-
Frank Zappa Topic
FRANK ZAPPA TOPIC All work on workshop stuff to help clear decks for the coming writing challenge. Patreon supporters, you should have gotten Heinlein’s Rules two days ago. If any problems, let me know. And THANK YOU! New issue of Smith’s Monthly coming to the Patreon supporters shortly as well. ———– THE DAY Did errands, worked with Josh for two hours on the new store, getting the last of the cases and fixtures in place. We should be ready to start filling the fixtures with inventory in a week or so. Then worked on formatting Smith’s Monthly. Gaining on that. And Allyson did a nifty cover for the book I am going to…
-
Topic of the Night: Writing a Novel in Seven Days: Chapter One
WRITING A NOVEL IN SEVEN DAYS Chapter One This is going to be fun. I want to repeat that often. The Challenge is Simple. Day One: 3,000 words. And then each day after that add 1,000 words to the amount needed. Seven days, if my math is right, I will have a 42,000 word novel. 3,000… 4,000… 5,000… 6,000… 7,000… 8,000… 9,000 words. 7 Days. Why Does This Structure Work? Going to see if it will work, but pretty confident it will if life events leave me alone. And if you are reading this in a paper or electronic book instead of on my blog, you will know it did work.…
-
Topic of the Night: Writing a Novel in Seven Days… Prologue
WRITING A NOVEL IN SEVEN DAYS Prologue This is going to be fun. That’s how I am going at this new project and these chapters leading up to the challenge and the challenge itself. I will be doing a chapter a day here on my blog through the writing of the entire novel, so you can follow along with the time involved, the thinking behind the idea to do a novel in seven days, the preparation, and everything else. And I will detail out the writing sessions as well as I start up. Today is Tuesday night, and I plan on starting writing on Saturday night. So a decent amount…
-
Business Shift In Thinking
BUSINESS SHIFT IN THINKING Well, Kris did a great article about some of the issues facing long-term professional writers like her in this new world of publishing. The shift from old publishing thinking to new publishing is hard for everyone. Information below. —— THE DAY Meetings from 2 p.m. until after 5 p.m. In three different locations. Then worked for an hour or so at WMG after taking a walk with Kris, then home to cook dinner, then in here to do e-mail before taking a long nap. Then downstairs to watch television, back in here to work on things on this site and do one session on the book of…
-
Challenge, Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing, On Writing, publishing, Topic of the Night, Writing in Public
Another Sacred Cow Treatment
ANOTHER SACRED COW TREATMENT Well, read one too many articles about the stupidity of giving a traditional author an advance so they could be free to write their book. That myth had to be stabbed at with my little sword. Oh, and I got back to work on the novel. —— THE DAY Did an interview for a podcast this afternoon. Great fun and I’ll link to it when it comes out. Then off to walk, then to the mail, the store, and back to WMG offices where I worked on different stuff until 7 p.m. including starting on the Sacred Cow chapter. Home to cook dinner, watch some television,…
-
Where Did the Day Go?
WHERE DID THE DAY GO? Blink and the day is over and I have no idea what happened. Hate that. —— THE DAY Let me see if I can make some sort of sense of the day. Made it to the WMG store by 2 p.m. to meet a nice guy with some marbles, then for an interview with a possible future employee. Got out of there by 3:30 p.m. Post office next, bank, grocery store for some lunch, but no time to eat it. Got back to WMG Publishing around 4:30, did some deposits and headed for another bank. Finally got back to my lunch around 5:15 p.m.…
-
New Sacred Cow Reason
NEW SACRED COW REASON I’ll talk about the reason below. But it has been a while since I wrote one. I have a few more waiting in the wings. (grin) But wanted to do this one before starting in on some posts about the no-time aspects of publishing these days. —— LAST DAY!!! MARCH ONLINE WORKSHOPS All of the March online workshops below have openings. Last Day to sign up!!! Remember, each regular online workshop is six weeks long and takes about 3-4 hours per week to do at your own pace and your own time during the week. All workshops have openings. Class #21… Mar 7th … Pitches and Blurbs Class #22……
-
Topic of the Night: Balancing the Parts of Modern Publishing
BALANCING THE PARTS OF MODERN PUBLISHING Over the last week I have received three different letters from writers worried about the same problem. That problem is simple to describe, but very complex in nature. How do you balance the writing with the production and promotion of your work? That sound familiar? I bet just about every indie writer nodded to that. I am no exception, neither is Kris, or any of the other professional writers around town here or in the workshops. This balancing act we all must do is a continuous battle. We all talk about it all the time. And I do mean all the time. Of course,…
-
What I Do Not Believe
WHAT I DO NOT BELIEVE Since I listed a number of things I do believe, figured I would list one or two things I do not believe about writing. ——- THE DAY Made it to the WMG store around 2 p.m., then home again, then to the snail mail, grocery store, and back to WMG offices to work on Smith’s Monthly and other things until around 6 p.m. Home to take a nap, then cooked dinner, then got in here around 9 p.m. and got out all the letters for the February online workshops. (Still time to jump in. They start on Monday.) Then more television, then back in…
-
Some Beliefs
SOME WRITING BELIEFS Just trying to be clear on some of my beliefs. See below. ——- THE DAY Made it to the WMG offices around 2 p.m. for a meeting at 2:30 to work on planning the layout of the new store. Great fun. At 4 p.m. went walking with two other professional writers. And yes, got my ten thousand steps today for the first time in over a week. Back to WMG offices to work on moving the workshops and getting the February online workshops ready to go. First letters will go out late tomorrow night. Workshops start on Monday and still room in all of them. Then to the…