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Perspective
Topic of the Night: Perspective This is just a thought a friend had about why so many great writers are getting discouraged and quitting. He thinks it might have something to do with perspective, and I think he might have a point. The system when he and I came into publishing worked like this in general: You expected to spend five or so years learning your craft, getting rejections, then eight or ten years into the process you would sell a novel which would take a couple years to come out. Then, if you wrote regularly a couple books a year, in ten years you might be able to make a…
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Topic of the Night: Starting Late
I got a great comment from a gentleman on one of my older posts about starting late in life. Basically, what he said was that he felt behind starting at forty-five. His comment brought clearly back to mind how I felt for years about how I felt that I was starting very late at the age of thirty-two. (I had wasted seven years ahead of that writing almost nothing and rewriting everything to death. I hated that I had done that.) And I know that all of us, at one point or another have these sorts of thoughts. When indie publishing came in and Kris and I focused on it, I was…
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Topic of the Night: Lawrence Block’s New Writing Book
Last night I went on about how writers need to focus on writing, but not forget about learning. One great way to learn is read how-to-write books and books about the industry. When learning, always go to learn from those a long ways ahead of you on the road you want to walk. Simple rule. And with publishing and writing books, you read it and take what makes sense to you and ignore the rest. Every writing book should be treated that way, including the ones I have written. Take what makes sense and leave the rest, but don’t give the book away. Put it on your shelf and in a year or…
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Topic of the Night: Learning in the New Year
At the professional writer lunch today, a lot of the conversation on writing turned to how the industry is changing, bookstores, and so much more about the future. Great conversation. And tonight on a nifty program on the Travel Channel, I learned a little about how books were sold door-to-door after the Civil War and up into the last century. It was a major way books were distributed, and publishing company sales forces were basically door-to-door salesmen. When I came into the business in the early 1970s, the major publishing sales force had morphed into selling to bookstores, and only encyclopedias were sold door-to-door. Wow, has publishing changed. (grin) Now…
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Topic of the Night: New Challenges
Most people who have followed this blog for any period of time or who know me, understand that I hate sitting still and don’t do very well with the same-old-thing.Yet this blog sure looks like I am doing the same-old-thing every day, doesn’t it?But nope. Working to start a new physical store in a couple of months, having fun still teaching challenging workshops, both here and online, and I hope to do some travel this year for a number of reasons. And I am still doing a monthly magazine that requires a novel per month and four or so short stories plus a serial of some sort. (Issues 26, 27,…
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New Year: First Day
New Year After much dithering and pestering people around me and working out details, I have finally decided to just go for this new challenge. All outlined in the Topic of the Night that is above this. ——- THE DAY Pretty standard up to a point. Headed up to WMG Publishing around 3 p.m. and talked with a couple of other professional writers there for a time before getting to work. I did a bunch of workshop stuff and getting the office ready for Monday. Then headed to the grocery store to get dinner and went home, took a short nap and cooked dinner. Then I got in here…
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More Year End Stuff
More Year End Stuff Kris and I went to see Star Wars. No I will not talk about it here or anywhere for that matter. (grin) Stay safe on New Year’s Eve. It’s amateur night with the drunks. Dangerous out there. ——- THE DAY After the movie we had a nice late lunch. Then I headed up to WMG offices to work on year-end stuff there. Then home to cook dinner and get my 10,000 steps done. Haven’t missed since November 11th. Then in here to get the new chapter of Heinlein’s Rules up. Then after some television, I started into the big switch of computers. I bought a brand…
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Working On Year End Stuff
Year End Stuff Mostly a normal day. Dialog workshop announcement below. New chapter of Heinlein’s Rules book above this. And for fun I looked at how many words I wrote so far this year. Ready?…. 1,257,000 original words. 711,000 of that was fiction and nonfiction. The rest was e-mail and blogs. I did not count replies on the various comment sections I moderate. That’s Pulp Speed Two. (Pulp Speed One is over a million words, Pulp Speed Two is over 1.2 million words. Pulp Speed Three is over 1.4 million.) ——- THE DAY Got a bunch of walking in and planning for 2016, did workshop stuff, cooked dinner, got…
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Just Dripping Along
Just Dripping Along Every day I sort of get some more words on the Dead Hand novel. Not that many, but that’s because I haven’t been giving it any focus, meaning time. Hope to change that soon. I’m enjoying writing it when I get there. ——- THE DAY Managed to get some errands done and then to WMG Publishing by 3:30 p.m. Headed out shortly after to walk with two other professional writers. Got way over 10,000 steps today. Made it back to WMG Publishing offices to work on moving stuff and workshop stuff until 7 p.m. Home to cook dinner, then back in here to do workshop assignments.…
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Productive Day
Productive Day Workshop stuff done, moving stuff done, nonfiction written, and some fiction as well. Not bad. ——- THE DAY Managed to get some errands done and get to WMG Publishing offices around 3 p.m. Worked there on workshop stuff and moving stuff until I had to run more errands a little after 6 p.m. Home to cook dinner, then in here to do workshop assignments. I was also way behind on my 10,000 steps, so after getting the assignments done, Kris and I went to watch the Voice finals and I paced while doing so to get my 10,000 finished. Then in here to work on Heinlein’s Rules.…