Other Stuff

For years authors have been hoping for something that makes book formatting easier. Vellum is a great solution for Mac users but there’s never been anything comparable to it for PC users, who have to rely on buggy formatting with MS Word, a steeper learning curve with InDesign, or some functional but limited online book formatting tools like those from …

This evening I realized I’m close to 100K in lifetime book sales, so I set up an “ask me anything” thread on Reddit’s largest writing group. I was nervous, because Redditors can be hostile, but having frequented the site more recently, I knew a LOT of writers were struggling with some pretty basic, common writing and publishing questions. It was …

There’s a financial war going on. Some peeps on Reddit took smart bets against Wall Street positions, which were severely over leveraged – assuming big companies would fail or shut down during the Pandemic. They realized if they pushed the stock up, the hedge funds would be forced to compete or buy at high prices to minimize losses. Some of …

I just got an email from someone saying they were too depressed to publish, so I’m sharing my response: “Release it first, promote it later; the market decides whether they like it, and the work is what it is, so don’t let your feelings or doubts stop you from getting it out there.” Edit: Now I’m rethinking my answer though …

For the second year in a row, my humble mess of a blog got listed by the WriteLife as one of the top 100 sites for writers – right next to Jane Friedman and Dave Chesson, so I thought I’d mark the moment with some stories.I *met* Dave years ago when I was in Taiwan, and he called me up to chat …

How to Make the Dream Come True Every journey begins with a single step. Derek Murphy helped me navigate and overcome the obstacle course between me and my destination of becoming a successful Indie fantasy author. We met online after I’d completed my first medieval fantasy novel. I was lurking around his website, CreativIndie. As I remember, I entered one …

It’s been a few weeks since I launched Book Craft, the writing guide I’ve been working on all year, and reviews are terrible. I don’t really have a great place to discuss this, so I’m starting a blog post here. It’s obviously not great marketing to talk about bad reviews in a defensive preface; or even in the end of …

After spending years as a developmental editor, a decade getting my PhD in Literature and a few writing courses where I helped thousands of writers nail the basics of plotting out their story, I decided to put my best tips on the craft of writing together in a book. I already knew I had unique and helpful content for new …

Twists make readers react. Sometimes, a great plot twist makes your jaw hit the floor, or make you want to turn back to page one and start the book all over again, this time with a whole new perspective. Learning how to write twists will help you entertain your readers and sell your stories, especially if you write mysteries or …

A few years ago I wrote about how to craft a blurb that converts… but today I need to make a confession: I still suck at blurbs. Sometimes I think I get them right. Sometimes other people think my blurbs are awesome (and I’ve seen authors copy what I’m doing). But other times, competitors destroy me with something really different. …