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Five Story Collections
A Brand New Series of Classes… Okay, this is not official yet, but here is what Kris and I are thinking for the Collection Class Series. This is the really fun idea that has popped up a bunch of times since the summer. This would not be part of the regular workshop classes or subscription, but something very different and you will see why. But the upshot is that by the end of the class, you will have published a five-story collection you didn’t have going into the class. Here is. the structure of each class in general. A nine week class. (Yes, I said nine weeks.) And each week…
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Time to Look Ahead…
And We Can!!! Finally, the end of this year is in site, a vaccine is in sight, and here in the States a new government is in site. So it is the 7th of December and time to slowly start making plans for the new year. Writing plans, business plans, exercise plans that were almost impossible to make four months (or even two months) ago. On exercise, since I finished the marathon, I overate and gave my feet time to heal, so gained five pounds. Winter/holiday weight I am sure, but going to drop it back off plus more after the holiday. So I am in the process of setting…
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Want Someone to Do It For Me…
I’ve Run Into This Lately A Few Times… Some writers are dead set on going to traditional publishing because they want someone to do the work for them. They believe their job starts and stops with writing. And back in 1990, that was the case. You wrote and the publisher published. Writers had no control at all and honestly in 1990 should not have asked for it or tried to get it. But that was thirty years ago. Writers now control everything, but beginning writers still come into writing wanting someone to do all the work for them. I’ve been trying to figure out why, since indie publishing is so…
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Get Good Cheer Holiday Bundle…
Really Excited About This Bundle of Books from Storybundle.com… I think this is an amazingly special bundle of holiday stories of all kinds and types. Perfect reading for this holiday season in so many ways. And one of the coolest things in this bundle is a book that explains the importances and contains all of The Santa Claus Stories by L. Frank Baum. Yes, the Wizard of OZ L. Frank Baum. With all his Santa Claus stories, he helped cement the images and traits we take for granted now for Santa Claus. And now, for the first time ever, they are gathered together and reprinted in one book, WITH ALL…
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Needing a Reader and Copyeditor…
Fighting Myths Again… Beginning and early professional writers always seem to focus on needing to have editors and copyeditors and beta readers and everything else. Always overkill and usually, almost without exception, it also kills their writing and stories. Some background. This obsessive desire for editing and copyediting on novels comes from three places. — First, it comes from 1970s-1990s traditional publishing habits that have stuck around and passed around as needed like myths of a big tall walking snowman with a chainsaw. In other words, too stupid for reality in 2020, but still believed by those coming into the publishing profession. — Second place all this editing stuff comes…
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Just Be Safe
This Isn’t That Hard, Folks… Just don’t go out unless you need to, wear a mask when you do, wash your hands all the time, and just stay six feet away from everyone. Right now a person is dying from Covid in the States every 35 seconds. And it is going to get much, much worse shortly because of all the people who traveled at the American Thanksgiving holiday and those who just had family and a few friends over, no big deal, right? Sigh… In a few weeks, before Christmas, we will be losing the same number of humans we lost in 911 every day. Kris and I just…
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December Workshops Have Started
Almost Forgot… Things have been so crazy this month (for everyone I bet), I almost forgot to post here that all the December regular workshops have started. Yes, it is December!!! I am moving the Licensing 101 to Classic in the next month or two, but past that, nothing new yet. (The new workshop is the special workshop that you had to sign up for through the last Kickstarter.) List of December workshops below. However, I am in the process of posting the January workshops and then will update all the schedules in the next few days into March. Got some slots for some new workshops that will be announced…
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Book #3 of 70 Book Challenge
Came Out Today… This is the third book published in twenty days. Great fun. If I managed 2 books every twenty days, that will get me to about 56 books, if I average three books every twenty days, that will get me above 70. So on target so far!! The book that came out today is Book #7 Year of the Cat: A Cat of Heroic Heart. Kris and I are co-editing this series of 100 cat stories. The books are great fun. Some of you will get this through the Kickstarter last January and some of you will get this if you are in the class on Teachable where…
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Finding Stories
Not to Write… But Already Written… When you are as prolific as I am, and combine that with just enjoying the writing, not caring about the publishing that much, you end up with strange things happening. I know that those writers who think everything they write is golden have trouble understanding this concept, but I flat lose stories. Smith’s Monthly Magazine, when I started it, was supposed to be a place where I could slowly, over years, gather all my stories together, one novel and four or five short stories per issue. And I did that for 44 issues just fine until life roles stopped the process. Now I am…
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How To Write a Holiday Crime Story Workshop…
All Letters to Those Signed Up Are Out… Thanks to all of you for the support of the WMG 2020 Holiday Spectacular. Really appreciated. In the letter are the instructions on how you can sign into either the December 1st workshop or the January 5th workshop. Your choice. If you can’t find the letter I sent you, look in the address you used for Kickstarter first. Then look in your spam filter. Then once you have exhausted all possible locations where my letter might be, then write me and I will make sure you are on the list from Josh first, and second, if you are I will send you…