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The Wet Blanket Reality… Chapter Two
Chapter Two… The Query This book is a travelogue through the steps it takes in 2022 to become a traditionally published fiction writer. So please read the Introduction and First Chapter before this one. You do that, this chapter will make more sense, as much as this chapter will ever make sense to a sane, thinking person. (Writers are neither sane or thinking at this point in this process.) So after years of work, you declare your novel masterpiece finished and have a party. So what next? EVERYONE KNOWS (stupid common knowledge and not true, but we’ll go with the myth here) that you must have an agent to sell…
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October Workshops Starting…
Tuesday and Wednesday… The October regular workshops are starting, plus the second sessions of the special workshops from the Pulphouse Kickstarter. Those two are not available for sale, but the eight October regular workshops are available and there is a half-price sale going on. See the last two posts for information. I have two more chapters in the Wet Blanket Reality book done, both on the next steps a writer goes through with agents to get to being traditionally published. So stay tuned for that. Or as they say in traditional publishing, “Hurry Up and Wait.” (Not kidding.) Remember the two new six-week regular workshops, POWER WORDS starting tomorrow and…
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Some Questions On New Sale…
Fall Special Workshop Sale… Starts today and ends next Sunday, October 10th, so don’t miss this one. Just one week! Everything on WMG Publishing Teachable half price. Just use the code: FALLSPECIAL I wanted to answer a few questions that I got. First off, the brand new HOW TO MAKE A LIVING WITH NOVELS is for any level of writer. If you are selling and writing novels regularly, this will help you put the pieces together. If you are just hoping to write novels in the future, this will detail out what you need to do. So for all levels and a full six weeks of information. Second, yes both…
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Fall Special Workshop Sale!!
For One Week Only!!! Starts today and ends next Sunday, October 10th, so don’t miss this one. Just one week! Everything on WMG Publishing Teachable half price. Just use the code: FALLSPECIAL Lots of new workshops and writing classes. Two months ago when we did the last sale, we suspected it would be the last one, but we had thought that before. And over this last month we have gotten a lot of questions about doing another sale. So in the end, after two months, we felt we could do a week-long sale to help out and keep people learning this fall. Plus, we have some really amazing new workshops.…
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Next Chapter Will Be Coming
Right Now I Am Having Fun Writing… I will get to the next chapter of Wet Blanket Reality about traditional publishing next week. The next chapter is all the things you have to do to get an agent. That will be a fun one, I promise. Also today I got forwarded a link to an article that might be right up there with the most stupid article I have ever read about publishing. All stuff that I am pointing out as really bad and stupid, this article manages to turn it into positive to help writers. I just read it with my mouth open and thinking about how writers trapped…
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The Wet Blanket Reality… Chapter One
Chapter One… Manuscript Must Be Perfect Writers who believe in the myth of traditional publishing also believe deeply in the myth that rewriting is good and that a manuscript must be perfect before you dare send it off to an agent. Perfect, I say!! Perfect! (I have never in my 40 plus years in publishing ever seen a perfect manuscript.) So what happens is that years and years pass while the writer “Works on their book.” Okay, come on, we all know a number of these writers spending years “working on their book.” And sadly, these writers are proud they are doing that and they will be glad to tell…
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The Wet Blanket Reality… Introduction
INTRODUCTION…The Myths The Wet Blanket Reality will be a writing book about the reality of trying to sell novels to traditional publishers. I suppose the title of the book could be TRADITIONAL NOVEL PUBLISHING: The Wet Blanket Reality. But as I write this here on my blog, chapter-by-chapter, I’m just going to call it by the subtitle. Fits better. And sadly gives away the book. That’s right. I am going to be a wet blanket, smother a little of your writing dreams to help you gain a more sustainable and fun dream of being a long-term professional writer. Think of it this way. Part of you is on fire so…
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Smith’s Monthly #53 Published
I Got a Little Carried Away… This monthly issue has 85,000 words in it. Yikes. Since I am working on another new Thunder Mountain novel, I thought I would put the very first one in this issue, along with nine short stories (four new, five in the serialization of Stories from July. The first Thunder Mountain novel (called simply THUNDER MOUNTAIN) was actually in Issue #2 of Smith’s Monthly in November 2013 with a very different cover on it. So anyway, thought I would note the publication today of Issue #53 of Smith’s Monthly. All 85,000 words of it. Yikes!! Here is the link to the page on WMG Publishing.…
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Pictures of Fun Box of Books
Photo of 48 Novels Not Easy to Take… Spread them on a work table Kris and I have outside our offices and then stood on a couch to take the photo. Kris came out and said, “That’s impressive.” I asked “What? The 48 novels or me standing on the couch?” She said “Both.” So some pictures of the 48 novels I got yesterday in one big box. All under my name, no pen names. Something I just realized this morning. Very unusual for me as well. The novel that you can’t see because of the light at the top is LAYING THE MUSIC TO REST, my first novel published in…
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Fun Box of Books
A Very Heavy Box Arrived Today… Turns out it was 47 of my novels. Not copies the same book, but 47 different novels. One copy of each. Not at all sure which books I am missing still. I will have to go back through and compare them to Smith’s Monthly, which has 52 books out at the moment that were in there. (Actually 53.) I know I don’t have the two of the last three. But still missing a few besides those. But still a really fun sight. Very large piles of COLD POKER GANG NOVELS with the new covers and branding. Very nifty. Another bigger pile of THUNDER MOUNTAIN…