Tina Haapala, Excuse Editor

The Flower on my Pangea Organics business card For an entire decade, a full one-quarter of my life so far, I worked at a manufacturing/distribution company.  The company made stuff and sold stuff. I was perfectly content to support the company with customer service, administration and inventory management throughout that time.  The thought of selling anything, however, made me freeze. Marketing?  Fine. Sharing information in a trade show booth? Fabulous. Asking someone for their money in return for a fine product? I’d rather chew glass and wash it down with turpentine. That’s why I am so amused with my recent choice. I’m an Independent Rep with Pangea Organics skincare. It’s a skincare company focused on healthy solutions from natural, organic sources, so my diversion to the sales aspect would be more like washing a mouthful of chia seeds down with the blended juice of a cucumber, kale, and pineapple. You can read a bit about my decision here , but basically, ...

If you work on deadlines, either from your employer, client, or self-imposed, you have probably figured out your “racing” style. You may be best writing under pressure, forced to open up the creative muse with mere minutes left to submit your work. You may have learned that kind of pressure puts you at a complete standstill. Writer SK Walker said on my Facebook page recently, “This is creativity, not boxing chocolates on a conveyor belt”. So instead of the pressuring procrastination, you keep a slow and steady pace, arriving at your deadline rested and on-time. I'm not here to say what is best, I'm here to remind you to discover what works best for you. I recently finished up a “bootcamp” program at my local YMCA. It involved some running , in the almost brutal North Texas heat. The last day was the big hoo-rah, as we were scheduled to take a 4 mile run. I think about 100 people had signed up for the class 6 weeks prior; there were 10 of us for that final run. ...

Last time, I talked about people in our lives that are pretty sure they know how to be successful writers, because they spent much of their time reading. Sometimes their advice can be a blessing, sometimes just the opposite. It is the same with the plethora of advice available from other writers. Have you checked out almost every book about the writing process from your local library at one time or another? Are your shelves lined with your own copies of "the-perfect-writing-advice-that-will-get-me-published-once-and-for-all"? Are you a member of multiple online writing communities? Do you hold your breath just a little bit when waiting from the critique from that "certain someone" in your writing group? Yeah. Me too. And I don't think that gaining knowledge is a bad thing. We just have to be careful. Don't Let Too Many Cooks Create a Recipe for Disaster I love great food, I savor the tastes and textures of all kinds of cuisine; but unless I have specif...

OK. You've finally gotten over the fear of labeling yourself as a writer. The next time the opportunity arises, you will take a deep breath and say, "Yes, I write!" You may want to immediately take it back when people start giving you unsolicited writing advice. Today's Problem: Everybody seems to know how to make it in the writing world, except me! Everybody? Well, almost: Today, let's focus on the Avid Readers-- Maybe it's a fellow bookstore browser. Maybe it's your good friend. If an Avid Reader discovers there's a Writer in their midst, she'll usually have a few tips for you-- whether you like it or not-- especially if you don't have a book on the bestseller list, or a byline in a national magazine. "You should write one of those vampire books, they are so hot right now." "Why don't you just finish your novel and get it published?" "You like music; why don't you write something for Rolling S...