Ignorance in America

I have been sitting in front of my computer for more than an hour trying to put into words how I feel about something I saw on the internet earlier this morning. For the most part, I use this blog for interviews and reviews, but I have been known to drop a rant or two every now and then.

I am sickened. I ran across a video on FB this morning that disgusted me beyond words. After viewing it, I immediately submitted to FB to have it removed. Considering the types of things FB feels the need to remove on a regular basis, I thought certainly this video would come down immediately. Instead, this is what I received:

“Thank you for taking the time to report something that you feel may violate our Community Standards. Reports like yours are an important part of making Facebook a safe and welcoming environment. We reviewed the video you reported for containing hate speech or symbols and found it doesn’t violate our Community Standards.”

Welcoming environment????

If you can tolerate being sickened by the blantant hate displayed by a child, here is the appalling hate Video by a 12-year-old. I don’t know if they will remove it if they continue to receive complaints. In that case, the provided link won’t work.

I was in shock. They allow this type of racial/hate post to remain on their site even knowing the heated and growing racial debates and tensions going on in our country. We have witnessed/read of how many deaths where the victim was black and the assailant was white (and often times, in the position of authority). We have had cities destroyed by riots due to these deaths. We woke to the news of a crazed (white) man having killed nine members of a black prayer group. We have seen (white) police shoot unarmed black men in the back. Choke holds, prison hangings, etc. How can we expect change when an outlet with the reach that FB has continues to support these hate groups. And by allowing them to post explicitly hateful videos targeting any one race is supporting it. Rather than to use their vast reach to help teach and spread the message of peace/tolerance/equality, FB is fostering an outlet for the racial tension that has touched every corner of our country.

If the post hasn’t been removed by the time you read this, I suggest you go to it and read over the comments left by others. Not a single person left a favorable comment. But, would you expect them to? Some might say that the comments left are hateful in their own right, but instead of being hateful toward any particular race, they are hateful toward the parents who taught their 12-year-old son to be an ignorant racist. And what does that tell us? Ignorance begets ignorance. Hate begets hate. Intolerance begets intolerance. It’s a vicious cycle.

Children aren’t born with these ignorant views. What kind of parents believe they are acting in a child’s best interest by teaching them to hate, to condemn, to be judgmental, racist and ignorant? And FB… I’m sickened by your dismissal of my concern over an issue that has always divided our country, but even more in recent months. As far as I’m concerned, by dismissing it and allowing it to remain on your site you are promoting it.

It wouldn’t matter if I were black, white or as blue as a smurf, I would not feel any differently. Scientists continue to warn us about global warming, but from where I sit, the world has never been so cold.

k.e. garvey 

Whether or not you agree with my views, thank you for letting me vent.

How the Seven-Point Story Structure Can Help Your Writing

A great article for aspiring or struggling writers, originally posted by an acquaintance of mine, Ryan Lanz (I suggest subscribing to his blog for many helpful and inspiring articles).

Social Adventures, Part 1 – Internet Dating

I would normally post an interview today, (big apologies to those of you who were looking for one) but I thought I’d deviate from the usual and tell you all about something that is such a common part of our culture now. I am going to share one of my recent social adventures — dating, more specifically, dating sites. The following may seem far-fetched, but keep in mind, fact is usually stranger than fiction. As for the following… Every. Word. Is. True.

Having been in a lengthy relationship (which I stayed with long past its expiration date), I found myself at a loss when I made the decision to end it. After all, now I’m almost 7 years older and long out of the game, where does a fifty something woman meet men? Church? Not likely. Most of the men that attend only do so because they have a WIFE that guilts them into it. Club? I’m not a drinker, a smoker, or a cougar – so…. no. Someone suggested the obits. Seriously? I thought that only worked in nursing homes and on The Golden Girls. Anyway, I’m well past the age of using my kids to snag introductions to their friends’ single fathers and I’m not inclined to run up and down a soccer field while coaching a bunch of twelve-year-olds in the hopes of impressing some singleton in the stands. So, what’s a girl to do?

Internet dating. So avant-garde, right?

I decided to make a pros and cons list (really just a stall tactic). I began with the pros.

