• Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  workshops

    Workshop Details

    A Number of Details on Workshops… First off, I have four more videos of a licensing holiday focus on the Licensing Transition workshop. Just a four-video idea is all. Something to think about. There will be more videos in that class before the end of the year. Second, the Licensing Transition and the Shared Worlds classes (that will continue on until July) will be closed for new sign-ups on the last day of this month. Two people have asked me to hold them open until then, but that’s it, so if you have been thinking about them, don’t delay now. Sign up on Teachable. And in a few days I…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Writers Blaming Editors

    Funniest Thing I Have Read… Now granted, for most beginning writers, if they read a writer blaming an editor for a rejection, they would nod sagely and say, “Yeah, editors just don’t get me either.” Uh….no. More than likely your story didn’t work. Or it didn’t fit what the editor was looking for in their magazine, or the editor had just bought a story similar to it two weeks earlier, or… or… or… But blaming an editor because the editor did not “see” how really deep your subtext was on page seven and your nifty plot twist on page twenty… Uh… no. And I bet if you are thinking like…

  • Challenge,  On Writing

    Rejections

    Most Beginning Writers Think of Rejection Wrong… And for some reason, lately, I’ve been noticing that more and more. And finally, today, after hearing issues with rejections from three different writers, I finally decided I needed to say something here. Let me say this as simply as I can: Rejections are positive. That’s right, they are the best indicator in building a publishing career that you are doing a lot of things right. — You are mailing your stories to editors to try to advance your career and get great advertisement for your indie work. — You are trying new things, pushing your own limits, working to be a better…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  workshops

    A BUNCH OF WORKSHOP BUNDLES

    And I Mean a Bunch!!… And some of these bundles would make fantastic holiday gifts for your writer friends. Or for yourself. And they are all less than buying each item on its own. And they can all be found on Teachable. So going to list them right here, just for fun. To start, there are four different Lifetime Subscriptions…. Workshops. Lectures. Study Along. Las Vegas. Then for the Pop-Ups, there are both 5 and 10 bundles. There is a bundle of the four Futures Workshops, maybe four of the best workshops we have done. There is a bundle of three Negotiations Lectures. And an Advanced Business Lectures bundle. And…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  workshops

    Fun New Workshops

    New Pop-Up and A Romance Workshop Fun day today. I have two new workshops up and available, plus all of January Regular workshops are available for sign-up now. LOCKED ROOM MYSTERIES Pop-up #17 is now available. I love locked-room mysteries, but there is not enough about them to fill a six-week workshop without getting into extreme depth of topic, so tips on how to write locked-room mysteries fit perfectly in a Pop-Up. And it is also in the bundle of Pop-Ups #11-20. Second, I put up the new regular workshops for January, starting on the 7th. And the first workshop in January is Writing Romance. All are available right now.…

  • Challenge,  On Writing

    Real Life Sensory Lesson

    But Taste is So Hard!… I get that all the time from writer after writer who always seem to be under the misunderstanding that to taste something, the character must actually be chewing on something. Nope. So when I say use all five senses every five hundred words in a story to really add in character and depth, the complaint about taste comes popping up. So here is what happened today… Kris and I had walked to a great lunch spot in the Arts District of Las Vegas. Day was warm, not too hot, sun was out, flowers blooming along the sidewalks. (Yes, flowers bloom here in the winter.) For…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Writer Delusion

    There Are Numbers of Them… But only going to talk about one at the moment. However, just like myths, writers have many, many delusions that hold them back. Delusion: A fiction writer knows for a fact they can write good sales copy. Reason for the Delusion: After all, they are fiction writers and it is their story. Fact: I know of maybe a handful of fiction writers who know how to write good sales copy. And not one New York fiction editor. But most writers have the delusion that they can write sales copy, the second most important element in sales after the cover. And then wonder why their books…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  workshops

    Workshops and More Workshops

    Cyber Monday… Got a hunch everyone is shopping for all kinds of nifty things today online. But in that spirit, besides the fact that seven new Classic Workshops are now available and two Classic Workshop bundles available only for December, I wanted to remind those interested that the December workshops start Tuesday and Wednesday. Information on the Classic Workshop Bundles in yesterday’s post right below this. And all of you who got the special How to Write a Holiday Story workshop in the Kickstarter should have gotten a letter from me last week with the ability to pick which of the two sessions (December or January) you want to take…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  workshops

    Classic Workshops

    And Two December Specials!!! All seven of the new classic workshops are now up and available. Classic workshops are workshops that have been moved from regular workshops to make more room and are half the original price ($150). But you do not turn in the assignments, just do them for yourself at your own pace. We now have 29 Classic Workshops available. And seven of them are newly in Classic status. So, for only the month of December, we put all seven in a bundle and reduced the price. You can still buy them one-at-a-time on Teachable for $150 each. But you can also get all seven in a bundle,…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  workshops

    December Workshops

    Starting In One Week… First off, those of you got the special How to Write a Holiday Story workshop will be getting a letter from me later this week with the ability to pick which of the two sessions (December or January) you want to take and a code for both. So hold on for that. December session will start on Tuesday. The regular December workshops also start on Tuesday and here is the list. Class #51… Dec 3rd … Endings Class #52… Dec 3rd … Attitude Class #54… Dec 3rd … Speed Class #55… Dec 3rd … Teams in Fiction Class #56… Dec 4th … Depth in Writing Class #59… Dec 4th… Information Flow…