Author: Peggy Bechko

Peggy Bechko takes writers “Off the Beaten Path”

Valerii_Tkachenko_Wikimedia

by Peggy Bechko

I’m not going to talk about screen scripts or novels or even writing – directly – today. What I’m going to talk about is life. Now, it’s not going to be some great philosophical spew or anything like that, more of a rumination that applies greatly to writers.
Now sit back folks and ponder.

Life is interesting and little of it is planned. If you don’t believe me, look back on your own life and consider how much you really planed out and how much happened along a twisting, turning course and just kind of sorted itself out as you went along making plans.

Still with me? read article

Peggy Bechko talks “Agent Basics for Writers”

'agent' is just another word for...
A diagramatic guide to agents for ya!

by Peggy Bechko

I’m not going to get into the minutia or contracts or any of that stuff – it’s just too much to handle here. What I am going to discuss in this post are a few Agent basics since a few people I’ve spoken to seem to be a bit confused on the subject.

So, in broad strokes, here it is.

If you’re going the traditional publishing route you may want to hook up with an agent and that isn’t as easy as it may first sound. But, there are fewer obstacles than one might imagine. One of them isn’t upfront cash. read article

Peggy Bechko: You Write, You Edit

stressed-editor

by Peggy Bechko

I could stop right there with title, don’t you think? Doesn’t matter what you write; novels, articles, screenplays. If you write it you better edit it.

Why, you say, if the story is great and your writing passable? Well, mainly because passable doesn’t cut it these days.

Really. read article

Peggy Bechko: Whip Out Your Armor Plating And Write

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by Peggy Bechko

We’re writers. Mostly. And over the years we’ve toughened our hides to all kinds of criticism and rejection, right?

Well mostly.

Sort of. read article

Peggy Bechko & The Publishing, Writing & Reading Revolution!

revolution-1by Peggy Bechko

Publishing and by extension, writing, are in the throes of a revolution the like of which has not been seen since the invention of the printing press.

Out there is a whole brave new world (or maybe not so brave but undeniably new).  If you’re a writer in nearly any field you can’t have missed the chat, buzz and hair-pulling about the new direction publishing is taking. If you’re a reader (and writers are readers in addition to their writing hats) you can’t have missed the rapid changes; the introduction of electronic readers, the ability to read with smart phones and tablets and of course the old paperback, hardback, newspapers and magazines still fight for their place in the market.

But, as always there’s more than one side to a coin. You’ll read some articles raving about it’s the best time ever to publish, that things are shifting rapidly in favor of the author. After all there’s self-publishing now with Print On Demand and EBooks, along with the traditional publishing paradigm. Things are great, right? Things can only get better and better. read article