Applying the Formula

Applying the Formula

A long-running controversy in writing circles rages around the validity of formulas. Keep in mind that I don't mean formulaic writing, which is just predictable and derivative. More accomplished authors than I swear by the effectiveness of time-tested plot structures, character archetypes, and pacing guidelines. Can these decades--sometimes centuries--old conventions…
January 25, 201710 Comments

Author Nick Cole on the Importance of Platforms

Nick Cole explains why building an author platform is especially important in this age of SJW disemployment mobs. As writers we're always trying to get people interested in our books. And exposure helps that to happen. Making people aware of your book is key to getting them to actually buy…
January 12, 2017
How to Design Magic Systems

How to Design Magic Systems

When two magic systems love each other, sometimes they hug. A speculative element is what sets the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror apart from literary fiction. There's no element more speculative than magic, and it's become a common term of art to speak of an SFF universe's "magic…
January 5, 201724 Comments

Should You Go to College?

Commenter anonme offers some sage advice to college-age readers in response to yesterday's post: As someone who holds a useless humanities degree, I am firmly in the "college is a scam" category. With caveats.  If there is some in the audience who are college age, I am going to attempt…
December 29, 20165 Comments

Self-publishing Costs: One-time Payment or Percentage of Royalties?

As an indie author I wear two hats: writer and publisher. These two job roles involve complementary but markedly different responsibilities and mindsets. A writer's job is to produce the best writing possible so that readers will be pleased. A publisher's job is to get the author's writing into readers'…
December 27, 20162 Comments
Author Marketing 101: Social Media Profiles

Author Marketing 101: Social Media Profiles

A friend and fellow writer recently asked for help building his online brand. Since my advice is generally applicable to any author engaged in online marketing--which should be all them--I thought I'd share it here. Profiles Your profile pages on various social media sites are among your most powerful marketing…
August 17, 20165 Comments

Reader Mail: A Self-Publishing Primer

A new reader sends this request for help navigating the radically transformed publishing landscape: First off, I'd like to congratulate you on the success of the book bomb a couple of weeks ago, and I hope you continue to be successful in your writing career. I have a huge amount…
June 21, 2016
Applied Rhetoric: Fun with Trolls

Applied Rhetoric: Fun with Trolls

A close friend and I were discussing the relative merits of dialectic and rhetoric the other day. He spoke of the invective bafflingly spewed against Christians since the Muslim terrorist attack in Orlando and mentioned debating fellow members of certain online communities on the subject. When I advised him that…
June 20, 20168 Comments

Finding the Time to Blog with Russell Newquist

Author Russell Newquist is one of those ultra-productive people who seem to inhabit a time warp where there are 72 hours in a day. Here he shares his secrets for prolific blogging. Sleep is for the weak. I honestly probably don’t sleep enough. I average six to seven hours of…
June 8, 20162 Comments
How to Set the Price of Your Self-Published Book on Amazon

How to Set the Price of Your Self-Published Book on Amazon

Most publishers are pricing their eBooks too high. How much is an eBook worth? Several factors must be taken into account when attempting to answer that question, and the answer can change depending on the book. Consider Amazon Amazon reserves their best 70 percent royalty rate for eBooks priced between…
January 13, 20162 Comments