Writing Tips: Sharing is Caring

BookBaby is a self-publishing website that I use for promotion tips. It’s totally free and helpful. Recently, I shared a link for a free download they were offering to Bookbaby members (a $10 value). One of my Facebook friends thanked me for doing so, claiming she’d seen the “crab-in-a-barrel” mentality among authors. I could understand why I wouldn’t

Open Letter to online reviewers

Dear Reader, I read your review, the one where you gave me one-star and compared the first few chapters of The Lost Testament to an “eighth grade assignment for a short story.” You’e not alone. Another one-star giver said it was “just bad” and “uninteresting.” Someone else called it “not worth finishing.” I’m not going to

How much does it REALLY cost to publish yourself?

Mike from Conyers, GA asked me this question a few weeks ago. I gave him my accountant’s answer: “It depends.” Well, to self-publish a fiction or non-fiction book, you need an ISBN and barcode from here. That’s $125 for the ISBN and $25 for the barcode. If anyone offers to sell you an ISBN for

When do you break the rules?

I’m a recent devotee of Margie Lawson’s deep EDITS system. She recommends that you use highlighters to code different aspects of your writing. Whenever you see too much of a color, that lets you know your writing is out of balance. It also shows your tendencies. My writing tends to drift into thoughts, action, and

Seven Essential Things to Remember About Very Important Characters

I’m all for original content, but I’m also for not reinventing the wheel. I came across this blog post and thought it insightful enough to re-post. What do you think: good advice or not? Stories revolve around protagonists and antagonists and it is a good idea to introduce them in the first chapters of your book.

Roll up the partition: Where does artistic responsibility begin?

I’m a fan of Beyonce. Was a fan, until her latest album permanently turned me off and unplugged me from fandom. Hardly a “hater,” but I disagree with its direction.There’s no artistic responsibility there — meaning, I won’t take my preteen niece to a Beyonce concert (not like I was itching to do that anyway). This

Can you help me? My virtual book tour conundrum

Let’s put it out there. Brick-and-mortar book tours for indie authors (without a massive grassroots following) can be a waste of time. Say you can carry an event crowd-wise. Most stores want around 55% of your retail price. They ring the register, keep your money, and cut you a 45% check 30 days later. Unless

Why social media SCREAMING isn’t the answer to your bottom line

Ever wonder why people aren’t buying your stuff? I do. From a previous life as a men’s suit salesman, I’ve learned one thing about retail of any kind. When it’s good, it’s good and when it’s bad, it’s BAD. Everyone goes through down cycles. It’s just indie or self-published authors go through it longer and more often and

What’s coming in 2014

Ready for a Christmas party? So am I. Almost. Maybe not so much. My blog has been an accurate reflection of my writing time once school started. Some of you know I have returned to the classroom as a high school literature and journalism teacher. In between the lessons and grading, I don’t have very

Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling

So, I stumbled upon these rules, written by one of Pixar’s storyboard artists, here. Tell me what you think. (I’m a big fan of #3, #6-#8) #1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes. #2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to