1. Can be done from a plane on the way to a meeting or from the comfort of my recliner, while wearing PJ’s. (That in itself made it worth doing.)
2. For the $39.95 ‘start-up’ fee, I am able to browse thousands of men without having to fix my hair or wear makeup.
3. There’s no pressure and no obligation to browse.
4. If (and when – because most often, there is a when) they cross that line, I can rid myself of them with the click of my mouse. Much easier than pretending to be sick or sneaking out the back door of a comedy club (True story).
5. And I can do all of this while wearing PJ’s!!! I know I said that before, but it bears repeating.

So, even with so few pros and a legal pad full of cons, I signed up. I’d like to say I went with Match.com because I compared many internet-dating sites and they offer the most value for your money or because they have the highest success rate, but the truth is, I chose them simply because the photographs of the men (actors) they use in their ads kicked the competition’s butt! Have you seen them? And possibly because the guy from the eHarmony commercials creeps me out a little….

Once I input my profile information and uploaded my photos, I clicked off and went to bed, anxious to see whom they matched me with.

Day 1 – WOW. Would you look at all of the emails, winks, likes, pokes, prods, and favorites I got since last night? This is going to be easier than I thought.

Day 1, evening – Read through every last email, ignored the pokes and prods, clicked yay or nay on my twenty-four daily matches. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Not one mutual like. But, it’s only day one.

Day 2 – Considerably fewer emails, but all I need is one, right? I did get a second email from a man who had sent one yesterday, telling me that he posted new pictures. (Stressing the pictures, not a good sign) The photos were of the house he someone rents in OBX, his a Lexus, his a Harley, and a ten-point buck. Yeah, won me over with that one.

Day 3 – I had no idea that middle-aged men took so many selfies!

Day 4 – In continuing with the Harley theme, I receive an email from a guy who is a self-proclaimed man’s man. He hunts (okay), he fishes (I can live with that), he plays cards with the guys on Friday nights (nothing too unusual there), and he wants to be buried ON HIS HARLEY! Upright, gripping the bars, hair blown back…..

N-E-X-T PLEASE!

Day 5 – I am down to a manageable number of emails first thing in the morning now. The first one I open is from a man in Provo Utah. What? Did Utah run out of single women and he’s decided to import them? Next is from a man whose wife is terminally ill. She made him join so that he could find someone now, before she’s gone, so that he’ll never have to be alone. How sweet (…..in a morbid kind of way).

Day 6 – Email from a guy who says, “I see you have kids, like me. I have two boys and a girl, how about you? And if any of them are girls, do you have pictures?” Oh god…  (If I were thinking clearly, I would have sent him pictures of my cousin (the police officer’s) daughters and his direct number) HA!

Day 7 – The site must be running out of matches for me, because today they send me my usual twenty-four, but twenty of them are smokers and I clearly checked off ‘NO SMOKERS’ when I filled out my profile. Do you suppose they figure that if I haven’t run across anyone who appeals to me by now, I might change my mind??

Day 8 – I receive an email from a man who says he’s fifty-three. He includes a photo of himself and claims (claims being the operative word here) that it was taken within the last few months. I would take him for 55-60, but hey, Father Time doesn’t treat some as well as he treats others, and looks have never topped my priority list anyway. Upon closer inspection, I notice a banner in the background that reads ‘HAPPY NEW YEAR 2005’. I then notice people in party hats with the year 2005 on them. My internal calculator begins adding ‘em up. Hmm, you say you’re 53…. You look 58…. Your 2014 photograph is actually 9 ½ years old…. Liar! The only thing worse than a liar is a really, really old liar. And the only thing worse than a really, really old liar, is a really, really old, dumb liar!

N-E-X-T

Day 9 – No emails. Relief. Seriously. My visions of meeting a man with a modicum of intelligence and enough humor to make him endearing are fading faster than Cameron Diaz’s looks.

Day 12 – (I’m now disenchanted with the whole process and only check my email every few days) I receive another letter from Day 4’s Harley dude. “Hey baby, I haven’t heard from you. Did the Harley thing flake you out? Sorry. I guess I should have been more clear. If we hook up, I’d want you buried next to me on your bike when the time comes.”

Oy vey…

Needless to say, I haven’t been on a date and won’t be recommending internet dating to anyone I like. But, the experience has taught me that it’s not so bad being happily single after all.

