I’m a big believer in structure. My brain is scatter-shot even on my best days, and it’s important that I have checklists and an organized structure to make sure that the mistakes I do make are new and fresh, and not as a result of, say, forgetting to update the backcover copy on the latest […]
Deconstructing cover art can teach you the principles behind good design that you can use to make your own covers, or in conveying your needs to the artist. On the road to becoming an indie author, you have to pick up skills in a number of areas. It is more than learning how to write […]
Watching movies about writers and writing with the non-writers in your household (i.e., non-supportive spouses) might teach them that yes, you really are working.
The five below are part of a longer list we’ve compiled. Some of them involve writers peripherally, while others center on playwrights, journalists, or screenwriters. Many of these films are obscure art house films. Others are not.
We’ve had a couple of event recently at Peschel Press that spurred some ruminations about book shows, capitalism and the writer’s role in the marketplace. This is going to be disjointed post, I confess. We’ve been so swamped with work and book shows recently that I didn’t allot time for writing Monday’s CIA post. So […]
As a writer, your hands are one of your most valuable tools. The images that appear in your mind won’t translate to paper without being written down. This is where your hands come in; floating over the keyboard, gripping that expensive French fountain pen, or scribbling notes on scrap paper using a pencil stub. They […]
Today’s CIA is replaced with my account of the York Book Expo 2017. This was our third appearance at the Expo, and unlike the first year, when I forgot the table banner, or last year, when I screwed up our cookie plan, this one went off without a hitch. The expo was moved from the […]
KKR’s latest column talks about subsidiary rights, but her discussion of how she was scammed by a major agency reminds me of a lesson you can’t teach too often when judging literary agents: Whenever you’re dealing with someone you don’t personally know, be cautious. Trust, but verify. In fact, “trust, but verify” is useful when […]
This is one question that we’re taught to answer, whether it’s formulating the idea for a book or marketing a book that’s already published: Who is your audience and how do you find readers for your books? It’s not an easy question to answer. You want answers that work for you, which means you have […]
If you’ve never run a business before, if this is your first book you’ve published, if you’ve read enough success stories and heard come-ons from book marketers that promise a steady income or best-seller status, then we need to talk about expectations. Writing is fun. Creating a story is a blast. Putting words down on […]
There’s no lack of information and advice when it comes to how we should live. The Greek philosophers asked that question and Romans such as Marcus Aurelius left behind works that considered how best we should behave. Today, we are beset by how-to books that promise us the path for maximum production, to hone our […]