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Writing a novel, painting, sculpting, music, designing, are all creative works, subject to other individuals appreciation of them. They don’t serve the same kind of […]
“Vanity, definitely my favorite sin.”
For those of you unfamiliar with the above quote, it’s the last line to a film I remember enjoying very much, The Devil’s Advocate. Al Pacino plays John Milton, a physical manifestation of Satan, and the line refers specifically to vanity’s inherent potential for exploitation. Unfortunately, this applies not just to lawyers (as was the case in the film), but to writers alike, or more to the point, vanity authors. Er, wait, I meant enterprise authors. OK, which one is it?
Vanity Author
Let’s face it, the term vanity, or the “V” word, […]
In March 2009, I began writing an article for LLBR about how to market your book on Amazon. The result of that article turned into a longer project that I decided to publish as a book. Taking advantage of Lulu’s free ISBN at the time, I released it as a 93 page guide that included my POD Diary which I wrote throughout the first year of marketing my book, Stealing Wishes.
It took several months for the book to become available on Amazon. Six months in fact. Having emailed Lulu support several times during that wait period and after […]
There is nothing in a caterpillar that lets you know it will someday become a butterfly…
When you think about plot, story, many things may come to mind: compelling characters, twists, unique situations and emotional ties to the reader…. at least in good plots, right? But the question most writers want the answer to is “how?” How did Tsugumi Ohba create such a compelling story, how did C.S. Lewis write multiple stories that were fresh and unique?
These are the C’s in Success… in school “C” meant average, when you have the following C’s you are an average writer, so […]
1. How did you come to self-publish? Did you try to get published
traditionally?
I did try to find an agent. I believe I sent query letters to about 10 seeking representation before decided to self-publish. Once I found iUniverse, I thought it would suit me better than traditional publishing. I write because I love to write. I was worried it would become more like work than my passion.
2. What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the service?
I used iUniverse […]
I saw a post on the Kindle forums asking “Will Amazon offer free to Kindle users, the hardcovers they have purchased?” and the obvious answer is no, since it’s not Amazon’s decision. Books you buy are not just the words of a story, no matter how ideal that would be. You’re purchasing a product, and a lease to use (read) that product in a certain environment. It’s not the words themselves that are being purchased. That’s how traditional publishers are treating digital books.
But I’m not part of a traditional publisher. And neither are […]
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“Lizzie with your hair so red, what’s that fox doing on your head?”
So demand the townsfolk of Lizzie’s world the morning after an abandoned baby fox wanders in through her moonlit window. When the fox finds comfort on top of the little girl’s red head, the pair become fast friends, despite the townspeople’s protest. After a few mishaps including one angry grocer, several stolen eggs, and a […]