And if the above interactions aren’t enough to make you think twice about joining one of the happily-ever sites that take monetary advantage of lonely romantics, allow me to leave you with a few honorary mentions, again, all true…

“I like women who still wear garters and stockings, the kind with the line that runs all the way up her leg, and heels. And I like it when she leaves them on during”… “My ex-wife this, my ex-wife that, you would like my ex-wife”… “Well, I was living outta my car up until bout a month ago when my brother told me I could use his trailer til he got outta prison, well it ain’t really a trailer it’s more like a camper like the kind you pull with your car when it’s running”… “My mother said if we make it to a fifth date, I can bring you home to meet her”… (from a guy 5’8” and 325 lbs.) “I’m looking for a woman who is athletic and toned because if a woman doesn’t care about her own health, she isn’t going to care about mine”… (from a guy who smokes) “No smokers please. If you’ve ever kissed a smoker you’d understand why I feel that way”… And then there’s the guy who says he doesn’t smoke, yet in every one of his (current) pictures, he’s holding a lit cigarette!

Although I’ve tried to implement humor in my adventures, that is not always the case among those who participate in online dating. We’ve all heard horror stories and I’ve included a link to one that recently appeared all over the news. I strongly suggest that anyone interested in online dating be very, very careful who they give their personal information to, including but not limited to their home address.

Woman Who Wouldn’t Accept “It’s Over”.

Anyone have a similar story? Come on, dish 😉

To all of the singles out there, HAPPY DATING!

 

Hey You, Indie Author… You Suck!

That’s right… SUCK – with a capital S-U-C-K!

Your dialogue is sophomoric. Your grammar and punctuation are an insult to Strunk and ridiculed by White. Your characters are weak and your storyline has less movement than a flatline.

Okay, I admit, that was harsh and reviews like that are the exception, not the rule. In my opinion, the worst writer in the world, whoever he/she may be, doesn’t deserve something like that. But, the point I’m trying to make is, if you were to receive that exact review on one of your works, would it be enough to make you put down your pen forever? Would it throw you into a dejected state, which left you so depressed that your creative juices stopped flowing permanently? If you’re anything like me, a review like that would be just the needle to prick your determination into doing better than you ever thought possible, (called the OH YEAH? factor in my house.) So, if an occasional heckler isn’t enough to cause you to end your love affair with the written word, why do so many of us allow our own minds to sabotage our goals and dreams?

I receive letters all of the time from writers who say, ‘I’d love to appear on Ink Drop Interviews, if I ever finish the book I’m working on’.

If?

Don’t you mean ‘when’? And we all know how it goes from there, ‘I have a day job’, ‘No time’, ‘My family thinks I’m wasting my life on a pipe dream’, ‘The kids keep me hopping between soccer practice and 4-H’, ‘I’m mentally distracted’, and the big one, ‘I don’t think my writing is good enough’.

Writers come in all shapes and sizes, figuratively. Some have day jobs, others live in poverty in the name of creating their masterpiece. Some take notes on the fly, jotting them down on matchbook covers and cocktail napkins to be deciphered at a later time, while others create elaborate outlines almost as long as the finished novel.

There have been scores of articles written on this subject and I doubt that I am going to impart any words of wisdom that haven’t been said before, but as a huge proponent of paying it forward and my humble attempt to showcase interested Indies, I feel it can never be said too many times.

My take on the process and the only universal advice, commit to the journey. Definitely worth repeating… COMMIT TO THE JOURNEY!

Those four words are the difference between you, Indie, and the James Pattersons of the world. Toward the end of this article, I am going to include links to a man and his work that I recently ran across and a post on his blog that I think you all should read. His name is Casey Neistat. Some of you might have heard of him, but more of you, probably not. He is a director, producer, and the creator of the HBO series, ‘The Neistat Brothers’. He has also been creating popular You Tube videos since 2010, and that is where I first ran across him.

One video in particular caught my attention. It wasn’t the best video as far as effects or sound. It didn’t feature any high-profile actors. There was no ‘set’ to speak of. What it did have – was a message. You can view Casey’s work HERE. From there, I wandered over to his blog and read a post that put things into perspective for me. The post was entitled, I Can’t Write Real Good. In it, he describes how he isn’t the best at grammar and how he isn’t as concerned with ‘what’ he shoots a movie with as much as the finished product, among other things.

