I participated in a lot of events this year, more than I anticipated. That means I worked most weekends from April through November. I do mean “worked” because that’s what these events are: work. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy them. On the contrary, I often do enjoy them. I like meeting people and introducing them to my stories. It’s wonderful when folks who...
Yes, I’m an author, but I make my living as a freelance writer and editor. Because of that, one might think I have little tolerance for error in written content. On the contrary, being a professional editor and writer affords me greater tolerance because I know just how difficult producing clean, well-written content is. OK, I admit to having DNF’d a book after encountering the third...
I returned from vacation this week. Although I write stories that take place in different countries, on different planets, and in different realms, I actually had never traveled outside the USA until this year. I actually hadn’t even possessed a passport until last year. Acquiring the passport made traveling outside the USA a real possibility. Since my elder son died in 2021, I have made a...
In my “day job” when I’m not playing author, I work full-time as a freelance professional. Most of my work is editing. In my daily gig-chasing activity, I come across solicitations for editors, but those solicitations leave a lot to be desired. Many are simply “I need an editor” type of messages and offer no information. Posts like those receive hordes of replies...
If you’re on this website, then you know I’m an author. You may also know that I’m a ghostwriter, too. Recently, I responded to a solicitation on Facebook for a ghostwriter. Details were lacking, so I commented with questions requesting basic information: genre, production schedule, compensation, etc. After all, if the project isn’t a good match, then professionals like me...
Ronald Reagan served as the president of the United States during my high school and college years. He was known as “the great communicator” because he didn’t mince words, yet often remained tactful. I never quite learned how to do that, but one of his quotes stuck with me over the decades: “Trust but verify.” I like it better than President Calvin Coolige’s...
When do you know when your book is ready for publication? That’s a question clients often pose. My answer is when you’re happy with it. I advise my clients not to seek perfection because they can always tweak a word here and there in an endless and futile effort to achieve perfection. Perfection doesn’t exist when it comes to literature. There’s always something that could...
For me, convention season is half-finished. On July 21, I participated as a vendor at a quickly organized pop-up event at Missing Falls Brewery, in Akron, Ohio, called “Books & Beer.” The event was originally slated to feature 10 indie authors, but there were only five who actually participated. The event was interesting when compared to previous engagements this year: There were...
When I was 14 years old, my family visited the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Decades later, I remember several of the masterpieces hanging on the walls, particularly one that I did not like and could not determine why it was considered worthy of display in the renowned museum. It was a painting, a huge canvas painted in institutional green (the same color as mint flavored Crest toothpaste...
One bit of advice the “experts” give to novice writers is to read extensively. An author cannot truly know the tropes and reader expectations of his or her genre unless he or she reads extensively within that genre. The best way to know what readers want now is to read the books that are popular now in that genre. I’ve been doing a lot of reading and little (or nothing) in the...