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“Show, don’t tell,” Round N Over and over and over, you hear people saying that. “Show, don’t tell.” Usually, it’s said by someone who feels they must “be constructive” (ie, say something bad, but say it nicely) or they’re not being helpful. Well, guess what? Words can’t show! They can only tell! It was a dark and Continue reading It Was a Dark and Stormy Night  Rule #1: Self-publishing is always a bad idea. Those seem to be the rules Harlequin, Thomas Nelson, Hay House, and who knows how many others are playing by now. “Self-publishing is stupid! Self-publishing is evil! Self-publishing is lazy! Self-publishers haven’t paid their dues! Wait, what? Money is Continue reading Tapping the Sugar Maple I know I’ve covered this before, but I’m too lazy too check. Hey, I’m getting old. I get to indulge in repetitive blather. And one of the soap boxes I like to climb is that old favorite, “Who am I writing for?” In my Google Reader this morning, I came across New Launch: Peer Critique
Continue reading Writers vs Readers – Part N Read this: By self-publishing, I hope to liberate myself from two burdensome responsibilities—recouping the enormous, up-front costs of conventional publication and the necessity of earning large profits if I expect major houses to remain interested in my work. I’m seeking rational alternatives to the conventional routine of book promotion, an uninspired ritual that may garner 30 Continue reading Why John Edgar Wideman Self-Published Pop quiz: Question one: What’s this? Question two: What’s this? The moral of the story? It’s not all about the words. You know what the top picture is, what it means, where you might encounter it, and what to do with it. The second picture is a lot less meaningful, and yet what is it lacking, Continue reading Storytelling – It’s NOT All About the Words There’s been another surge in the argument about self-publishing, and whether or not it is something that is worth pursuing. It seems to me that most of the arguments against self-publishing begin at the wrong place and proceed in the wrong direction. It has become extremely commonplace to hear people say that you just have to Continue reading Arguments Against Self-Publishing, Round N I’m getting a little tired of hearing all the same old sad, irrelevant arguments brought to bear in the defense of piracy. Piracy isn’t really stealing, because the so-called victim of the piracy never loses anything. Piracy isn’t a violation of copyright law, because you’re making a copy for your own personal use, and that’s legal. Copyright law Continue reading A Rant on Copyright vs Piracy (wherein I lose my civility) This is a portion of a conversation already under way. Please read the following post first: And be warned: he’s going to point you to a post or two you should read even before that, so if you haven’t kept up with this conversation, go ahead and get caught up. We’ll Continue reading Further Thoughts on Copyright – A Response to Luke Bergeron What do you call a short story, a novella, or a novel? I had an interesting discussion some time back with another self-publisher. Not a fiction author, to the best of my knowledge; he was writing cookbooks, but that doesn’t really change anything. I told him I had written nine novellas, and that I liked the Continue reading Is 80,000 Words Really a Short Story? First, some background. I was probably a writer before could write. There have always been imaginary characters living in my head, telling me their stories. My parents used to assure me that when I was young, I would regale them with stories of impossible people doing impossible things, telling them with the straightest face and the Continue reading More Thoughts on the Status of Self-Publishing |
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