Author: Marina

What does it mean to be a friend?

  In my early twenties, I hung out with a group of people whose company I greatly enjoyed. They were educated, interesting, creative, and fun. I invited them over for dinner parties, costume parties, just-get-together parties, and to spend time by the pool at the apartment complex where I lived. Sometimes I would hear that […]

Growing up with poison

What‘s it like growing up with an emotionally abusive parent? Imagine that every meal you eat is poisoned. Not enough to kill you, but enough to make you feel nauseated all the time. Every meal makes you sick, sometimes so sick you are afraid you‘re going to die. If you try to tell the person […]

Self-publishing tip #5: Hire professionals to design and typeset the interior

This post is part of a series on self-publishing. You’ll find links to all posts in this series in the first post. Try this: flip through a half dozen books from your bookcase. What do you notice? How do the pages look? What about the fonts? Are they intrusive, or do they match the subject of […]

How to self-publish step #3: Get your book professionally edited

This post is part of a series on self-publishing. You’ll find links to all posts in this series in the first post. Imagine your doctor has written you a note recommending a course of treatment. It goes something like this: U r going 2 b ok. Eat tree meels a day, and take tow tablets of this medecasion […]

How to self-publish step #2: get your book reviewed while you’re writing it

This post is part of a series on self-publishing. You’ll find links to all posts in this series in the first post. When you’ve completed a draft of your book that you feel good about, Ask people to review it. Decide how you want to manage your reviews. Pay attention to the feedback. Consider using a […]

How to self-publish step #1: write your book

The first thing, the very most essential thing, in publishing (self- or otherwise) is that you need to write a book. Oh, and by the way: once you publish a book, you are considered an expert on that topic. Yes, even if it’s a terrible book. So write it! All you need to do is make […]