Okay, I’m not completely a slacker. But I’ve been slow in updating you on all that’s been going on. That’s partly because I’ve been writing a Diving Universe novel that kicked my butt all winter. I finished draft one yesterday. Yes, I said Diving Universe. I started out writing a novella to explain something to […]
Continue ReadingI recently got an email that sent a chill through me. It was a newsletter from a traditional publishing organization. This organization is geared toward publishers and editors, not toward writers. The newsletter was essentially an ad for an upcoming seminar that will teach publishers to understand intellectual property and expand their rights business. Why […]
Continue ReadingI had a dry spell for news during the month of March, but as the rains ease in the Northwest, the writing news dry spell ends as well. Or something like that. Yes, I’m mixing metaphors. And not very successfully. First, the latest volume of Fiction River just appeared. Sparks, edited by Rebecca Moesta, contains […]
Continue ReadingBook-shaming. I’ll be so happy if that term disappears because we no longer need it. Right now, however, I think it has moved to another part of the industry. Writers are suffering a lot of book-shaming right now. Or should I say publishing-shaming.
Continue ReadingA lot of the stories I read this past year had wonderful plots. They had great characters and lovely twists. The stories were published, remember, and so they all had something unusual, something strong.
But that something generally wasn’t voice….
Continue ReadingAt this time last year, I wrote several pieces at year end about the state of the publishing industry. I had hoped to do the same this year. But I didn’t have time for cramming on the industry.
However, I did want to talk about the year end. I wanted to look forward as well. In doing so, I decided to read some of the blog posts other people have written about the state of their writing careers in December of 2015, and the plans they have for 2016.
I discovered a theme. And ironically, it was the same thing that Dean and I had been discussing.
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I generally post my recommended reading list a month or three after I’ve done the reading. Which means that all of the holiday stories that I read get recommended in January or February. In 2011, I decided to do a compilation of past holiday recommends so that you can get them for the appropriate season.
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Marie Force wrote a lovely blog post this week on the five-year anniversary of her major success as an indie writer. She busts a few myths about her career in the post, and she’s very clear about her numbers, and the events that came together to launch her success. She’s written something similar before, but […]
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What a week. I have a lot of news to share, most of which will save you money….
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I’m sure you’ve all seen the first. Stephen King wrote one of his every-five-years or so essays defending the prolific writer. His essays are always a little defensive, because he’s writing for the literary crowd, and always a little perplexed, as if he’s not sure why people complain when someone writes fast. (I’m perplexed about that too.)
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