I never recommend writing contest sites that charge an entry fee. No exceptions. I’ve never entered one, because I was out to make a living from my writing, and contests were an unnecessary diversion from my path. Your mileage may vary. But I received an interesting request from someone building a “perpetual writing contest site” and once I removed all … Continue reading →
The chat will start at 1PM EDT. It may run over an hour (the last one did). Here’s your invitation if you haven’t yet signed up: http://app.webinarjam.net/register/4436/e963ecd928 Here’s our discussion schedule: Genre: Discussing What Genre Isn’t, and Why This Matters When To Go to War Over a Book…And When NOT To Writing As A Business (or A Hobby): From Getting … Continue reading →
I’ve set up today’s writing chat so I should be able to answer some live questions along with the ones asked previously. IF YOU HAVE WRITING QUESTIONS… Today’s topics are: Story Planning (Plotting) Character Development Writing from Different Points of View What About Genre Writer Myths AND Writing Myths Revision and Editing (Are NOT Synonyms) And I have downloadable notes sheets and … Continue reading →
Where this comes from: A new SFWA member happy to have qualified—who is also one of my writing students—contacted me privately to present misrepresentations of what I said here that were being presented in SFWA’s private forums. I will post MY first reply, the reply from SFWA President Steven Gould, and my definitive response: MY FIRST REPLY: The potential for … Continue reading →
Writing was, and is, my passion. I worked at my fiction from the time I was twenty-five until I was thirty-one without ever making a dime, and never begrudged a minute of that time. While I was writing, I was happy. I was creating. I was learning to write better. I was finding my stories and my voice. I was … Continue reading →
I’ve been corresponding back and forth with a student of mine for a while now, and think you’ll find the story of how she hit print inspiring—and amazing. So I’d like to introduce you to Lauren Orbison, author of Tortellini [link goes to her site], and her tell you this story herself. Lauren garnered serious interest from a couple of … Continue reading →
I did that interview with Simon Whistler… http://rockingselfpublishing.com/author/simon/ (link opens in new tab) …that went live last Tuesday, and from doing that interview I bumped into Hugh Howey, and from doing that, I encountered an entire series of links to writers who have done the HARD math on self-publishing. I’m only giving you two. There are many, but these two are CRITICAL … Continue reading →
First, here is the substantive difference between a contract without live links to the appends, and one with: When you print off a PDF (at least, when you do it on a Mac—if Windows doesn’t do this, consider VERY carefully before you sign your document) the PDF notes the URL of the document on every page on the top right … Continue reading →
The content is the same—only now you can see, read, and print off (use pdf, it works better) every single line, clause, and sub-sub clause that pertains to you. DO print off and save every bit of it. Every page, every sub-page, every page that is marked as part of the agreement. When these clauses are updated—any of them—B&N must … Continue reading →
This is from the April 3, 2013 Nook Press Terms and Conditions: And trust me, you are going to want to read this bad boy yourself. But I’ll comment here. My highlights of my excerpts of their text are bold, my personal comments are indented italic. IMPORTANT NOTE: I am not a lawyer. I am a writer who reads the … Continue reading →
