J.D. Salinger has died at the age of 91. I’ve always admired Salinger for his unshakable dedication to craft rather than publication. I love the line quoted in this article: “There’s. . .peace in not publishing.” Read that full quote. Read it and understand it. Read it and apply it… Read more“The passing of Buddy Glass”
Category: Writing
More surfing on the e-book wave
Well, the New York Times has an opinion on the Apple announcement of its e-reader, as well as a lament for the good, old-fashioned book in the Opinionator (you read mine here first!). He makes lots of good points and even singles out two of the indie bookstores we’ve been… Read more“More surfing on the e-book wave”
Catching up on publishing & bookstore news
Well, Amazon is coming out of the chute swinging this week. The good news is that they’re acknowledging the competition by fighting for independently-publishing authors with their 70%-royalty offer for Kindle books. For the record, 70% is a seriously high royalty rate. Just a year ago, Publishing Frontier ran an… Read more“Catching up on publishing & bookstore news”
Sketching in story
“Show, don’t tell.” If the world of fiction has a motto, that’s it. But of course you already know you can’t show everything. Remember Ramona the Pest? Beverly Cleary’s masterpiece? As it happens, we used to have a couple of neighbor kids who were just like Ramona and Beezus, right… Read more“Sketching in story”
Examining the assumptions behind the push to self-market your fiction
Let’s talk a little about the self-marketing tsunami. Because it is huge. It is compelling. And it is omnipresent. Can you turn your novel into a career, if you’re just willing to do the necessary legwork? Well, first I’d suggest you look deep in your heart and ask yourself whether… Read more“Examining the assumptions behind the push to self-market your fiction”
The Art & Craft of Fiction: Defining a story
I’ve been watching a conversation this past week over on the Literary Lab about stories. As in: what’s the definition? I happened to be working on the section of my book on writing that deals with that very subject at the time. There are a couple of well-known angles on… Read more“<em>The Art & Craft of Fiction:</em> Defining a story”
Blogging to promote your book
So, my sys admin just got back from Community Leadership Summit West, a conference for online community managers. That’s what he does. He manages an online community. That’s actually what I do, too, except he gets paid. This is important to writers because of the way the publishing industry is… Read more“Blogging to promote your book”
Writing in your space
So, the author Chris Ryan and I have been talking about writing spaces. All the photos on my new website are of my office in the house my husband and I built, not including the subfloor and stacked lumber and unfinished drywall and shims and foam insulation where the trim… Read more“Writing in your space”
Catching up on 2009 in 2010
Happy New Year 2010 to you all! I hope you had as peaceful a New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day as we did here at our house, ensconced by the fire by a lovely (dying) tree all lit up, towers of new books next to everyone’s chair, sleeping cats… Read more“Catching up on 2009 in 2010”
Pulp Rag: Following the details to inspiration
Now, I don’t mind chopping wood. And I don’t care if the money’s no good. You take what you need, and you leave the rest. —Robbie Robertson, “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” Let’s talk about inspiration. My husband and I are selling a house right now. (And on… Read more“<em>Pulp Rag:</em> Following the details to inspiration”