The Secret to Self-Publishing Success?

FOR THE past six months, I’ve been searching for the secret to self-publishing success. I’ve listened to hours and hours of podcast interviews with full-time self-publishers, watched webinars hosted by authors who sell coaching services, and read several How To books on the topic. I started noticing a pattern early on, and now I want … Continue reading The Secret to Self-Publishing Success? →

All First-Person Protagonists are Writers

DO YOU ever think about that? There’s an exception, of course: novels presented as transcribed verbal storytelling, like Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne. For the most part, though, all first-person protagonists are writers. That’s not to say the character necessarily identifies as a writer within the time frame of the story, but whatever they experienced in … Continue reading All First-Person Protagonists are Writers →

What if It Happens to You? | A Portrait of a Querying Writer

YOU'RE READY. You believe this is the book. Your synopsis is just right. Your query letter could hook a person who doesn't even read. You've generated a list of agents who represent your genre, a balance of high-profile presidents of the agency to senior agents to associate agents. You send out a batch of queries. … Continue reading What if It Happens to You? | A Portrait of a Querying Writer →

My Favorite Twitter Poet | Book Recommendation

I'VE BEEN reading John R. Hinton's poetry ever since I joined the Writing Community on Twitter. You might have read some, too, because this guy TWEETS IN POETRY ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY. Now he's released his first collection, BLACKBIRD SONGS. It's a refreshing thing to come across in the endless sea of writer's lifts, What's Your Character's … Continue reading My Favorite Twitter Poet | Book Recommendation →

The Right Idea and Its Perfect Execution

WHAT IS the secret to writing a successful book? Well, first we have to define successful. For the sake of this discussion, let’s say it’s a book that gets you an agent, a major publishing contract, remarkable sales, and ultimately a lifelong career as an author. Is there a formula for success in the publishing … Continue reading The Right Idea and Its Perfect Execution →

I Read Dozens of Manuscripts in 2019 | Here’s What I Learned

I'VE BEEN reflecting on all the unpublished manuscripts I read and critiqued in 2019, ranging from sci-fi to high fantasy to detective procedural to YA romance to literary efforts that don't fit into a genre category. Despite the range of styles and writing quality, if you were to take my critiques of all these books … Continue reading I Read Dozens of Manuscripts in 2019 | Here’s What I Learned →

How Game of Thrones Should Have Ended | The Light of the Seven

THIS IS my take on how Game of Thrones should have ended. I call it The Light of the Seven, and it could have been achieved in the same number of episodes allotted to the past two weak, pathetic, first-draft-sounding seasons. Enjoy. We’re at the beginning of the big moment in what’s currently Season Eight, … Continue reading How Game of Thrones Should Have Ended | The Light of the Seven →