• Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  workshops

    Workshop Things To Note…

    Especially with the Half-Price Sale Going On… — There is a page that I did two months ago with the curriculum of workshops and lectures and pop-ups with suggested order and sorting to try to make sense of all the workshops we offer. I have not included the last two months of stuff yet, but will. You can find the link on the right side of this page in the sidebar.  Workshop Curriculum link… — The special three-week workshops that are given with Kickstarter campaigns are not offered anywhere. They can only be gotten through the original Kickstarter. And right now we have a special workshop offered in our Holiday…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  workshops

    HOLIDAY WORKSHOP HALF-PRICE SALE

    We are Still in Covid. I honestly last spring never would have predicted this. Back when WMG Publishing did what we all thought here would be the last workshop sale in May, we had an expectation that as things opened up, we would all be able to slowly go back to a changed, but new normal life. And that sort of happened for some. Sort of. But by July it was clear that most of us were still locked up, wearing masks, and doing our best to move forward in some way or another. So WMG Publishing decided to do another sale the first week of July, thinking that would…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Some Fun Thoughts…

    And A Warning… As many of you know, or might have guessed, I spend a great deal of time reading news and information about the industry, both the traditional side and what can be found among all the promotion myths on the indie side. Some of it I pass along, some of it Kris and I talk about, some of it I just file away as information to see trends and so on. I consider this part of my job. Not for you folks, but because this is how I make my living and if I am not aware of my industry, I will make mistakes. Now some of you…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Making a Fortune

    An Old Belief or Myth… I had two people repeat a bad myth to me today. The myth is that writing is NOT the fastest way to make a buck. I suppose over the very short term, that is true… sort of. Say you want to be a lawyer. Your first buck will come in around year eight. Doctor around year nine. Plumber, after some training, as an apprentice, maybe the first year. Architect, year six. Being a waiter or tending bar, or a janitor, or any other hourly job, you get paid in two weeks after you start, so I suppose those are the quickest way to making a…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    IP Earnings

    Cash Streams Most Don’t Know About… Kris and I try to help writers understand IP, in one way or another, through blogs, through workshops, and many other ways over the years. But two things happened today that just made me shake my head. First off, I read an article on Facebook that I now can’t find (but I am sure Google will help you) on how much actors make from residuals of old shows like Mash, Cheers, Friends, and so on. The amount for those who signed good contracts is staggering. Sometimes up to 20 million a year. That’s right, for work they did years ago. (see where this is…

  • Challenge,  Kickstarter Campaign,  On Writing,  publishing

    Time Travel Bundle

    Great Fun!! Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows I love time travel, and all the different aspects of it. And my Thunder Mountain series is my favorite series to write. Right now I am in a time travel Storybundle with my novel Warm Springs. And there are some great novels in there, as well as a couple collections and three books that are exclusive only to the bundle. Only 10 days left, so don’t miss this one. You can get a bunch of books for very little cash and help a great charity in the process. Storybundle Time Travel Bundle And you want to see how I handle depth,…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Thunder Mountain…

    A Film and a Book… You can get one of my Thunder Mountain novels right now in a nifty Storybundle on time travel that Kris put together. The link to get it is Storybundle.com/timetravel. You also get nine other great books with mine, worth the price, folks. My Thunder Mountain novels are about historians and others traveling back to the early 1900s into the wilderness of Idaho. And Warm Springs is one of my complex Thunder Mountain books. DeAnna Knippling, who has a wonderful novel in the bundle as well, did a short interview with me and you can read that and get more about the Storybundle at her site.…

  • Challenge,  Kickstarter Campaign,  On Writing,  publishing

    2020 Holiday Spectacular

    Is Now Live!! The 2020 Holiday Spectacular Kickstarter campaign is now live. Just as we did this year, for those who get the 2020 calendar in this campaign, you will get an original holiday story delivered to your inbox every day from American Thanksgiving (November 26th) through January 1st, 2021. (Yes, sort of an Advent Calendar using original short stories.) What a fantastic way to ride out of this crazy year. Over 25 professional writers have written original stories for this and the entire project is edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, award-winning editor. Kris also does an introduction letter every day for each story, so it is also like getting…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Blog 3,000 Days in a Row!!!

    Without a Miss… Think that through…. That is 8 years, two months, and 19 days. A blog every day. Sometimes more than one blog a day if circumstances required it. Computer crashes… Yup! Internet connection failures… Yup! Power outages… Yup! Sickness and hospital stays… Yup! Kris very sick… Yup! Major move to new city… Yup! Major business office move… Yup! Biggest problem was nights I was too tired to care and had nothing to say… Those were the hard nights. Why do this? I have no damn idea, to be honest. None. Whatever reason I started this daily blog for (as I also started Smith’s Monthly on the same day) is…

  • Challenge,  publishing

    Well, Next Week…

    Kickstarter Seems to Have Forgotten Us… Said our campaign would be approved by the 15th. Nope. It is now the 16th. I don’t think there is a problem, just they seemed to have gotten busy or something. First time in 15 times that has happened. So now the 2020 Holiday Spectacular will launch next Tuesday, if they approve it. Not sure why they wouldn’t, but you never know these days. It is 2020 after all. (grin) So I’m going back to finishing up some writing and editing this weekend plus exercising. Turned in a book yesterday to WMG, like to finish up a couple more. Did seven miles today, even…