Heather Kyoht Luterman, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons Quick PSA that dinosaurs are for everyone (adults and kids alike)! Anyone else a fan of the show Ghosts on CBS? The latest season did a fantastic job showing off the character Captain Isaac Higgintoot’s love of dinosaurs shortly after discovering their existence. For those who might not be familiar with the show, he’s a Continental Army officer who died two weeks after the siege of Fort Ticonderoga in 1777. For context, no one from his time would have known about dinosaurs. The first dino named, the way we name them today, was Megalosaur ..read more

By Eleanor Hecks You finally wrote “The end,” edited your book to perfection, and now you’re ready to release it to the world. How can you ensure your book launch is successful? Since most writers make very little profit on their books, getting a good return on investment for promotions is crucial. Here are some ways to craft a marketing strategy for your self-published book launch on any budget. 1. Know Your Competition Writing has a 4% annual growth rate. In recent years, the number of self-published authors has skyrocketed as platforms like Amazon and IngramSpark allow people to put their ..read more

I’m really bad at celebrating wins but this one is big…last week we released our 500th episode for our podcast I Know Dino! Garret and I have learned a lot these past 500 episodes, as both dinosaur enthusiasts and podcasters. Some of our biggest takeaways are: Dinosaurs bring people together. People travel hundreds of miles to volunteer to dig and prepare fossils. Crowds come together dressed in inflatable T. rex costumes, all to meet other amazing people in the dino community Anyone can become a paleontologist. There are so many different paths that lead to paleo: research, fossil hunting ..read more

By Matt Pierce An efficient workspace is crucial for writers and creatives who rely on their environment to nurture their productivity and creativity. The design of a workspace can significantly impact the flow of ideas and the ease with which projects are completed. It is about creating a balance between functionality and inspiration, ensuring that every element within the room serves a purpose and fosters the creative process. For writers, a well-designed workspace is a sanctuary where words can freely flow from thought to text. Factors such as lighting, ergonomics, and the minimization of d ..read more

By Eleanor Hecks Does the thought of using artificial intelligence (AI) for your books make you shudder? You can use it for more than just spitting out chapters. How much or little you use AI depends on your comfort with the technology. Thanks to platforms such as Kindle KDP and Draft2Digital, authors were already embracing the self-publishing world. But now, they have access to myriad AI tools to streamline their processes. Authors have to wear many hats while building a publishing empire. One of their most significant challenges is getting everything done without spending a fortune. Enter A ..read more

The 1920s. When wealthy American adolescent Matthew Cameron moves to France following his parents’ divorce, he struggles to assimilate to his new surroundings. But when a new tennis instructor—Michel Garnier—arrives at Matthew’s boarding school, a forbidden relationship develops that will have unforeseen consequences. Published in 1951, Finistère is a trailblazing LGBTQ+ novel. It locates tragedy not in the same-sex nature of the relationship between Matthew and Michel, but rather in the failure of their family, and wider society, to accept their relationship. Having sold over 350,000 copies ..read more

Dinosaurs constantly blow my mind. Some were giants as heavy as whales, just walking around, minding their own business, but also probably shaping the landscapes around them. It’s amazing to think about, though not that far-fetched of an idea. Today, animals like elephants have a big impact on their ecosystems. They clear pathways in forests that other animals can use. Their footprints are so large that, when they’re full of water, they can be a home for smaller organisms. (And compared to the biggest long-necked sauropods, elephants seem tiny.) The thing is, dinosaurs left behind way more th ..read more

I’ve been a writer for over half my life but it wasn’t until the last few years I realized the power of storytelling for any situation. Especially when it comes to ads. At I Know Dino, we’ve been working with brands since almost the beginning. But it took a while to get the hang of it. We knew to work with companies that both we and our audience find interesting. (That excitement translated well when we talked them up in our show.) We knew how to structure packages in a way that was win-win for everyone. (It’s not just about host-read podcast ads in the show—we also offer placements in our new ..read more

Sometimes it’s better not to be the expert in your niche.   When we first started our dinosaur podcast nine years ago, we were not at all dinosaur experts. We’d loved dinosaurs as kids, and were amazed that there was so much new dinosaur science happening (new dinos are discovered every week)!   We wanted to share our enthusiasm, and we dove right in with our show.   I’ll admit, listening back to our early episodes is a bit cringe.   I thought all paleontologists knew everything there was to know about everything dinosaur-related (yes, they are very knowledgable, but now I ..read more

When I have wandered long enough what am I still beholden to? Ifá. Nature. Illness. Love. Loss. Misogyny. Aging. Africa. Our wounded planet. In this sweeping yet intensely personal collection, Lauren Martin tells the untold stories of the marginalized, the abused, the ill, the disabled—the different. Inspired by her life’s experiences, including the isolation she has suffered as a result both of living with chronic illness and having devoted herself to a religion outside of the mainstream, these poems explore with raw vulnerability and unflinching honesty what it is to live apart—even as one ..read more