• On Writing,  publishing

    The Magic Bakery: Chapter Two

    Chapter Two… So what makes this bakery so magic anyway? Copyright, that’s what. As the Copyright Handbook says, “Copyright is the legal device that provides the creator of a work of art or literature, or a work that conveys information or idea, the right to control how the work is used.” So what is so magic about that? All countries in the world have copyright protections in one form or another. As of the writing of this chapter, almost all countries in the world have signed onto one copyright convention or another, agreeing to the basic aspects of copyright protections. In fact, here in the States, copyright protection was written…

  • On Writing,  publishing

    The Magic Bakery: Chapter One

    Chapter One… Digging down into all the vast areas of how writers sell books and the business of selling fiction, I figured the best way to start this would be on the surface, explaining some real logical, but forgotten (by writers), business concepts. So an example: A young writer (not in age, but in experience) writes and finishes a first novel. And somehow manages to avoid all the traps of rewriting and letting a peer workshop kill the book. Fantastic! This is a real event and once published should be celebrated. First novels are important to every writer. Get copies out to family, tell friends where the book can be bought, and…

  • On Writing,  publishing,  workshops

    Strengths Craft Two Workshop Now Available

    If you have signed up for all six workshops and did not get the code from me for Craft Two tonight, write me please. Here is all the information on where the Strengths Workshops now stand. Ever wished major writers would help you go in the right direction? These strength workshops do just that in craft, business, and sales. DETAILS OF THE WORKSHOPS Regular Sales This regular publishing and writing sales course tests your basic understanding of what makes a book sell. Covers, blurbs, wide distribution, expectations, plus much more. This will not only test you, but help you understand what you need to start learning to succeed in the future.…

  • Challenge

    EMail Fun Tonight

    Didn’t Get Another Chapter… But I will in the next few days. Tonight has been the big e-mail move around. No one should notice anything. My regular e-mail is just fine. But since SFF.net, one of my e-mail providers for 20 plus years decided to shut down in a few days, I had to get a few back-up e-mails working. And that is great fun. Deadline hell for something I flat didn’t want to do. (grin) And there went my writing time for both fiction and the Magic Bakery book. But got the emails working. A relief. So maybe tomorrow night for a chapter on the bakery.

  • On Writing,  publishing

    The Magic Bakery: Copyright in the Modern World of Fiction Publishing

    Introduction… Indie writers make great money these days with their small and medium-sized businesses. Some make millions, while at the same time others sell few books. The writers selling few copies tend to look for reasons why they are not selling. I could spend a lot of time listing all the reasons writers find for a book now selling, but almost always the reason is a very simple business reason. Inventory. And a complete failure to understand what they are selling. But that seemingly simple answer has a vast universe of issues around it. And understanding inventory in publishing takes an understanding of copyright. So for this book, I am…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  workshops

    Collections and Workshops

    Short post tonight to keep my blogging streak alive on this Saturday night. Turned in two collections tonight, plus worked on the Strength workshops this afternoon and evening. I will try to remember to let you know when the collections are live. We will be another few weeks before we get the sixth Strengths workshop up. We are enjoying working on them and answering assignments. So far so good. If you want to take three you get the fourth one free and if you take all six you get a monthly online workshop free as well. Information about the Strength Workshops is at Strength Workshops

  • On Writing,  publishing

    Chet Cunningham

    One of the great modern pulp writers… Chet Cunningham just died. Since we have been talking about pulp writers to admire from the old days, I thought I would mention his passing at 88. He was writing up to the end from what I understand. Author of around 450 books, but as most writers who are prolific, a real list is almost impossible to put together. I hope someone has it somewhere. And as with most of the old pulp writers, most of you will have never heard of him, even though chances are you read his work over the years.  He tended to write one book a month, but…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Reporting Words and Steps

    Going to Start Again… Numbers of people have written me and asked if I was going to start keeping track of the writing and such again, plus the exercise, on a daily basis. Answer is yes. For a month or so this spring I will track it again carefully starting on the first of the month. And I will detail out my day each day as well. Might as well do that as I am ramping up the writing and exercise. Also, just about ready to start writing that new blog book called The Magic Bakery: Understanding Copyright for the Modern Fiction Writer. That will start next week. Considering how…

  • Fun Stuff,  On Writing,  publishing

    Some Pulp Writers

    Some Fun Names and Facts… Since it was asked about talking about the old pulp writers and how some people liked that, I thought I would do a quick post on just a few of the writers who wrote a book a week for years at a time. Yup, a book a week. For years. British writers this post. There were numbers of US writers as well, but the British during the final years of the pulp era and the start of the paperback era had some amazing writers working down in the trenches. (1948 to 1955 or so) So I did some quick research of names I knew (and…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Spent the Night Reading

    And Not Even For a Workshop… Yes, I always tell writers they must read for pleasure, but then never talk about my own reading here much.  Granted, I did mention reading a number of times when working on the 1.3 million words for the anthology workshop. But past that, I just think of reading for pleasure as something I sort of do all the time. Most in bits and pieces. I am a paper reader. I don’t own a reading device, although there are a number of them scattered around the house. I do own an iPad, but never use it for much of anything. And I do read workshop…