Writing is very much the same. We may not have the amount of time we feel we need, or the right atmosphere, or the best spelling in the world, but why should we let that stop us from what is in us to do? If you write because you believe it will yield wealth, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but…. Put the pen down. If you think writing will earn you accolades and envy from your peers, family, or enemies, again…. Put the pen down. If you write because you think it will quadruple your Twitter following, give you an easy-in with the ladies/men…. You know what to do.

There is one and only one reason to write. We write because we have something in us, whether it be a message or a story, that we want to tell. If we get rich doing it – SCORE. But, if you stand everyone who has ever written against everyone who has ever ‘made it big’ writing, it would look something like the little dot on a map that represents Tampa against every other city in the United States.

Casey has the right idea. If you have something to say, a message to share with the world, share it! Don’t let your inner critic sour your creative juice. Sure, grammar, spelling, and such are important, but not the whole loaf of bread. Without name-dropping, a number of years ago, I met a writer known by many, who is the first to admit, he can not spell. He often uses the joke that his spelling is so bad even auto-correct comes up empty. Yet he lives (and then some) on what he makes writing. He is the one that first told me, “People want to read great stories. They don’t count your commas.” Another well-known writer I’ve met spends more time on the outline than on the actual writing of the book. I once met a man at a writer’s group that when asked to share what he was working on, pulled a bazillion crumpled pieces of blue paper towel out of his pockets and proceeded to lay them out in front of us. He works on the maintenance crew at a college and has five kids at home, so his writing is done in snippets here and there while at work. (He has since gone on to write 4 NYT Bestsellers).

So the message I am trying to pass on is don’t let anyone, including yourself, thwart your writing dreams. You may not be the best writer, and you may never see big money, awards, or even best seller status. But, if you’re writing for the right reason, none of that will matter. If you don’t believe me, take it from a guy who has poor grammar and never finished school and yet still has his own HBO series and 41K Twitter followers. He has something to say, a story to tell, and that’s what people are really looking for. They want to be entertained, or informed, or touched on an emotional level. If you can do that… they’ll never count the commas.

Get to  know Casey Neistat and his work

Wikipedia

Casey Neistat

Kathy Reinhart is the award-winning author of LILY WHITE LIES, MISSOURI IN A SUITCASE, and THE RED STROKES.

Join Kathy on Facebook, Twitter or visit her Webpage for more info, news, and contests.

 

Predators Abound—How Writers Can Be Savvy in Social Media, Marketing and Promotion

Kristen Lamb offers a lot of useful advice on her blog. This particular article will help guide the misguided through SEO. To get a full understanding, I highly recommend checking out her book and WANAcon (now offering early bird pricing)!

Kristen Lamb's Blog

We’ve been talking a lot about the new publishing paradigm and all the options writers have. Being the WANA Mama, I feel it’s my duty to feed you guys the grow-up stuff. So, if you want a fluffy kitten hug? This is the wrong place. There are plenty of people who offer a magic algorithm or promotion package or SEO package “guaranteed” to launch a writer to fame and fortune. Yet, these can be misleading and take our focus away from activities that have a better chance of translating into long-term success.

Hoo-Doo Voo-Doo for Sale

What many of you might not know is I sometimes help small businesses. I recently started doing some work for my brother’s company. Why did I step in? Because he (like many others) paid thousands of dollars for a Mega-PR-Expert…who then did NOTHING.

My brother hired this well-known PR expert to create his social…

View original post 1,585 more words

Query Letter Pet Peeves – Agents Speak

An informative article on query letter no-no’s, as told by the agents who receive them…. Worth a look! (Thank you Writers in the Storm)

Writers In The Storm Blog

By Chuck Sambuchino

Ready to send your book out and contact agents? The last thing you want to do is to rush that submission out the door and hurt your book’s chances.

When submitting your all-important query to agents or editors, it’s not just a question of what to write in the letter—it’s also a question of what not to write.

I asked 11 literary agents about their personal query letter pet peeves and compiled them below. Check out the list to learn all about what details to avoid in a query that could sink your submission—such as vague wording, too much personal information, grammatical mistakes, and much more.

