#DiannePearce


  • It’s a Beastie Boys World: I Just Live In It. Free Guide!

    It’s a Beastie Boys World: I Just Live In It. Free Guide!

    Oh man, you found the perfect song for your novel. Only thing is, it’s not your song. What’s an author to do? What Can You Safely Use: Song Titles Book Titles TV Show Titles Titles typically cannot be copyrighted. What Can You Not Use Without Checking Copyright First: Song lyrics Quotations from people (famous or…


  • LIVE & LOCAL

    LIVE & LOCAL

    Are you in or near Maryland? Don’t miss a chance to see Gabby live! May 30th Kensington Row Bookshop 3786 Howard Avenue; Kensington, MD See Gabby’s book!


  • Am I the Only One Rick Riordan Is Writing to?

    Am I the Only One Rick Riordan Is Writing to?

    CURRENT WORDS PUBLISHING VENDOR VETTING CHECKLIST FOR AUTHORS ARE YOU AT RISK OF BEING TRICKED BY SPAM? Does everything in the emails sound like a dream come true, such as “We think your book would make a great movie”? Do you have someone helping you decide whether these offers are legitimate? Do you prefer to stay…


  • Poetry and Mentorship from Old Scratch Press

    Poetry and Mentorship from Old Scratch Press

    Did you know that we also run Old Scratch Press (OSP)? OSP is a group that loves writing and reading short form writing like poetry, flash fiction, and flash memoir. The group formed from the writers who had been published in Instant Noodles Lit Mag. Several times each month writers in the group post articles…


  • Do Authors Need a Website? Yes, and Here’s Why It Matters

    Do Authors Need a Website? Yes, and Here’s Why It Matters

    “Do I need an author website?” Yes, you do. And we build them. You don’t need a big author website, and you don’t need an expensive one. For about $68 a year, you can have a clean, professional home on WordPress, one you actually own. No gatekeepers, no middlemen, no wondering where your content went. If…


  • Alexander Brito on Writing, Coaching and His Debut Novel Creatures of Habit

    Alexander Brito on Writing, Coaching and His Debut Novel Creatures of Habit

    On April 25, 2016, Yovanni Guerra wakes to an ordinary morning: a sleeping wife, a six-year-old son, and the quiet comfort of family life in Miami. A devoted husband, father, and elementary school teacher, Yovanni has built a life defined by love, loyalty, and hard-earned stability. But beneath the surface lies a past he has…


  • Get to Know World Anvil

    Get to Know World Anvil

    World Anvil is an online worldbuilding platform where writers, game masters, and creators organize everything about their fictional universes in one place, from maps and timelines to characters, cultures, and lore. For fantasy readers, it’s like stepping behind the curtain of a novel: you can explore the deeper history of a world, uncover hidden details about…


  • When Amazon Puts Your Book On Sale: What Authors Need to Know

    When Amazon Puts Your Book On Sale: What Authors Need to Know

    Every now and then, authors publishing on KDP get a small but meaningful surprise. Their book appears on Amazon below the retail price (i.e., Amazon lowers the list price). A deal badge appears. Readers start noticing it more than they had before. And the first instinct is usually to ask what it means. Is it…


  • Pass the Mic

    Pass the Mic

    What is Pass the Mic? Who is Emilie? Will I like Ignoring Alva? How can I sign up? Read a little of Ignoring Alva by clicking the big button!


  • We Missed You!

    We Missed You!

    Over 30 people joined us at last weekend’s mixer, and three lucky attendees walked away with signed books or custom art. The room was buzzing with conversation, laughter, and new connections, and we truly wished you could have been there. It was an evening full of energy, creativity, and good company. I love meeting people…


  • Don’t Miss the Mixer!

    Don’t Miss the Mixer!

    This Saturday! Meet Dave, Dianne, and some of the Old Scratch Press crew. We’ve got some free goodies to give away too! Let’s hang out!Hope to see you there! REGISTER to attend. (Sorry, no bots allowed!) 🙂 Dianne


  • This Week’s Hot Take

    This Week’s Hot Take

    Are you a subscriber to The Line Edit? If not you’re missing free editing tips, and hot takes like this week’s: When the luck of the Irish won’t help you with your writing, The Line Edit will! And it’s free!


  • Lonely Writers

    Lonely Writers

    Hey there lonely writers! Having trouble keeping the momentum going? Let’s have some fun! Check out my newest video, where I take a look at Edward Gorey’s Fantod Pack, and then let’s see what you can come up with. Our first card leads us into…. The Tunnel!


  • Ready for Romance?

    Ready for Romance?

    Lulu and Tanner are. Meet your matchmaker, Theodora Williams. I met Theodora in summer 2024, when she posted to the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) looking for help. Turns out Theodora had written four, that’s right, 4, romance novels, and wanted, not to be published by someone else, but help self-publishing, creating her own romance publishing…


  • 15 Years to MLK; 17 Years to Acceptance

    15 Years to MLK; 17 Years to Acceptance

    As we pause to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I want to take a moment to acknowledge that we are thankful for his courage, his vision, and his relentless commitment to justice and equality. We are parents to a daughter who is both an immigrant and a minority, and the…


  • Popping the Cork on Champagne, or champagne?

    Popping the Cork on Champagne, or champagne?

    Did you know there is a difference between Champagne and champagne? Well, honestly, there never was in my house growing up. My parents called Asti Spumante, Lancer’s Rose, and cold duck, “Champagne,” because they thought they all were the same. (And I can still remember the oohs and aahs over pink champagne! It was pink!)…


  • A New Year “Hello!” from a Very Real Publishing Team

    A New Year “Hello!” from a Very Real Publishing Team

    Hi Everyone~Before the year wraps up, we wanted to say hello, and introduce ourselves properly. Yes, that is our dog, Oliver. Yes, that is our Christmas tree behind him. And yes, we are very real people who genuinely care about writers and books. We know the internet can feel crowded with promises, shortcuts, and programs…


  • Dan Cohen’s Father’s Dementia Made Dan Into an Author, and One of Our Partners

    Dan Cohen’s Father’s Dementia Made Dan Into an Author, and One of Our Partners

    When did you become a writer? For myself, I had been a writing since elementary school. I began as a playwright. I would write one-act comedy skits I would coerce my friends into performing with me. Fortunately for me, the teachers at Leedom Elementary School were very encouraging, and they always managed to find a…


  • In the Spotlight | Ignoring Alva by Emilie Khair

    In the Spotlight | Ignoring Alva by Emilie Khair

    In the latest installment of our new series, IN THE SPOTLIGHT, Dianne discusses and reads from Emilie Khair’s delightful cozy mystery/adventure tale, IGNORNING ALVA, which features two unforgettable elderly siblings, IGNORING ALVA.


  • NOODLES!!!!

    NOODLES!!!!

    Are you full yet? As if last week didn’t have enough fooooooooood in it, it’s time for Instant Noodles. Instant Noodles is our online literary magazine. Free to read, and free to submit to. The magazine used to be my own private project, with a “little” help from Dave on most of the covers. I…