In spite of everything (and there’s a lot of “everything” going on right now), I took the entire day off yesterday to play a video game. Not just any video game, though. The one for which I went out and bought a Playstation several years ago, and the one for which I dug out my X-Box and bought a NEW … Continue reading →
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 →
