The Necessity of Editing

The Necessity of Editing

The most eye-opening part of being a professional editor has been the fascinating look it offers into other writers' creative process. There's a lot of talent out there that oldpub would never give the time of day. These authors are finding audiences thanks to newpub. At the same time, you…
February 6, 20206 Comments
The Purpose of Your Life

The Purpose of Your Life

... could be to serve as a warning to others. As Devon Stack learned when he stepped outside his comfort zone to document the wreckage left in the wake of a wasted life. As with all of Stack's videos, this one is worth every second of your time: I've seen…
December 2, 201944 Comments
Books Are Not Head Movies

Books Are Not Head Movies

A number of readers have asked me to explain my frequent editing advice against writing by playing a movie in your head and transcribing what you see. To complement the inherent advantages the novel has over film as a storytelling form, here are a few proscriptive reasons to avoid approaching novel…
November 27, 201920 Comments
Serious Internet Business

Serious Internet Business

The curious intersection of the publishing business and the Internet has forced authors to moonlight as social media mavens. This is true regardless of whether you self-publish and predates oldpub's collapse. Since every author is now a serious internet businessman, how to build a social media following has joined nuts…
August 21, 201913 Comments
What Can’t Go On, Won’t

What Can’t Go On, Won’t

A reader makes a number of keen observations and poses a series of timely questions on the our current civilizational crisis. Let's start with givens:1) Our side needs to avoid supporting those who hate us.2) Our side needs to fund those on our side who are trying to rebuild/recapture Christendom.3)…
August 15, 201915 Comments
Selling an Image

Selling an Image

I've been asked to compile this Twitter thread, which turned quite a few heads. The topic is newpub marketing, which tends to be popular with my blog readers, so I've reproduced it here. Most folks in newpub unconsciously stumble out of the gate by calling themselves indie *authors*. I know…
July 17, 20197 Comments
Hecklers vs Critics

Hecklers vs Critics

I've been getting a lot of requests for writing advice lately. Knowing how to recognize and take constructive criticism is among the most important skills a writer can master, so I've dug this post out of the vaults. Writers tend to be introverts. Most of us also crave external validation.…
July 11, 20192 Comments
How to Twitter

How to Twitter

Embarrassing admission time: I have a chronic case of boomer tech when it comes to social media. Longtime readers know I relentlessly advocate for elevating publishing out of the oldpub tar pits and into the newpub promised land. I'm the first to ditch obsolete publishing bromides and embrace newly emergent…
July 1, 20196 Comments
Yes, Fire Your Agent

Yes, Fire Your Agent

For any authors who didn't think I was serious last time, a reader provides another case study in why you need to fire your literary agent. Or better yet, never hire one in the first place. We push forward a decade to 2002 when I have sold my own dramatic…
March 20, 201911 Comments
Writing Tips: Conflict, Tension, and Action

Writing Tips: Conflict, Tension, and Action

Many writers labor under a common misconception about what makes a book feel fast-paced. Slamming chapters together with no space in-between doesn't necessarily give readers a sense of speed. In fact, it can do the opposite by bringing on action fatigue. Pacing has less to do with keeping lots of…
January 10, 20194 Comments