If white rabbits and colored eggs can symbolize Christianity’s holiest day, then why not boots? I’m in reboot mode after considerable turmoil to my writing framework. Turmoil here isn’t used in the negative. Jesus Christ Himself (Jesus H. Christ, to some) achieved his greatest miracle on waves of enormous turmoil. Turmoil forces us to react, … Continue reading April Reboot
Writing
Book Marketing & Helping Others
I've turned the tables on fellow indie writer and keen author interviewer Matthew Whiteside, who describes his Uniweb Productions website as A place for creativity, hope, inspiration, and all around good times. https://youtu.be/XZmi1laMEQo Anyone familiar with his interviews knows about the good times. But what about the hope and inspiration? What about the creativity? Find … Continue reading Book Marketing & Helping Others
Writers’ Resources
Featuring two new resources for writers: Dactyl Review and Marylee MacDonald’s coaching blog. I came upon the first after engaging with the second by following the primary law of social media: be social. A quick exchange on Marylee’s blog pointed me the way to Dactyl Review, opening up a whole new platform for publishing book … Continue reading Writers’ Resources
For All You Novelists
Creative writing is a walk along a fine line. That line divides the seen and the unseen, the knowable and the unknown, the past and the future, cause and effect. Sanity and madness. Creative writers tread by feel to bridge the one and the other. For some the means is poetry. For others, memoir, essay, … Continue reading For All You Novelists
Speaking of Oscar
Previously blogged: Oscar KeyE is Dead. Long Live Oscar Keye. Rather than dwell on my dislike for all things Oscar Awards, trying to unravel the reasons for my disdain, I'll revisit one thing I do love about Oscar: his utility as an early alter-ego. 'Oscar Keye is dead and I am free,' I wrote in … Continue reading Speaking of Oscar
In the Pathless Woods: Revising
Three years after writing a novel called The Fortress for my eight-year-old son, I’m taking on the fourth revision. It's got a new title, In the Pathless Woods, inspired by Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, the 18th century narrative poem by George Gordon, Lord Byron. Byron's verse replaces a simple placeholder I'd inserted at the time, filler … Continue reading In the Pathless Woods: Revising
Finding Your Market
This video is about examining your manuscript to find its best market opportunity. For me the process took ten years, failed representation, and an entire rewrite. But it was worth it. https://youtu.be/cQgAu7OX0UU In this segment from my interview with Matthew Whiteside, I share lessons learned from the process of bringing out my first novel. Hint: … Continue reading Finding Your Market
Lousy Book Covers
This clip from my interview with Matthew Whiteside explores the marketing side of writing books, and why a title like Two Pumps for the Body Man can be a real challenge to promote. The cover didn't help, not even when it was featured on a website called LousyBookCovers(dot)com (their snark goes to 11...). Check the design … Continue reading Lousy Book Covers
First Lit Mag Layout in the Books
Last week I took on the role of layout designer for a community literary magazine. It was a satisfying experience with a few lessons learned. The Job The challenge included formatting and organizing 120 pages of photos, art, poetry, and prose fiction and nonfiction between 50 and 1,500 words, in three languages and three different … Continue reading First Lit Mag Layout in the Books
Happy Publication Day!
Happy Publication Day to all the contributors at the American School of Bombay! Over 80 students, parents, teachers, and staff added their voice to the first issue of ASB Musings --- a collection of reflections of the world through our eyes --- to make it a spellbinding repository of poetry, short fiction, memoir, photographs, journalism, and … Continue reading Happy Publication Day!
