• Challenge,  On Writing

    A Bunch of Workshops Moving to Classic

    It Will Take Me A Week… But I will get them moved and announce which ones. I wanted to get a bunch moved before folks buying the writer Christmas Box had a chance to decide what to take in ten days. There will be more selection. Right now, this is the last day or so to sign up for the December Regular Workshops. They have all started last week but no too late except for a few of them, which I have pulled off the schedule. Jump in on Teachable. So the following ten are still available for another day or so. Then January workshops will be up and available and…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Attention Those in the Anthology Workshop

    Read the Week’s Assignment Early!!! Just a warning. This year’s anthology workshop is going to be a blast here in Las Vegas with all the restaurants and the nifty suite for evening chats. And the stories are going to be great fun as well. And nope, far, far too late to sign up, even though the workshop isn’t until March. Sorry. But you can sign up for 2020. (The writing starts in November 2019 and it will fill again fairly soon this winter. So don’t miss it next year.) And those with can still sign up for free Business Master Class here in Vegas. And yes, you can sign up…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Straight to Discount

    A Question About a Comment I Made… Most of you know that I flat out think that KU with its exclusive clause is the stupidest thing a writer can do in a career. (Outside of going to a traditional book publisher.) Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, for a short time you can make some money. Good for you, but it is still stupid for an overall indie career. You are not gaining readers. So I made this comment about how I wrote a couple of books for a straight-to-discount publisher and got a few questions about wanting me to explain that more. To put it simply, same as going to…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  workshops

    December Workshops Starting

    And Some Bundle Deals… I forgot all about announcing the December Regular Workshops were starting up. Available for less than one week. They have all just started. Jump in on Teachable. Class #61… Dec 4th … How to Study Writing Class #62… Dec 4th … Endings Class #63… Dec 4th … Point of View Class #64… Dec 4th … Writing Mysteries Class #65… Dec 4th … Speed Class #66… Dec 4th … Teams in Fiction Class #67… Dec 5th … Depth in Writing Class #68… Dec 5th … How to Use Tags Class #69… Dec 5th … Character Development Class #70… Dec 5th … Writing Secondary Plot Lines Class #71… Dec 5th… Information Flow Class #72… Dec 5th…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Some Numbers on Income

    I Got This Question About Numbers of Sales It Takes… Now, I have done this post a bunch, mostly on making a living with your short fiction, so thought I would twist it a little just for fun. And to show some extremes. But everyone should be doing these numbers for themselves at times. And, of course, there is no right answer to this. Not a one. Since the 20Booksto50K conference was here and I did that talk which you can see a few posts back, let’s just use $50,000 for goal number. Novel Price is $5.99 electronic so you get $4 per sale. (You make extra paper and audio…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Stay Away From Traditional Book Publishing

    Yes, I Know That is a Dream for Many… But it is a horrid (and I mean horrid beyond words) path for writers now in 2018. But Dean, how can you say that? You first published with traditional publishing, right? Yes, I sold my first novel in 1987 and did my last work for them in 2008. I did 106 books (that I can remember) through traditional big-five book publishing. I am pretty convinced that even by my  math, most of that was last century. Let me repeat that. Last century. You know, dial phones hooked to a wall with cords, no internet, no email. That century. Yet traditional book…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    We Got Crazy

    Well, Kris Did… Our new Pop-Up Series was intended  to do a few a month tops. When a fun idea for one struck us. But Kris handed me three nifty ideas in the Pop-Up Series and I liked them as much as she did, so all three are coming in December. The third one in the first batch we did about writing short romance is now up, and the second one has a week left before it vanishes. (The first one is gone, but you can still get it in the bundles.) These are from 10 to 20 videos per Pop-Up on a certain topic we find fun and interesting,…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Writing into the Dark Speech

    A Talk I Gave at 20Books Conference… About 500 plus people in the room, and not sure if this is an official video from the conference or not. But it popped up on YouTube, so figured you guys might like it. Cramming that much down into 40 minutes is crazy, but I had fun. The video is cut off at the start and at the end. But most of it is there. I tried to keep it fun. 20Books Vegas Day 2 Writing Into The Dark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnNYQZbrtDU  

  • Challenge,  workshops

    Spent My Night Trying to Get Writers to Follow Instructions

    A Stupid Task I Must Admit… But critical for the anthology workshop to even begin to work. I am not sure what makes writers so incapable of following basic guidelines. Ah, well, this first week is over, so from here on out I can just bounce or ignore a story if the writer doesn’t get the instructions right. Much easier on me. I just wish I had the hours I lost tonight back. And on other news, the Pop-Up on Short Romance is now live. It has a short story assignment with it, as do the other Pop-Ups. However, the first Pop-Up is now gone and can only be accessed…

  • Challenge,  running

    Another Fun Run

    The Great Las Vegas Santa Run… This time not only was the run for a great charity, but they were trying to set the world record for the most runners in Santa suits. Kris talked me into doing it and honestly it was amazing fun. They furnished the Santa suits, which I wore the jacket and hat. Kris did the same. Over 10,000 Santa runners. At one point after the start they stretched for far over a half mile down the middle of Las Vegas Blvd. I am pretty sure they sat the record. So even though I got in late last night from the flight from Oregon and didn’t…