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Expectations…
One of the Big Evils… Expectations can come from about a billion places for all of us. But most of the time we don’t even know when we have let an expectation in. Sometimes we do, though, and those are so deadly so fast, it is amazing. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have heard a writer say, I’m going to quit my day job for one year and I hope to be making a living after a year. Of course, that is flat insulting to any professional writer who has worked years and years to learn their craft and business, but we all know that…
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Editing and Reading Observations… Part Two…
Editors Are Super Readers… Our job as editors is to try to figure out which stories the readers of our publications will like. But if you are putting your stories up indie and not many are selling, you might want to pay attention to some of these points I am making from an editor perspective. I find it fascinating how many writers have no understanding of the advanced levels of craft in fiction writing. They often think that major bestsellers who sell hundreds of thousands of copies of every book are just marketed better, or lucky, when actually those writers have learned the craft of grabbing and holding readers. But…
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The Myth That Writing is Hard…
I Wrote This in 2009… I have updated it for 2023… It is long but I thought it needed to be said again. And note, this was written before I was doing a blog per day. ————- This myth comes in many forms and has many faces, but let me put it as plainly as I can to start. Myth: To be Good, Writing Must Be Hard. (And it can’t be fun.) Total hogwash, of course, yet it is stunning how many new writers believe this, and how readers, when they bother to think about it, believe the myth as well. And, of course, almost everyone who teaches creative writing…
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Guest Post By Kris…
This is from Kris’s regular business blog series, but I thought it important enough that I asked her if I could reprint it here. Important mind set change for indie writers. Thanks, Kris… ———- Business Musings: Stars Kristine Kathryn Rusch Me and the Google spent what I almost termed a “dispiriting” hour as I searched for the 21st century’s superstars in a variety of fields. I say “almost termed” because, when I think of it, “dispiriting” is the wrong word. Adult me, who loves this modern world of indie publishing and going directly to the reader, doesn’t mind the lack of superstars or “big names” as most people call them.…
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A Second Way to Go…
Part Three of This Series… First two parts were in my blogs the last three days. I started this off by saying I feel bad for the young writers coming into fiction publishing today. They are torn between the myths of the old traditional publishing world and the myths of the new indie world. Publishing is smack in the middle of a transition to electronic and indie publishing. Over the last two hundred years, these transitions have taken 25 years or so before publishing stabilizes for 40-50 years. We are around year 14 right now in this transition. So in last part of this series I talked about how a…
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October 1st…
Coming Up In Three Days… So many, many writers had really bad writing summers. And October first is a chance to save the year. Three months until the end of the year. You can get a lot of writing done in three months. Set a new challenge, focus on some project that will be fun and get you restarted. October 1st is a wonderful date. Wash away all the “I wish I had…” from the spring and summer and just sit down and have fun telling stories. Stupidly enough, it really is that simple. I will follow my own advice and let you know what I am going to do…
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THREE DAYS LEFT FOR STORYBUNDLE
Great Books and Reading in This Bundle! I curated a new Storybundle called VISIONS OF THE FUTURE. Some really, really fantastic science fiction from a lot of writers. Since I sort of buried this the first time under talking about a ton of steps I did, here is my initial blog once again about the Storybundle. I am very excited about this one. Great writers, great stories. But only three days left to grab this one. VISIONS OF THE FUTURE BLOG… I knew, without a doubt, I was going to really enjoy putting Visions of the Future together as a StoryBundle. I just love science fiction of all types, and any form…
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Visions of the Future StoryBundle
Great Books and Reading in This Bundle! I curated a new Storybundle called VISIONS OF THE FUTURE. Some really, really fantastic science fiction from a lot of writers. Since I sort of buried this the first time under talking about a ton of steps I did, here is my initial blog about the Storybundle. I am very excited about this one. Great writers, great stories. VISIONS OF THE FUTURE BLOG… I knew, without a doubt, I was going to really enjoy putting Visions of the Future together as a StoryBundle. I just love science fiction of all types, and any form of looking into the future, seeing visions of the future, is…
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18,000 Steps Plus
As I expected, a lot of milage walking the Licensing Expo. Got there right after nine when it opened, spent three hours walking and talking with people, then lunch, then back for three more hours, then a nap in the WMG suite, then dinner, then back to the suite to talk with writers and artists until 10:30. Hope to do workshops assignments and then this blog. I will get into more detail when my mind returns in a few days, but planning the same day tomorrow exactly. Wow, am I learning a lot. Just wow. KICKSTARTER LESS THAN THREE DAYS LEFT!!! Go to Kristine Kathryn Rusch STARTER KIT and check…
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THE 2022 WRITE STUFF BUNDLE
WOW, THIS IS A GREAT BUNDLE!!! And it has a $150 Pop-Up class in it as well, all part of the ten projects to help with your writing and publishing. Kris curated this and did a fantastic job. This one is worth grabbing, folks, and telling people about. You can get it at www.storybundle.com/writing. And while you are at Storybundle, Kris and I both have books and one of our major collections in Celestial Sagas bundle put together by Robert Jeschonick. It is a great one. So you can grab a bundle to help you with the writing and publishing and a bundle of great reading. So here is Kris’s…