———

“I think the biggest querying no-no I’ve ever seen was when an author tracked down some sensitive personal information and included it in their cover letter. Eeep! As agents we absolutely love when authors do their research and get to…

View original post 1,198 more words

Arm Pit Farts – Building 3 Dimensional Characters

An older post, but today, I was in the mood to reminisce. The daughter I refer to in this post is about to give birth to her third child. I hope they all grow up to be as outgoing and genuinely kind-hearted and likeable as she is. True story, enjoy!

How To Increase Your Sales Using Amazon

Although this blog is probably known best for spotlighting Indie authors and their work, occasionally I try to offer tidbits I find around the web that I feel are helpful to authors as well. Today I am posting a link to a blog I came across that deals with the ins and outs, ups and downs of publishing for Kindle and how to increase your Kindle sales. The post was written by Tristan King as a guest spot for Sean Ogle. I found it to be quite informative, interesting and definitely worth a read for anyone who hasn’t tried their hand at KDP, but is considering it.

I am certainly no expert on Amazon and their KDP program, but I use it and I am happy with it. So, read through and if you are left with questions, feel free to ask me and if I can’t answer them, I would be happy to refer them to someone who can. Enjoy!

Publishing with Amazon – by Tristan King

Ink Drop Interviews is maintained by Kathy Reinhart, author of the award-winning LILY WHITE LIES

Connect with Kathy below

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/KathyReinhart.Novelist?ref=hl – Don’t forget to click ‘like’ to keep up-to-date on happenings

Twitter – https://twitter.com/KathyReinhart

My blog – http://inkdropinterviews.com/ – Meet your favorite Indies here

Amazon Author page – amazon.com/author/kathyreinhart – Don’t forget to click ‘like’ while you’re there

Google + – https://plus.google.com/u/0/116991960045408945542/posts?partnerid=gplp0 – Feel free to join me here

Author’s Info – http://authorsinfo.com/index.php?option=com_community&view=profile&Itemid=217 – This one is a new site looking for new members

Lily White Lies – purchase:

Ebook – http://www.amazon.com/Lily-White-Lies-ebook/dp/B005C478SG/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1373897789&sr=8-1&keywords=kathy+reinhart – Borrow for free with Amazon Prime

Paperback – http://www.amazon.com/Lily-White-Lies-Kathy-Reinhart/dp/0971327882/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1373897789&sr=8-1

Missouri in a Suitcase – purchase:

Ebook – http://www.amazon.com/Missouri-in-a-Suitcase-ebook/dp/B0034KYUW2/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1373908227&sr=8-1&keywords=missouri+in+a+suitcase – (Written under the pen name, Nova Scott)

……And Another Thing or Two About Publishing

I have writer friends who rave about their publishers. They glorify them on their Facebook pages, tweet their credits and give mention to them in their books. They are so pleased with what their publisher brings to their project that if they were to win a Pulitzer, they would surely dedicate it to them.

I’m so jealous!

I’m not sure about forking over my Pulitzer, but I’d love to be able to spiel my publisher’s virtues to anyone with ears. Those publishers are best-seller gold. Cherished and coveted. But not as plentiful as we would like.

The big publishing houses aren’t going anywhere. At least not anytime soon. It’s the small ones I want to talk about. Some of them are their authors’ greatest assets, going above and beyond while seeing little in the way of profit. They are truly dedicated to fulfilling the promises they make to their authors within the pages of the contracts they mutually sign. And other small houses are Hell’s gatekeepers.

Myself, I have given up on traditional publishing and gone digital.  My latest novel, ‘Fight Like A Girl’ is coming out later this year and will I ever consider going with a traditional publisher for the opportunity to see my books in paper and ink again? Possibly. But now, the difference is, instead of having to sell myself to them, they would have to sell themselves to me.

That’s right. For me and many others, the days of query letters and elevator pitches are over. Slush piles all over New York are melting as I write this, making room for the mini-bars industry execs are going to need in this digital age. Why? The biggest reason is also the most obvious. Because Amazon has different ideas. They have shown readers a different way and readers are buying into it. With the onslaught of eReaders and low cost books, readers are being pulled in a new (money saving) direction. Who can blame them? A dollar saved is a dollar saved, right? That may be the biggest reason, but it certainly isn’t the only one.

