all kinds of authors. Maybe it was more a romance aversion, but some books I've read lately by women have been REALLY good. Probably my favorite recent one was Chosen by a Horse, a memoir by author Susan Richards. I would say it fell in between a James Herriot and Marley and Me type book. I laughed and I cried, and it takes a lot for me to feel that deeply about what I'm reading.

I'm reading four different books right now, one of which is from my "reading through the library" project. Why do I do this to myself, I don't know. What are you reading now?

Sexist Reader?

First off, I must apologize to my commenters. I usually respond to people right away and I missed a Monday blog, but all with good reason. We went to Mammoth Cave Kentucky for a week of vacation, meeting up with old friends. It was awesome! Definitely recommend it. We did two walking tours of the cave and canoed down the Green River. I didn't do any writing, the internet was practically non-existent, but I did read a little, especially on the ten hour car ride.

That brings me to my blog title. When I was younger I read almost exclusively female authors, my favorites being Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. I think I read all their books, even the lesser known ones. The books written by men were ones I thought I should read, like Moby Dick, and I couldn't stand them. Too much detail, or violence, and not enough romance. As I've matured, without meaning to, I have switched my preference to male authors, even better if they have a journalist background or style of writing.

I've lost interest in romance. It's become too cliche for me now. The hard to get beautiful girl, playing standoffish to the handsome, tough guy. Blah blah blah. Heard it all before. I guess I'm not romantic anymore. Maybe washing my husband's socks for the past seventeen years killed it, but it's just not the same. Don't get me wrong- I love him. In fact, I am one of the fortunate who married the love of their life, but my interests have morphed into realistic, teach me something I don't know. The last library book I finished was quite the lesson in economics, but I was okay with that.

Hence, my blog title. I am currently forcing myself to read a famous female author's book in the romance genre just to broaden my horizons. The whole story is sooo tried and true, but it is pretty good writing and I feel I can still learn a lot from her.

How about you? Any preferences on writing styles from men or women?