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Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing: #9… Writing is Hard
Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing will be out later this winter with an introduction. And then it will be followed by a book called Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Indie Publishing. But first I wanted to put each myth or “Sacred Cow” up here again as I promised. The Myth: “To be Good, Writing Must Be Hard.” —- This myth comes in many forms and has many faces, but let me put it as plainly as I can to start. Myth: To be Good, Fiction Writing Must Be Hard. (And it can’t be fun.) Total hogwash, of course, yet it is stunning how many new…
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Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing: #8… You Can’t Make a Living with Your Fiction
Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing will be out later this winter with an introduction. And then it will be followed by a book called Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Indie Publishing. But first I wanted to put each myth or “Sacred Cow” up here again as I promised. The Myth: “You Can’t Make a Living With Your Fiction.” (Note: This post introduces the Magic Bakery idea and it caused a lot of stir when it was first posted.) — This myth “You can’t make a living writing fiction” is so clearly hogwash, I shouldn’t have to include it as a chapter in this book. All anyone has…
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Think Like a Publisher: 2014. Chapter Three: Projected Income
As traditional publishers grab for more rights and become even more difficult to work with, more and more writers are moving to indie publishing. As they make the jump, they ask basic questions on how to do it, how to be treated with respect as a publisher, and even how to do simple things like setting up a publishing business. And questions such as how they get their books into bookstores. You can do that. Honest. I’ll talk all about it in coming chapters. But the key on almost everything these days is that you, the author, are starting a publishing company. An indie publisher is still a publisher, the…
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Think Like a Publisher 2014. Chapter Two: Expected Costs
Here we go again. It’s been over three years since I wrote the first version of Think Like a Publisher. And a year since I updated it into a 2013 edition. Stunning how time goes by. Since those first words all those years ago, the indie publishing world has gotten by the early years of the “gold rush” thinking and has now settled into a new normal that should last for years, if not decades. 2013 was the first year of that new normal. Also, the publishing company I helped start, WMG Publishing Inc. now has three full-time employees and three part-time employees and has published about 400 different book titles, with…
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Think Like a Publisher 2014: Chapter One…The Early Decisions
Here we go again. It’s been over three years since I wrote the first version of Think Like a Publisher. And a year since I updated it into a 2013 edition. Stunning how time goes by. Since those first words all those years ago, the indie publishing world has gotten by the early years of the “gold rush” thinking and has now settled into a new normal that should last for years, if not decades. 2013 was the first year of that new normal. Also, the publishing company I helped start, WMG Publishing Inc. now has three full-time employees and three part-time employees and has published about 400 different book titles,…
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Writing in Public: Month 4 Summary… November
Month #4 Summary of this Writing in Public challenge. November, 2013 I’m stunned that this fourth month got finished. And even more stunned I’m going after month #5. November was not a great month of writing. I just sort of dinged along with the Monumental Summit novel, then started the redo of the Sector Justice novel that didn’t have many new words with it. Plus I just didn’t push this month. This is the kind of writing month I have when I don’t pay much attention. I have the monthly word counts below. And as I have said every month, even though I knew I was going to give a general…
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Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing: #7… To Sell You Must Write What Is Hot
Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing will be out later this winter with an introduction. And then it will be followed by a book called Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Indie Publishing. But first I wanted to put each myth or “Sacred Cow” up here again as I promised. The Myth: “To sell either to editors or readers, you must write what is hot.” This myth stops thousands and thousands of book sales and destroys careers. And it’s just stupid, even though the myth seems to have a logical base in publishing. This myth spouts like a bad cold out of the mouths of top professionals…
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Writing in Public: Month 3 Summary: October 2013
Month #3 Summary of this Writing in Public challenge. October, 2013 I’m stunned that this third month is already done, to be honest. And I’m stunned that it was my best month by a little bit. It sure didn’t feel that way. Strange. I have those word counts below. And as I have said every month, even though I knew I was going to give a general summary of the day here every day, it changed my behavior not at all. Not at all. And as a couple of you asked, I do exercise, just not in huge blocks of time. My bad knees won’t allow that until I drop this…
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Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing: #6… Selling to a Big Publisher Insures Quality
Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing will be out later this fall with an introduction. And then it will be followed by a book called Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Indie Publishing. But first I wanted to put each myth or “Sacred Cow” up here again as I promised. — Very few of these chapters will deal with the editor and publisher side of publishing. I know that in fiction publishing there are lots of problems with publishers, and right now picking on them just seems to be like kicking dirt onto a person who is struggling to even figure out how to stay alive. Besides,…
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Writing in Public: Month Two Summary: September 2013
Month #2 Summary of this Writing in Public challenge. September, 2013 Well, this second month was more interesting for me than the first one. It was a day shorter than August, but I also didn’t travel in September. As it turned out, my numbers for the two months were very close. I have those word counts below. And again, even though I knew I was going to give a general summary of the day here every day, it changed my behavior not at all. Not at all. And yes, I do read. I just didn’t sit down for three hours and read a novel this month. As Kris calls it, I’m…