How to use this Page

Brainstorming on my chalkboard wall One of the scariest aspects of my decision to focus on fiction for 2015 and to take on less client work is where the money for paying bills is going to come from. On the surface, I have a good framework set up to achieve this goal - a stable home with enough room for a home office, a freezer full of  a variety of vegetables from my summer garden, an Autumn

It's now official - the big non-fiction book will be launched on the 9 June 2011.I'm still not sure what I can say or cannot say about the contents of the book, so I'll check with my publisher and maybe tell you more then. I'll also  find out if they will set up a pre-ordering facility and maybe some of y'all can buy a copy or two before the launch? Heh! No presssure on you there! My publisher

Feeling more like myself everyday. It helps that I've shifted some of the work to someone else, lightening my load, and can now focus on things I want to do and/can do well.We also have guests for the weekend: a good friend who lives in Bloem is visiting for the weekend and is quite determined to help me have fun. And one of Baby's friends, whose family commutes between South Africa and

Today I was chatting to a friend of mine who's a PR manager for a multinational IT conglomerate, and we were brainstorming about how he could use Twitter more effectively in his business.We were also talking about mutual acquaintances who are also on Twitter, and the conversations that they are having etc. And it struck me that I'm not listening to many of these conversations. I'm not even

It looks like opportunities are like trouble: when it rains, it pours. So, on Friday afternoon I had an email, and later a call, from an insert director of a TV programme, asking if I'm interested in working on one or two episodes with them using my children's stories.I couldn't say YES fast enough!The first season of the series is already being broadcast on a national TV station , so my story

Some great news to warm me on this cold winter day: the publishers of an anthology I contributed to in 2007 have contacted me to say they would like to publish a second edition of the book.Of course I'm saying yes, especially as they sweetened the pot with some kind of payment and immediately emailed me a contract when I gave a verbal agreement.Details are still sketchy at this stage, but I'll

On Friday I received a Facebook request from the rep of a German publisher asking me to send him my contact details.The publisher wanted to publish one of my articles in a textbook under development, and they wanted to send me details.Within hours, the whole process was ironed out: they’d already worked out how the story would be used and had a draft lay-out of the page.All they needed was to

Having worked as a tech journalist for a number of years, and personally loving technology and how it has improved my life and work, I'm still flabbergasted to learn that a slight acquiantance resigned from her job by SMS.The resignation was with immediate effect.As far as I know, there was no bad blood between the employer and employee. There hadn't been a major scene at work that would result

Today is Writers' Worth Day and writers all over the world are blogging about the worth of a writer. The issue that is being raised in many ways is: "Writers should be paid a living wage for their work."That means, writers should ask for what they are worth, and publishers should offer writers what they are worth.I want to look at the issue from a perspective of someone who earns her living as a

Today's post is a tad long. But a number of friends and business associates have repeatedly asked me what it’s like to work from home and my usual answer has been “it’s great, I love it,” and I do. But it’s not easy, and I want to share some of the lessons I learnt in the four months since I quit my fulltime job as a journalist:Working space1. How will your neighbours's daytime activities affect

The handover process is bittersweet. There's a part of me that's raring to get started on my commissioned work. These include a profile of someone who's work I was aware of, but never had a good enough excuse to interview, and a story for an anthology by an international publisher. But yesterday there were two major developments in my beat (telecoms). I'm happy with the individual taking over

One of the reasons I blogged sporadically for the past six months is that there were major developments in my writing life and I did not feel comfortable about sharing them yet. But now it’s official: starting 1 July I will no longer work for ITWeb as a fulltime journalist and plan to work from home as a writer and author. This does not mean that I’m leaving the ICT industry altogether. In fact

Despite being robbed in Barcelona, my visit to that city to attend the annual Mobile World Congress this February was for the most part very enjoyable. The conference was very well attended, and I learnt quite a lot about the mobile phone business and how to manage a hectic conference schedule and still enjoy a new city. I loved Barcelona. The city is beautiful; very friendly for bikers,

