Publishing a book today takes a village (Part One of Three) — You’ve spent months on your book. You wrote a decent first or second draft. Are you ready to publish? No. Writing also involves editing, publishing, and marketing — whether you go indie or traditional. In other words, writing is a team sport. After your first draft, or anywhere in your…

The type of writer you are determines your writing life — Writers are writing in all corners of the world, from all ages and backgrounds, and they tend to fall into three categories: Personal Part Time Full Time Knowing which category you fit into can help you understand how to structure your life and what to do with your work when…

Not-to-be-missed articles, info, and news you can use — Welcome to the Next Draft ‘Zine, a roundup of recent posts and bits and bobs I picked up along the way over the past month. Next week I’ll start on my indie writer and publisher journey and share with you tips, tricks and lessons I’m learning along the way. …

2022 in review and a look at what’s to come — At the end of 2021, I closed my nonprofit, Change Food. I thought I’d continue consulting and working in some aspect of healthy food advocacy as I wrote fiction. The universe had other plans. In early spring, a friend (Kri) reconnected after fifteen or so years to say she’d read…

Food waste is a huge contributor to climate change — find out why and what you can do this holiday and beyond — So much food is eaten and wasted this time of year I wanted to spend a few minutes on the issue of food waste. According to Feeding America, 108 BILLION pounds of food is wasted in the United States each year. That equals 130 BILLION meals thrown away with $408…

Part Three of creating transformative personal change in your life — This is the last in the series on creating change in your life. This week we’ll look at the third aspect — being still. If you missed the other articles, you can catch up with “On Being a Writer,” the piece that inspired this sub-series, as well as “How to…

More people dislike the holidays than you might think. Suggestions if you’re one of them. — I admit it. I’m not too fond of the November/December holidays. I hate the materialism and pressure to have a great time. I detest Christmas music so much that I stay out of stores as much as possible. I’m taking earplugs if I have to shop this month. I can…

The history of pumpkin, why it’s good for you, and an 18th century recipe — Many Native Americans consider Thanksgiving a day of mourning. It’s a reminder of the genocide they’ve endured for hundreds of years. So as you gather over the holidays with family and friends, I hope you reflect on all things good in your life. I have so much to be grateful…

Part Two: Stay motivated and keep your feet moving forward — Welcome to the second installment of “How To Create Personal Change,” part of the “On Being a Writer” series (though you don’t have to be a writer to relate). As I mentioned last week, there were three steps that helped me get to a jumping-off point for my life change…