I’m paraphrasing but something Dr. Jerry Pournelle said at the end of one of his stories stuck with me: Something to the effect of ‘All soldiers do is buy you time, for politicians to find a solution.’ Pournelle is a man whose thinking I admire, if not always agree with. Actually, you’re not going to... Continue Reading →
The Erogenous Zone
Most romance writers these days - or their editors, trolling (that was a typo from telling, but I'm leaving it!) them to write what sells - are under the impression that they know where all the erogenous zones are, and they march through the checklist with their characters to steam their work up. While I... Continue Reading →
Dream a Little Dream For Me
Pam Uphoff "A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep." Wikipedia But why? Oh, the theories are numerous. Dreams help us incorporate memories. Process emotions. Solve daytime problems. Play out our subconscious desires. Frankly I think it's file... Continue Reading →
Of The Giving Of Cues
Sarah's been talking about mystery (and other) plot structures. If you're going to market to a genre where there's an expected structure to the story, you need to know these things. Similarly, if you're going to market to any genre, you need to know how to give the right cues to your readers. Some genre... Continue Reading →
Mystery Structure – The Cozy
Before I get into the post proper, I'm going to be gone for three Wednesdays starting next week. I have a guest post lined up for next week, and will figure out the other two. Do not be alarmed. I haven't forgotten this series, and will resume after I come back. It's just that I... Continue Reading →
Formatting for Print (Pt. 2)
When formatting your book for print, there is no one right way to do it. The goal is to make your book look not only as good as possible but to make it look "professional" or, in other words, to make it look as close to a traditionally published book as possible. Why? Because that... Continue Reading →
I’m working on it
Just a note to let you know I am working on this morning's post. It's taking longer than I expected. Please check back in the next hour or so. Hopefully, I'll have it done by then.
Now and again (and again)
‘I have a cunning plan,’ sayeth Baldric… ‘Do you dare countermand my divine instruction?’ Sayeth the Emperor Mong. And then there’s the ‘Good Idea’ fairy… Besides all these fine helpful folk we have the generous intervention of natural disaster, plain accident (and not just the ones looking to happen thanks to the intervention of the... Continue Reading →
KENP, Click Farms, Overdrive, and Hand-selling at AMA-Con
First, a couple notes on things that have been happening in the field since last column: 1. KENP 3.0 - Normally Amazon's big changes to KU come in July, but this year it came in August. While there was much sturm und drang, really, there doesn't seem to be much appreciable change from 2.0 for... Continue Reading →
Breaking into New Markets
This last week I did something I have meant to do for a while, but haven't had the time to contemplate doing: I paid for advertising, and coordinated a big promotional push for one of my books. Most of my marketing is near-passive. I have my blog, and my social media presence, but I don't... Continue Reading →
Mad Genius Club 