A guest post by Speculative Fiction author and editor Tammy Salyer: Treat your writing like a passion, but treat your novel like a business. Research the distribution sites, their requirements, and how long they take to set up and use. There are two kinds of people in the world (outside of those who write and those who don’t), and they are those who obsess about the details and those who think of details as esoteric thought experiments that have little bearing on the obviously more important process of writing the next novel. But here’s the thing, and it bears repeating
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The Nazi Chocolate Caper (by K.B. Owen)
Please Welcome mystery author K.B. Owen, who’s taking the reins today…and be sure to read all the way to the bottom (and leave a comment) for a chance to win a great prize package! photo by John Loo (creative commons) The Nazi Chocolate Caper By K.B. Owen This being the day before Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be fun to talk about a chocolate-related case of intrigue. The year was 1943, and those crafty Nazis had come up with yet another plan to assassinate Winston Churchill. They decided to prey upon the Prime Minister’s fondness for expensive chocolate, and
Read moreCreating Your Business Plan and Publishing Calendar
A guest post by Speculative Fiction author and editor Tammy Salyer: Treat your writing like a passion, but treat your novel like a business. Being an independently published author is extremely time intensive. Knowing that going in is the first consideration you need to include when evaluating your trajectory and goals. Much as you may outline your novel—with plot arcs, story goals, and finale outcomes—think of your business plan as the outline to your writing career. The following are the three universal steps (as I see them) to accomplish this. 1. Set realistic goals. The fact is, brand new unknown
Read more25 Things You Need to Know About Writing Mystery Novels
This morning, I’m sharing a little mystery writing advice (and a lot of free-ranging snarks) over at Chuck Wendig’s TERRIBLEMINDS blog: 25 Things You Need to Know About Writing A Mystery Novel. Click the link. You know you want to.
Read moreMy First Time…Times Two
Today, I’m redirecting you to THE QUIVERING PEN, where I’m talking about “My First Time” and why it turned out better than I expected. Intrigued? Confused? Here’s the link to find out all the explicit details. I promise it’s worth reading and I promise it’s safe for work. In other words, it’s probably not what you thought when I told you I’d talk about my first time. Or maybe it is … you’ll just have to click to find out.
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