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Posts by Cedar Sanderson

Jan 19

33 Comments

Writing Postures

About 8 months ago now, my husband and I were very excited to buy a home, one that was big enough to house the children. We had been searching for the perfect house for months, had put an offer in on another house that fell through when the inspection revealed fatal flaws in the old place… but this one was all shiny and newly renovated and the only minor flaw was that it didn’t have a fourth bedroom to use as office/guest bedroom. No problem, I thought. I’ll make the dining room into my office. We can put the First Reader in our (very large) master bedroom so he has the quiet he needs, but I’ll be out in the public spaces so the kids stop invading our bedroom all the time to talk to me.

Right. So that was a tactical error, as I am certain any parents reading along have already realized. But then, I compounded it. Read more

Jan 12

20 Comments

Rookie Writer, Seeking Publisher

There’s something about admitting in public that you’re a writer. People are either weirded out by it, or fascinated. I’ve made some interesting connections over the years talking about being an Indie Publisher, and I always try to help when asked honest questions. Years ago when I was newly fledged and all my feathers were still wet and pathetic, so many people helped me. Dave and Sarah, Amanda, and many others who aren’t here at the MGC too. I can’t possibly repay them for what they did for me. So what I do now is try to pass it along to others. In this instance, the person asking me for help has a demanding (to put it mildly) day job. In their shoes, I’m not sure I’d consider indie, either, and while it might sound here on the blog like I’m militantly anti-publisher, that’s not actually the case. Really, what I am is militantly independent. Period. Not just in business. Read more

Jan 5

32 Comments

IDGaF

Here’s why you should. I see it frequently, if not hear it outright, and although there are times the ability to not GaF is a powerful tool, there are definitely times it is a bad thing. When you get to the point where you stop seeing the people around you as humans, but inanimate objects who are simply obstacles to overcome, you need to GaF. As an author, not giving a damn about readers will get your book outright mocked, if you don’t do everything right. So I decided I needed to make a case against the modern philosophy of IDGaF. It’s self-centered, and self-defeating, when it comes to Indie Publishing. Or trad pub, for that matter. Read more

Dec 29

Cedar Sanderson
18 Comments

Ars Longa (Repost)

This originally appeared on my blog as part of a series. You can find all of them here. This seemed appropriate here, as well, and I’m dealing with some stuff that makes my writing a little… fuzzier  than usual. More on that later. I have no answers, and as I wrote a while back, humans need answers.

Ars longa, vita brevis, occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile

Read more

Dec 22

18 Comments

Freshly Revived Zombooks

We were talking about overdone themes in books recently. The First Reader had been attempting to read a book by a writer we normally both enjoy very much, and he was grumbling that it was yet another Monster Hunter book. No, not that MHI. But a book with the same general theme. “It’s like zombie books, or vampires,” he told me. “They just don’t know when to quit and find their own thing to do.” Read more

Dec 15

12 Comments

Zapping Writer’s Block Away

Ever wanted to be more creative? Feeling like you just can’t come up with any good ideas? Stuck on ways to throw a curveball in your plot?

How about a jolt to the old brainwaves? Just strap on this helmet, and press that button, and your brainwaves can be remotely controlled to block out the common, dull, familiar associations. You’ll be thinking outside the box! And it takes no effort on your part! Writer’s block is a thing of the past!! Read more

Dec 8

14 Comments

Marketing, Promotion, and Other Bad Words

I saw a book recently I’d like to buy, possibly. But there’s a problem. I just bought two books, haven’t had time to read them yet, and I’ve maxed out my book budget for the month. Drat. Oh, well, I have more books in my to be read list than I can possibly read in the scant free time I have… driving on.

Then I sat back and thought it through. As a reader, this was a ‘oh, that looks neat, can’t do it, no worries,’ kind of moment. If I were that author, though. If I were that author, I’d just have lost a sale and I’d have no idea why. Now, here’s the thing: it’s absolutely not the author’s fault. There’s nothing wrong with the cover. It fits the genre and attracted me as it is signaling genre I enjoy reading. The blurb is intriguing without being too revealing. The lead-up post that got me to link through to the book was funny if wordy, but suitable to audience. What went wrong with this potential sale was all on my end. The timing was off. Read more

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