We’ve all heard that ‘only amateur writers publish eBooks’ and ‘they’re peddling their book on Amazon because they couldn’t find a REAL publisher’. Those reasons may have had some validity in the past, but not so much now. Authors are beginning to realize that they CAN float their own boat. Granted, it takes a lot of work and motivation (not to mention sleepless nights and first-born offerings), but as authors in the digital age, we are in charge.

Assuming you’ve written a good story,—that is still critical in achieving success—you treat it just as you would if you were shipping it off to a traditional publisher, you write, revise, edit, revise, revise, edit and then cross your fingers and say a little prayer. It’s at this very point where many are choosing to forego the game of query-and-wait and taking directly to Kindle format. I am one of them.

My reasons had nothing to do with being unable to find traditional publishing. My last book, ‘Lily White Lies’ was published traditionally. Hell, it even won a national fiction award. I spent eighteen months waiting to see it in print and once it came out… TOTAL DEFLATION. And now I will tell you why so many good writers are taking the path of Kindle and slowly putting the small houses out of business.

I have a standard publishing contract with my publisher. Nothing out of the ordinary. I was promised an advance against royalties to be paid by a given date. I was promised a certain number of author copies. I was promised certain promotional courtesies. I was promised many things within the contract. And do you know what I’ve received?

Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Seriously. I have not received a dime from the sales of my book nor have I ever seen a red cent of my advance. I have never been sent an account reconciliation showing how many books have sold. I never received a single author copy. My novel came out (in print) in June of 2011 and to date, it still hasn’t been added to the publisher’s online store. I signed my contract in May of 2010 and after a year and a half of waiting for the advance I was promised, I sent a very courteous letter to my publisher, after many unsuccessful attempts to reach her by phone. I received a call from her with no fewer than four excuses as to why she hadn’t been able to fulfill her obligations, but not one viable reason. After another six months, I sent a 10-day letter, to which I have not received a response in any form. Until an author has been in this position, it is impossible to know just how involved and aggravating it can be.

I may never see anything that is owed to me by my publisher, but all is not lost. I retained my digital rights, published on Amazon using KDP and quickly learned that I make more on each eBook sold than I would have on each print copy (had I seen any of it). Amazon pays their authors on the exact date they say they will. And through their author pages, featured listings and promotional days, they have actually done more to promote my work than my publisher has. No outlet will ever be perfect, but at least now my bank account is being fed regularly.

I know there are some authors out there who are planted in tradition and believe that if they aren’t published by a ‘real’ publisher, it doesn’t really count or they’ll never be considered successful in the eyes of their peers (Ssh, don’t tell that to Amanda Hocking or Hugh Howey!) That simply isn’t true.

I know I’m not the first one to write about the differences between traditional and digital publishing, but I wanted to give my take on it, as I’m sure I’m not alone in my feelings. As writers, in the end we have to do what is right for us individually and what works for one won’t necessarily work for the next one to come along. But when I hear a representative from any publishing house, big or small, complain about Amazon, eBooks or even self-publishing and what it’s doing to their bottom line, I have a hard time feeling any sympathy. After all, we ALL float our own boats and we’ll end up in the direction we’ve paddled.

Kathy Reinhart is the author of the award-winning ‘LILY WHITE LIES’ , ‘The Red Stokes’ and the upcoming ‘FIGHT LIKE A GIRL’,  book one in the ‘Like A Girl’ series.

Connect with Kathy

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Goodreads

Amazon

Write. Or your creative ink will dry up.

Writing Tip #2–Writing is Pain, Learn to Take a Hit

Thought this was worth a share. I love Kristen’s no nonesense (often humorous) approach to giving writing tips and advice…

Kristen Lamb's Blog

Want to be a writer? Expect suffering. Lose your illusions and embrace pain. Writing is not always a glittery unicorn hug, and we don’t get what we wish for, we get what we work for. This profession is not for the faint of heart, namely because 1) it’s hard 2) it’s often under appreciated 3) great writing requires us to expose our soft tender parts and hope no one carves them out with a spork.

I’ve said it before. Just because we have command of our native language in no way qualifies us to create a work of art spanning 50,000 to 100,000 or more words. We need to study, practice, apply what we learn (WRITING), and grow a damn thick skin.

Grow Rhino Skin

No matter how well we write, someone won’t like our stuff. It’s just reality. Ten years ago, I went to my first critique thinking every…

View original post 778 more words