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Some Fun Thoughts…
And A Warning… As many of you know, or might have guessed, I spend a great deal of time reading news and information about the industry, both the traditional side and what can be found among all the promotion myths on the indie side. Some of it I pass along, some of it Kris and I talk about, some of it I just file away as information to see trends and so on. I consider this part of my job. Not for you folks, but because this is how I make my living and if I am not aware of my industry, I will make mistakes. Now some of you…
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Rest Day
More Like Space Cadet Day… Just no focus, so I didn’t fight it. Got about 7 miles of exercise, did some email, cooked dinner, ate too much. Started two different projects, both got “oh squirreled” in short order. Didn’t even bother with turning on my writing computer. Walked twice down to our office before realizing I hadn’t put my Fitbit on. I hate waiting for this election. Too damn distracting. (I won’t let political comments through, I am just saying…) So off to watch a Holiday Romance Movie on Lifetime… My brain might be up for that.
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Making a Fortune
An Old Belief or Myth… I had two people repeat a bad myth to me today. The myth is that writing is NOT the fastest way to make a buck. I suppose over the very short term, that is true… sort of. Say you want to be a lawyer. Your first buck will come in around year eight. Doctor around year nine. Plumber, after some training, as an apprentice, maybe the first year. Architect, year six. Being a waiter or tending bar, or a janitor, or any other hourly job, you get paid in two weeks after you start, so I suppose those are the quickest way to making a…
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IP Earnings
Cash Streams Most Don’t Know About… Kris and I try to help writers understand IP, in one way or another, through blogs, through workshops, and many other ways over the years. But two things happened today that just made me shake my head. First off, I read an article on Facebook that I now can’t find (but I am sure Google will help you) on how much actors make from residuals of old shows like Mash, Cheers, Friends, and so on. The amount for those who signed good contracts is staggering. Sometimes up to 20 million a year. That’s right, for work they did years ago. (see where this is…
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Time Travel Bundle
Great Fun!! Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows I love time travel, and all the different aspects of it. And my Thunder Mountain series is my favorite series to write. Right now I am in a time travel Storybundle with my novel Warm Springs. And there are some great novels in there, as well as a couple collections and three books that are exclusive only to the bundle. Only 10 days left, so don’t miss this one. You can get a bunch of books for very little cash and help a great charity in the process. Storybundle Time Travel Bundle And you want to see how I handle depth,…
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Lifetime Original Christmas Movies
They Have Started… And yes, I watch them. And yes, I know the plots are all the same. Duh, they are romance, people. Happy Ever After and all that. But honestly, if you can manage to get your nose out of the air and watch a few dozen of them, you can learn a ton about plotting and character and teams and depth and sometimes even dialog, depending… And right now in Covid land, these movies are a perfect antidote. I watch Lifetime Christmas Movies, not Hallmark. Honestly, they vary less on Lifetime and I honestly like that. I find it interesting that the elements of the plot are timed…
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WMG Holiday Spectacular 2020 Hit First Stretch Goal
In Just Three Days… Thank you, everyone. So cool. And this project is so much fun. Getting an original holiday story, like an advent calendar, every day from November 26th through January 1st, and edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Or you can get a Valentines calendar edited by Annie Reed or a Halloween calendar edited by Mark Leslie. Or all of it in books, plus a ton of other stuff. Remember, if you want more than one thing, just pick a reward and then add the cost of the second award you want to your original choice and we work it out in the survey when it is all over.…
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Thunder Mountain…
A Film and a Book… You can get one of my Thunder Mountain novels right now in a nifty Storybundle on time travel that Kris put together. The link to get it is Storybundle.com/timetravel. You also get nine other great books with mine, worth the price, folks. My Thunder Mountain novels are about historians and others traveling back to the early 1900s into the wilderness of Idaho. And Warm Springs is one of my complex Thunder Mountain books. DeAnna Knippling, who has a wonderful novel in the bundle as well, did a short interview with me and you can read that and get more about the Storybundle at her site.…
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A Lesson…
But Few Will Listen… The advice: Never let anyone tell you to not write something because it won’t sell. Never decide to not write something because it has been done to death before. Why I say no one will listen is because so many indie writers are wrapped up in writing to market, writing what they think will sell, or what some unknown person on the internet thinks will sell. And every indie writer thinks they have to be original with ideas and plotting when nothing is every original in either one. Tonight I read a story by an author. A really old idea, one I had seen a hundred…
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WMG Holiday Spectacular 2020 Funded!!
In Just Four Hours… It hit its $2,500 ask and is now quickly on the way to the first stretch reward. Four hours is a new record for us for any campaign if I remember right. And the stretch rewards have some fun books, including a Christmas ghost novel of mine where ghost agents and Poker Boy save Santa and the world in the process, plus a bunch of great Kris holiday books. And for writers, we are again doing three brand new Pop-Up classes for the stretch rewards that sort of go along with the Writing a Holiday Crime Story special workshop. Remember, the only place you will ever…