Tag: Post
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Along the Way
Whenever I sit down to read long-form posts & articles about writing, I’m not really on the lookout for more tools of the trade. I already have a healthy collection of online how-to articles & videos, numerous ebooks & books, & plenty of emails related to the independent author adventure. Instead, reading a long-form post…
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Detours & Shortcuts
Not a day goes by that I don’t see some reference or other to the mystical “writing process” on social media & in random ads, stories, or videos—often with a definitive the in tow. I’m the first to admit to occasionally giving unsolicited advice on a range of other topics, as well as seeking out…
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Good Ole #11
In my last post, I wrote about grappling with an unreasonable expectation that I’d launch my companion novel in serialized form on Kindle Vella this month. My love-hate relationship with deadlines dates back to my early days writing short stories before venturing into the world of novels & screenplays. After a brief stint exploring the…
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Me, Myself, & I
Nothing quite like coming to terms with an unreasonable expectation of my own making. At first blush, it might seem insignificant & easily fixed, but when I’m grappling with a self-imposed deadline, the hold on my psyche can be stubborn. I won’t go into the reasons behind setting this month as the launch date for…
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657 Times & Counting
In my last post (Relishing the Moment), I confessed to actually enjoying the copyediting stage of my current project in preparation for its launch on Kindle Vella this coming January. I realize more than a few writers dread this process above all others. (I wonder how many daydreams all the independent authors in the world…
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Relishing the Moment
In my last post (Deep Dive), I wrote about immersing myself in the copy editing phase of my WIP (work in progress). One week later, I’m nearly done pouring over Benjamin Dreyer’s excellent resource book Dreyer’s English & enhancing my old list of pitfalls to avoid. And yes, the revisions are piling up (over 300…
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Deep Dive
Have you ever found yourself reading a book & wishing you’d already done so a year or two before? Well, that’s my current experience with Dreyer’s English by Benjamin Dreyer, the managing editor & copy chief at Random House. His take on the dos & don’ts of copy editing is both insightful & hysterical. The…
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To Review Or Not To Review
Last week I finished my second book review on Goodreads (Nightshade Academy by Mel Torrefranca). My main motivation for doing so—as I wrote in the review itself—was to “expand my focus beyond my usual genres (in this case, into that of YA fantasy-thriller) and the tendency I have to avoid reading anything but standalone novels.”…
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Categorical Denial, Part II
In my last post, I described my two choices for addressing the new-to-me rule in KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) that restricts an independent author to three categories instead of choosing up to ten as I did with my first self-published novel, Pearl Fields & the Oregon Meltdown. Last week, I mentioned my two choices at…
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Categorical Denial, Part I
In my last post, I used the metaphor of spinning plates to describe how I feel about juggling everyday life with my writing routine—fiction, this blog, & social media posts. What I neglected to add to that brief list was the business side of being an independent author. No surprise there since I’ve been known…
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Spinning Plates
I remember as a kid watching a juggler balance more spinning plates on sticks & his body than I ever thought possible. While most everyone else in the crowd was fixated on another, more risqué, street festival act, I couldn’t stop watching his antics like pretending to stumble before catching a falling plate at the…
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Something From Scratch
I recently started rereading Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury. Not exactly sure why I picked it up—other than the possibility that one of my journal explorations about my current writing process reminded me of something from one of his essays. Even though I’m only a third of the way through it,…
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Comment Tango
As I close in on my two goals of polishing the first 23 episodes of my upcoming serialized novel & honing the book description, it’s time to turn some of my writing attention elsewhere. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, once I release the first four episodes sometime in mid-October, I’ll have nearly two months…
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Midway Mark
Looking back over my previous posts, I realize when it comes to writing, most of my attention centers on process instead of product. No surprise there, but I decided to try shifting that slightly. So, I took a hard look at the scheduling side of setting up my upcoming serialized novel on Kindle Vella. With…
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The Luddite Ring
I can’t help but notice more & more references to the benefits of becoming a social media Luddite. The trend to openly embrace avoiding social media seems to be gaining steam in some quarters, even while more tech advances & opportunities dominate the lives of those in the mainstream. It’s only when I grapple with…
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Message in a Bottle
Not sure what really drives me on to write these posts. Granted, early on the volume of traffic on my blog was substantial enough to make the writing time I dedicate to these posts worthwhile. But given that the number of visitors & views has steadily declined over the past few months toward the single…
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Free Rein
Nothing like coming up with a new title & a finalized book description within a few days of each other. That’s what I get for spending hours & hours on the two of them, especially the latter. It’s crazy how challenging it can be to winnow a book description down to 500 characters—note, dear reader,…
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Diamond in the Rough
As I wrap up my serialized novel to launch on Kindle Vella next month, I can’t help but think of its distant cousins—unfinished novels, stories, scripts, poems, character sketches, & random ideas—whiling away the time in file cabinets, boxes, & on digital gadgets. Of course, I could go the philosophic route by claiming they were…
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The Lag
I’m at an interesting juncture in my independent author’s journey—one that I’ve read about in articles & posts by “experts” & greenhorns alike. For want of a better term, I’m calling it the Lag. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve known all along that Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown might not be the…
