I admit to shameless stealing the title for this post from an entry over at The Passive Voice. This is a simple truth all of us involved in publishing, whether it is as a writer published by a traditional publisher or as an indie, need to remember. That's especially true right now, when so many... Continue Reading →
Don’t Be A Jackass
Last week, Sarah wrote about status, achievement and diplomacy. I'll admit, she was much nicer about it than I would have been. It is something she and I have talked about a great deal over the years of our acquaintance. The discussions usually begin with something along the lines of "Can you believe. . .... Continue Reading →
Do Your Homework
I'll admit right off the bat, this post was inspired by the title of a post over on The Passive Voice. But it veers off the path immediately from the Publishers Weekly article that was the basis for the PV post. If I try to write about "cultural appropriation" this morning, the post would wind... Continue Reading →
Think like a pro and remember it’s a business
(This is a redux, mash-up, and an update of a couple of posts I did several years ago. I'm reviving them because of a trend I've been noticing--again--among writers. To be honest, it is also fueled by some recent current events. So, if it seems familiar, that's why--ASG) So treat it as one. Several years ago,... Continue Reading →
Chilling? Downright Frigid.
Very first thing: if you haven’t read Amanda’s post from this morning, go read it. While this morality clause nonsense is dangerous to writers, and it’s certainly a CYA move on the part of the publishers including it in their contracts, I can’t help but wonder if it’s *also* being used as a means of... Continue Reading →
It’s really a business, pt. 2
Two weeks ago, I wrote a post about how writing is a business and we need to treat it as such. In that post, I talked about some of the things we need to do after we hit the publish button. No, I didn't discuss marketing, at least not in detail. Why? Because I'm still... Continue Reading →
Le Sigh
Yesterday, I blogged about writers and editors behaving badly in social media. No, I'm not talking about those writers who go after reviewers. I'm sure none of us will ever forget NB and his responses to anyone who might have ever posted a negative review to his masterpiece -- and I use that therm loosely.... Continue Reading →
Think like a pro
This is a quasi-follow up to last week's post. In this case, I'm not necessarily saying to think like a "pro" writer but think like a business pro. This means sitting back and considering how what you just wrote as a blog post or FB status post or Tweet or whatever the social media platform... Continue Reading →
It is a business. . .
So treat it as one. Yesterday, as I was looking at FB, I came across a post from someone I respect a great deal. He also has one of the most unverifiable jobs there is in publishing. No, not reading the slush pile, although that is part of his job. He has taken it upon himself... Continue Reading →
To pirate or not to pirate, that is NOT the question
Over the last few days, social media has been alive -- again -- with author outrage over e-book piracy. Apparently someone on Facebook started a thread on her wall asking for recommendations for pirate sites where she could download e-books for free. It's no surprise that the authors were up in arms. After all, no... Continue Reading →