Sometimes I get manic and think something is a GREAT idea. I get really excited about it, and think everybody else is going to be excited, too. One time I planned a Twilight-themed dance party (don’t judge me). One of the movies was coming out (I don’t remember which one), so I booked a space at a club, got the city’s …

UPDATE: I made a video talking about this stuff but it’s down at the bottom of this post. Scroll down to see it.      I’ve been self-publishing for about a decade, and have sold thousands of books. I haven’t made a living (yet), and like most self-publishing gurus and experts, I make my living in services rather than with …

On this page I’m going to keep an updated time-line of what I’m working on. That will give you an idea of what kind of stuff to expect from me. I don’t always stick to my own schedules (sometimes life gets in the way). But at least it helps me organize my plans and goals. Summer 2016 I thought I’d …

One of the things authors always ask is “How can I find more time for my writing?” But what they mean is, “How can I just write all the time, write what I want, and not do any marketing?” The question usually comes up from either a long-term inability to finish their book; insecurity about which project they should be …

Since finishing my PhD in literature, my wife and I are truly location independent and write full-time. One of the biggest productivity hacks I’ve found is to put myself in beautiful and inspiring environments (that are mostly distraction free). While some argue they can “write from anywhere” – I’m a firm believer in what Cal Newport calls the “grand gesture” mode …

I wrote an article a year ago about what I see most self-publishing authors doing wrong. They’re still doing it. So I made a new post… with a big infographic. If you want to help indie authors and self-publishers succeed (and gently nudge them away from being annoying and spammy) please share – you can add this infographic on your …

This week a bunch of projects came together quickly, including this one, which I started last November. I had the story, courtesy of Suzanne Gochenouer and the art is by Donovan Scherer It took a few hours to format, then design the book covers, and then upload to Amazon. 24 hours later it’s published. I really think this is a great project though… …

Since I started writing fiction, I learned my design skills and art background make me really good at visualizing scenes. I even developed some mental tricks for creating powerful, resonant scenes that stick in people’s minds. I started thinking of each scene as one perfect picture, with a flash of color to draw the eye – an object representing the …

Yesterday I sent out an email about how I published 4 books in 3 months. I didn’t write them all in 3 months, they were all half written already and I finished them. Still, I got some skeptical comments, for example about how I skipped the editing process (oh the horror!). But I also got an email saying I was …

I’m a big fan of helping indie authors – I don’t think anyone can call me selfish with my time or resources (I give away a lot of both, freely). But I also don’t retweet other authors very often. In fact, I actively purge my feed of book promotions or spam. And I unfollow authors who share them. Twitter is …