Drive-By-Shooting Sundays: Lit Guides

Written by James - 20 Comments

Summer was slipping into autumn and another year was slowly winding down. It would be back to school for many students in just a few short days. Nights were getting cooler and James noticed the leaves on the trees changing colors. “Fall seems to come earlier every year, doesn’t it?”
Harry just nodded. When he had [...]

Writing Your Way to Western Saddle Success

Written by James - 39 Comments

It’s interesting that graphic designers can easily manage to convey to clients that the designers create innovative beauty costing big bucks.
And yet, writers generally have to justify, defend and explain their rates continually.
So what makes the difference? What makes creative design command more money than that creative copy? Is it vision? Skills? Imagination? Tangible goods [...]

Top Ten Blogs for Writers: It’s Time to Vote!

Written by James - 12 Comments

Love our blog? Make sure to spread the word and tell others too by voting for us in the 3rd annual Top Ten Blogs for Writers contest.
We made the cut last year under our old blog name (thank you to all our voters!), and we’d love to be in that Top Ten again this year. [...]

Are You Advertising One Knee or Two?

Written by Harry - 56 Comments

Nothing beats the feeling of seeing that big, brown UPS truck roll up in front of my house. The UPS guy brings me great things. He used to bring me chrome when I first got my bike. Then he brought equipment to trick out my bows.
Now, the UPS god blesses me with gifts for my [...]

How to Feel Consistently Confident About Your Writing

Written by James - 68 Comments

A good friend of ours, Dave Navarro of Rock Your Day (no, not the guitar player), consistently kicks our ass around as much as we kick his. Hey, we’re equal opportunity guys like that. Ass-kicking is fun.
Dave is more than just a target for our boots, though. He’s the kind of rare guy that can [...]

Drive-by-Shooting Sunday: Yes to Me

Written by James - 23 Comments

“Water, water everywhere…” Harry chanted from time to time, longing for a drink but knowing the salt in the ocean wouldn’t help the dehydration he felt. And who knew how long they’d be adrift?
The ocean stretched for miles in every direction. After last week’s hit on the deserted island, there was nothing to look at [...]

Finding Your Ideal Reader

Written by Harry - 40 Comments

There comes a time in every writer’s life when the words poured onto pages from the heart are ready for the public.
Alright, maybe not the whole public, but a private kind of public. Stephen King refers to this in On Writing, and he mentions it as finally opening up the office door to let the [...]

The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: A Review

Written by James - 35 Comments

It’s rare that we do a book review here at Men with Pens, but today you’re in for a treat. After my recent shopping spree, I discovered an invaluable book for business. I’ve read it cover to cover, I recommend it, and the best part is, it’s worth the money.
Before you read further, it’s time [...]

Forget the Details and Work On the Big Picture

Written by Harry - 51 Comments

I’ve usually focused on the banner of a blog theme as the foundation of the whole design. The banner is the welcome mat to a site. It’s the first thing people see, it sets the tone and mood, and it works with your content to make people remember your site.
A Stroke of Utter Genius
Once upon [...]

Drive-by-Shooting Sundays: Your Writing Cure

Written by James - 12 Comments

After leaping out the windows and running to safety during last week’s hit, the boys had sat in the getaway car for a long time.
Harry was disappointed. No SCUBA diving. James was disappointed too – no resort luxury vacation. So they’d waited until the timing was right, paid off one of the locals and had [...]

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