Category Archives: Writing

We’ve tackled writing, agenting, traditional publishing and self-publishing, and yet there are still a handful of frequently asked questions left, primarily surrounding the question of what I personally can do to help you, a potentially aspiring writer, in your career.

Yep, I’ve been asked all these questions, and it’s very flattering; by no means do I want to discourage anyone from asking me stuff. Hopefully, these answers will be a good place to start.

Ready? Of course you are.

Continue reading →

So far, these FAQs have been pretty straightforward, and have primarily dealt with the writing process, which is something every scribe can relate to, along with agents and traditional publishing. Today, we get into self-publishing.

This is a touchy subject for some, and I genuinely believe there’s a lot of sturm und drang here that’s unwarranted. (I’ve blogged about this before.) If you disagree with my take on self-publishing — which is by no means meant to be the end-all, be-all on the topic — feel free to comment here. But please do so respectfully. Let’s have a discussion without name calling and such. I know this the Internet, but I don’t feel I’m asking too much.

As always, this is my take, and your experience will vary, as will the experiences of other authors.

Ready? Let’s go:  Continue reading →

So far, we’ve tackled frequently asked questions about writing and getting an agent. Today, I’m going to talk about publishing.

Now, granted, my experience with the publishing world has been both limited in scope and complex in nature. I’ve had two contracts total in my fiction career, so it’s a limited sample. And as I’ve said before, your experience likely will differ. In fact, I hope it goes a bit smoother. But that said, I can’t complain. My books are on shelves, and that’s an awesome feeling.

Again, as a reminder, other authors may have different opinions, which is great. Don’t just rely on me to inform your authorial and/or publishing escapades. Do your homework!

With that said, on to the next:  Continue reading →

So yesterday I answered some questions about writing, my process, and what’s worked for me. Today, we’re going to talk about getting an agent, which is the source of no small amount of angst among many would-be authors.

As I said yesterday, my experiences will likely be very different from yours, and other authors may have different opinions here. This is my take on it.

Here we go:  Continue reading →

Believe it or not, that “Contact” tab sees a decent amount of use, which pleases me greatly – I love hearing from folks about my work. Some of it is out-and-out fan mail, which will never ever get old. Some of it is about writing and publishing and requests for advice.

Between e-mail and some in-person questions I’ve received at readings and conventions, it’s readily apparent that there are folks out there very interested in my experiences writing novels and getting them published.

Now, my advice is probably worth that portion of your monthly electric bill used solely to power your computer, but since people have asked, I’ll do what I can. As with so many things in life, your experience can, and likely will, be different.

I’ll be doing a topic every other day for the next week or so. Note that the questions are tongue-in-cheek but also reflect things I’ve actually had folks ask me. With that said, here we go:  Continue reading →