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...
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...
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...
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...
“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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Just publishing a book isn’t enough to get people to see it. You have to promote it, too. One of the most cost-effective and easiest ways to get people to notice your book is through...
By: Melissa Parks
It was a hallelujah day when my Tupperware drawer stopped shaming me for being dysfunctional.
Pieces we inherited after dinner at friends’ homes were tossed. Pieces that...
By: Melissa Parks
Don’t tell my husband. I’ve spent $1,008 on nothing. Nothing.
That’s what $14 a month for five years adds up to. No one would call me thrifty, but even I...
