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Special Stretch Goal Added…
Added to Bryant Street Kickstarter… This is a fun extra stretch goal… time limited. So please help us pass the word so all backers get another story collection and a Pop-Up class. Check it out on the Bryant Street Kickstarter… Here are the details! SPECIAL STRETCH GOAL…Hit 140 Backers by Monday Night… If this campaign reaches 140 backers by Monday night, every backer of any reward at $25.00 and above will get a free ebook copy of the six-story collection GHOSTS ARE WEIRD by Dean Wesley Smith. And for writers, you get access to POP UP #84… WRITING WEIRD FANTASY. This is a $150 value and yes, if you already…
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Almost Sold Out!!
Three In-Person Classes Almost Sold Out!! And Bundle Sale Still Going… I promised I would announce it here when the in-person classes were almost sold out. Well, today is that day. Details About Each Workshop… The anthology workshop is a really fun workshop (held this year for the first time since the pandemic). It will be in one of the two center weeks of July. We will know exact dates next week. This is how it functions… In April and May you write four short stories for four different live anthologies. Then four or five editors will be reading stories and actually talking about them and buying them for live…
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Fiction Branding… Part 1…
Different Types of Branding… And you brand a fiction series for different reasons. So for a number of posts, I’ll talk about fiction branding and the known reasons to do it, and some reasons most fiction writers never once think about. And yes, at times I will talk value and trademark and so much more. But starting off, most indie writers understand the surface level of book or series branding. (I am not talking to traditionally published fiction writers because they do not own their own books with traditional contracts these days.) Making books in a series look like they belong together, and making books under an author’s name also…
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Bryant Street Kickstarter is Live!!
Really Excited About This One! Bryant Street Kickstarter. Bryant Street… where The Twilight Zone lives. A really twisted, but normal-looking subdivision street. 40 stories in four books. The seasons of Bryant Street, basically. Or four seasons of a Bryant Street television series, 10 episodes per season. Go to Bryant Street Kickstarter to see the entire project. Only 10 days long! Plus two really great special 3-week workshops you can only get through this campaign. HOW TO PUT TWISTS IN YOUR STORIES and HOW TO WRITE DARK REAL-WORLD FANTASY. They will not be offered anywhere else. And remember, this campaign is only 10 days long, so don’t miss it! Below I…
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Launching A Brand In a Few Hours
I’m Really Excited About This Brand Launching! Bryant Street Kickstarter. Launching Noon Tuesday! Bryant Street… where The Twilight Zone lives. A really twisted, but normal-looking subdivision street. 40 stories in four books. The seasons of Bryant Street, basically. Or four seasons of a Bryant Street television series, 10 episodes per season. I have been writing and selling and publishing Bryant Street stories since the mid-1980s. It has always been a brand I paid attention to, but really never pushed it. I did have my writer corporation for about 20 years named Bryant Street. And the trademark of Bryant Street is very solid for a number of reasons. So for years…
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Bryant Street Kickstarter Starting Tuesday at Noon…
I’m Really Excited About This One! Bryant Street Kickstarter. Bryant Street… where The Twilight Zone lives. A really twisted, but normal-looking subdivision street. 40 stories in four books. The seasons of Bryant Street, basically. Or four seasons of a Bryant Street television series, 10 episodes per season. For years I’ve wanted to do something with Bryant Street stories besides publish them in Smith’s Monthly. That time is finally here. Go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/403649867/bryant-street to sign up to be notified when it launches on Tuesday at noon. And the campaign will have two really great short story workshops that you can only get through Kickstarter, and stretch goals to write stories for…
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In Person Workshops Almost Sold Out!
Here Are Details of the Three In-Person Classes… The anthology workshop is a really fun workshop (held this year for the first time since the pandemic). In April and May you write four short stories for four different live anthologies. Then four or five editors will be reading stories and actually talking about them and buying them for live anthologies right there in front of everyone. The editors will talk about why a story works or does not work for them. Fantastic learning listening to professional editors disagree. And every writer attending will have read everyone else’s stories, but can’t say a word. Only the editor’s opinions matter. This is…
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Editor and Reading Observations… Part 12…
Rejections Mean Nothing… Sending stories to editors is a game, one worth winning if editors start buying your work. It is fantastic free advertising for your overall work and you actually get paid for it, and then can republish the story later. All win-win-win… But so many writers take rejections from editors personally. I hear it all the time. And that is just flat wrong. No editor I know rejects a story and remembers the writer and puts some sort of blame on the writer. We can barely remember the writers we buy. Stories we reject we don’t care about in the slightest. Let me give you some help hints…
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Editing and Reading Observations… Part 11…
What Do You Do With All These Suggestions? To answer the question bluntly… You write the next story. None of these 20 or so observations are meant in the slightest to get you to take a story and rewrite it. Wow! What a horrid waste of time. These observations are for your creative voice, so that on your next story and the one after that you might not make the same mistake, or at least not make it in the same way. Also, these observations are to maybe help you spot where you need more craft learning and practice. (Practice is called writing the next story.) And thirdly, to help…
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Bryant Street Coming Next Week!
A Really Cool New Kickstarter! Bryant Street Kickstarter. Bryant Street is where The Twilight Zone lives. A really twisted, but normal-looking subdivision street. 40 stories in four books. The seasons of Bryant Street, basically. Or four seasons of a Bryant Street television series, 10 episodes per season. Go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/403649867/bryant-street to sign up to be notified when it launches. And the campaign will have two really great short story workshops that you can only get through Kickstarter, and stretch goals to write stories for Pulphouse, and a ton of other stuff. And every backer of every reward gets the four books of Bryant Street stories. This will only last for…