My friend finally came out of the hospital, and is on the way to recovery. So things are quieter, more stable in both our households. I also feel like I’ve taken more control of my writing life. For the past week I’ve been attending a writing course at work called Writing on Deadline. The course, run by Paula Fray and Associates, is usually taken over three full days, but it’s been customized

I've just written a story ( with fellow-journalist Christelle Du Toit) for ITWeb Online which looks at the power crisis SA faces and the impact this will have on economic growth, industrial investment (there is moratorium on new big projects), ICT investment ( a key development driver) and usage by companies and individuals. The one issue the article doesn't deal with is the impact the power

I just put up a post on Mobile Life announcing MTN Banking’s “10 Things To Do Before You Die” promotion. Participants stand to win R50 000 that will enable them to do their chosen activity. The promotion lists some fun, interesting, meaningful and even life-changing things to choose from. - Discover the world - Start a charity fund - Climb Kilimanjaro - Drive a porche 911 - Be a highroller in

Yesterday I was approached by a publisher to write a book. I can’t say much about the project, as the contract has not been signed yet. But we emailed back and forth throughout the day and spoke on the phone. We established the work fits in well with my skills set, work experience and interests. She also sent the material that forms the basis of the book. She says we’ll know by the end of the

Today I set up Google Ads to try to see if this blog can earn its way. Essentially, if you click on the ad, I earn a couple of cents (US) regardless of whether you buy something or not. Let me know if you find the advertisements intrusive.

Warm off the presses, here are the top choices for 2007 by the folks at Publishers Weekly. You'll notice that a couple of these titles made an appearance here at various points during the year.

According to PW: 

Alas (tinged with a bit of "hooray"), the end is near. The end of the wait for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The purported end of J.K. Rowling's tales of the boy wizard. And the end of at least two Potter-world characters, perhaps even Harry himself. We hope that all our readers come to "the end" of HP7 in their own time, with no spoilers—despite the proliferation of leaks, early sales of the book and now, reviews in the New York Times and Baltimore Sun. In the meantime, we bring you the final stories leading up to Deathly Hallows' official debut. (And rest assured, no spoilers here.)  READ MORE

I seriously thought the New York Times, of all businesses, would have more decorum than that.

PW Children's Books Fall 2007...

Guess what just landed in my inbox? The Publishers Weekly Children's Books Fall 2007 issue! It's chock full of info on "nearly 3,000" upcoming books with cover illustrations thrown in here and there, along with colorful full-page ads from many many children's publishers. It sort of like a collection of mini publishers' catalogs.

The cover features a darling illustration by Sara Varon that I discovered after ripping off the ad-cover "Introducing '70s girl Julie Albright," American Girl's newest character who seems to have stolen the exact outfit I wore for my class picture in the fifth grade.

If you want to grab a copy of this issue from the newsstand, the cover price is $12.

Harry Potter in the News (surprise surprise!)...

Today I discovered a couple of interesting Potter pieces in the media. First The New York Times ran a piece saying the claim that reading the Harry Potter books helps turn kids into book lovers is overblown (which, if it's true, is unfortunate).

A Publishers Weekly article reveals that the Nielsen people have come up with a report offering all sorts of Potter-related statistics on books sales and movie sales, what they call The Potter Effect. Here are a few choice stats:

• Scholastic has spent from $300,000-plus to $900,000-plus on promotion for the various Harry Potter titles with a total of $3.6 million spent on U.S. promotion for all Potter-related books.
• 27.7 million copies of Harry Potter books have been sold in the U.S. since 2001.
  
• 51% of people in the U.S. are aware there's a new Harry Potter book coming out. (Do the the other 49% live under rocks or in biospheres or something? How do they not know?)
• 28% of people in the U.S. over the age of 12 have read at least one of the books. I am not among them--I've not read any of them.