As my life gets more portable, I have to rethink even a few things I thought were settled. Technology is making it possible to do a lot more with a lot less (and a much smaller footprint). So I thought I'd take a look at the iPad, and see if I could replace the laptop that replaced the bigger laptop that replaced the non-portable desktop. The circle of life.
Read MoreWhen it comes to writing a book, there are essentially two types of authors.
The first is the plotter—the person who starts with a bullet list or a story treatment or story beats, and follows that plan from beginning to end. These authors can be meticulous and exacting, or they can use a more "loosely outlined" approach.
The second type, and the category I most often fall into, is the pantser. Yeah ... irony.
Read MoreIf you wanted (or needed) to write and publish a book in just 30 days, would you be able to do it?
You would if you used this easy formula. And by "easy," I mean "you still have hard work to do, but it can be done."
Translation can sometimes be so finicky.
Try this 30-Day Author formula.
Read MoreLately, I've been putting my chips on short fiction. I can't give you anything close to a research-driven perspective on why I think this is a good bet—it's a gut feeling more than anything. But it seems like some big names are more or less thinking in the same direction. Recently, Hugh Howey (author of Wool) has been writing posts about Kindle Unlimited and short fiction, and what he's saying hits home with me. But I've also noted some chatter on various forums, and seen some uptick for certain authors, and all of it makes me believe that short fiction is a contender now.
Read MoreWriting is hard. Keeping at it can be exhausting. Remember where your personal strength comes from, and go there often. Mine is God. I hope yours is too.
If you don't have a source of strength and courage, to help you write or to help you keep moving forward in any part of your life or career, talk to me. I'll introduce you to mine.
Read MoreI've been blessed with a pretty cool gift. It's kind of amazing, when I think back on it, how not only my whole career but my whole life has been shaped by this thing I do—this super power I have.
I'm telepathic.
Read MoreHere's irony for you—I spent a huge chunk of my life writing for a living until I could figure out what I wanted to do for a living.
I kept trying out new careers and new industries, taking new jobs and building new businesses, and all the while doing anything but considering writing as my career.
What makes it worse is that all the while, I was saying things like, "I wish I could win the lottery or get a job or build a business that gives me the time to just write full time." I kept putting off actually writing, waiting for "some day" to come, so that I could finally start writing.
What a profound disrespect for the skill that has served me so well, all of my life.
Read MoreWriting is weird.
It's simultaneously the hardest and the easiest thing most of us do. Hard, because for most people the thought of sitting down and chunking out something long and involved, like a book, is daunting. We love the idea of it, but we dread the work. We have flashbacks to middle school and high school, where writing was forced on us as formulaic oppression. Write, or suffer.
Read MoreAnother episode is up and ready for your viewing pleasure! You can watch it below.
Before that, I thought I'd muse a bit on what it means to have a workflow as an author. If you're an indie publisher, I think you'll vibe to this. If you're a reader, think of it as a sneak peek into how the magic happens!
Read MoreI couldn't be more excited about this. Don't let the drab little period at the end of that last sentence fool you. I'm walking that thin line of using up the world's supply of exclamation points.
But awesome!
Read MoreI've written a lot of my best work at Starbucks and Barnes & Noble. I get inspired by rows of books and gallons of coffee. When I'm winding down and feeling the drag of pushing through for another thousand words or so, I can get up and wander and pick things up and get all jazzed, and then get back to work. Assuming my seat wasn't taken while I was gone.
I love it. But I have to confess — I think I love my home office more.
Read MoreI promised my friend and fellow, Tammy McDonald, that I would create a reading list of books I thought every indie author should read. This isn't that list, but it's a fair start.
Read MoreI had a chance to chat and exchange interviews with author, artist, and poet Violette Meier.
I love doing interviews like this (ever seen my "five questions" interviews? I'll dig those out and dust them off soon). The indie author community is already strong and growing stronger, and I feel honored and privileged to be a part of it! But enough about me, let's talk about Violette Meier —
Read MoreMarketing is hard. Also, marketing is easy.
And if that makes your head hurt, it's worse knowing how absolutely true both those statements are. I'm learning, as I dig deeper into marketing my own books, that the whole system is kind of conflicted and confused from within.
Read MoreJust wanted to drop a quick note. I know I've slacked off on blog posts this week, but it's all in the name of a worthy cause! Today I am spending the entire day working on Citadel: Children of Light!
You can track my progress on the Home page. Throughout the day I'll update with the latest word count, and you can watch that little meter fill up to your heart's content!
I'm incredibly grateful to you for being patient and supportive. And I hope this will be enough to get you excited about the book. It's a hell of a story, and I really cannot wait for your to read it!
Soon, my pretties. Soon.
Read MoreSome of you know (or may have figured out) that I'm doing a deep dive into self publishing as a business platform. There's a ton to learn in this area, especially since it keeps growing when I'm not looking. I'm listing to podcasts (the guys at SelfPublishingPodcast.com are fantastic and entertaining), reading tons of books, blogs, and articles, and generally just obsessing over the business and marketing side of my writing. It helps to work in Marketing as a "day job." Lots of transfer back and forth.
Read MoreA while back I wrote about my "tools of trade" — the go-to tools I rely on to do my work. Not much has changed on that front, and all of those tools are still a delicious part of my nutritious workday. But I feel like I may have short-changed a piece of software that I've come to adore, and that I believe has some value that even the guys who make it may not consider.
Read MoreThis weekend I told Kara that I really need an office — a place where I can close the door every now and then, and dig in. I need a place where, when I'm sitting there at a desk, face lit by my MacBook, cats shooed away, it's time to work by God! That's the place. That sweet spot. When I sit down at that desk, it's work time. It's like a mental trigger, telling me it's time to get going and get more words on the page.
Read MoreSteven Gould (author of Jumper and current President of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America) just posted a link to handful of great science fiction that you can purchase to support a couple of worthy charities.
Read MoreYesterday I had about three minutes of conversation with a friend about the idea of "writer's block." I have pat answers for this kind of thing, canned responses I've used before, and will use again. "I don't believe in writer's block," I say, as if somehow believing in it is all that empowers it. But that's kind of a dodge, because I know that writer's block is very real, it's just not something I experience.
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