Non-Writing Day

The Journal, Saturday, 9/9

Hey Folks, Well, I didn’t take the recliner back yesterday. If it doesn’t rain today, I’ll probably do that today. It did rain what seemed like all night last night, but less than 1/10 of an inch in the gauge this morning. Left about 8:30 for Sierra Vista. Back around 12. Not sure what else I’ll get done today. My WIP is kind’a weird. I mean, I keep hearing that all books write differently, and my experience has shown that’s true. In this one, not only will it (probably) be presented in “Parts,” but I’m getting the feeling I need … Read more

The Journal, Monday, 9/4

Hey Folks, I told my wife last night I needed to get back in the office and publish “The Tarp.” I didn’t. So after most of my Internet stuff this morning, I did that. I’m rusty there too, so it took a little longer than usual. Anyway, I’ll be emailing it to donors shortly. Actually, I ended up emailing the last three stories to donors. I might have sent the first two before, but I don’t think so. I sent them “Going Home,” a war story about a sniper who encounters some unusual circumstances; “Pancho and Lefty: An Alternate Ending,” … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, 8/31

Hey Folks, Before the sun is up, I already know today will be another day of learning/reading for me. For one thing, irrationally, I’ve become attached to the beginning and ending of months. Go figure. Frankly, I’m glad August is almost gone. From a writing standpoint, it’s been a traumatic month for me. I probably could have pulled myself out of it any number of times, but I didn’t, so. And in a way, I feel as if I’ve been holding myself back, sort of waiting. Anyway, I’m glad it’s almost gone. *** We’re in an age in which companies … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, 8/30

Hey Folks, Not a lot to talk about today. I started the day a little late. Still catching up on my sleep, I guess. I made my rounds of the Internet. DWS is back, mostly. I listened to the vids from Week 4 of my current workshop and enjoyed it. A lot of meat there. I guess maybe there was a lot of meat in Weeks 2 and 3 as well, but I wasn’t as interested in those. It would depend on where your interests lie. I also received a link to my FREE copy of “Write. Publish. Repeat Conversations” … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, 8/29

Hey Folks, In the interest of “fair and balanced reporting,” via The Digital Reader check out David Gaughran’s “The Visibility Gambit” at https://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2017/08/28/the-visibility-gambit/. Spoiler Alert: This is in favor of going with Amazon KDP Select, but be sure to read the comments too. Hey, whatever works for you. To learn more about KDP Select (this feeds Kindle Unlimited) and determine whether it’s right for you, visit https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/. Be sure to also read https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/A6KILDRNSCOBA?ref_=kdp_KDPS_faq/ and then click the link for KDP Terms and Conditions and read that. I decided today to take a chance, though really it isn’t much of a … Read more

The Journal, Monday, 8/28

Hey Folks, Well, this is too important for “Of Interest.” It’s more like “Please Don’t Miss This.” And please don’t just scan the headlines. There are a lot of gems in the text. I’m not overstating when I say these guys do what Dean Wesley Smith does to help writers, but they take it a step (or several steps) farther. But whereas DWS teaches writing techniques, these guys teach how to get to your writing and how to build your audience. What to do after you’ve written. But there’s nothing dry and boring here. Via The Digital Reader, see “10 … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, 8/27

Hey Folks, Topic: Following Up on DWS’ “The Value of a Paperback” Yesterday Dean explained in his post why indie authors should publish to paper as well as ebook. He made some good points. (If you didn’t read it and would like to, click http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/the-value-of-a-paperback/.) It’s always good to have your books available to more people in more ways. Got it. But there are other considerations too, both positive and negative. On the positive side, when the reader comes across one of my titles on Amazon, B&N, et al, if I have both paper and ebooks editions out, the reader … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, 8/26

Hey Folks, Well, a Saturday. The sun is still a couple hours from coming up as I write this. I’ve done my daily rounds of the Internet, made my usual stops. If you enjoy a bit of history along with really great photos and some personal insights, check Linda Maye Adams’ blog at http://lindamayeadams.com/2017/08/26/a-veteranwriter-looks-at-history-leesylvania-state-park/. Over the past few days I’ve started several bits of fiction. Each time I let them go. I’m not sure whether they weren’t working or it was just that I wasn’t in the mood. Probably the latter. I mean, you don’t have to be in the … Read more

The Journal, Monday, 8/21

Hey Folks, Had a great visit on Saturday night with a dear friend. Cigars puffed, movies discussed, philosophy slathered. Then a good session on Sunday morning on how to use the very intuitive Serif PagePlus to create book covers. *** If your books are offered for sale on Amazon, please read “Amazon Author Central: A Primer” at http://www.indiesunlimited.com/2017/08/13/amazon-author-central-a-primer/. I read it and there was a lot there that I didn’t know. For one thing, Amazon doesn’t automatically update your author page with new books when you publish more work. On my author page, only 33 books were listed. That was … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, 8/20

Hey Folks, Well, I had to smile at Dean’s post. See http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/a-non-event/. A few days ago he was annoyed, expecting a deluge of tourists in his little town to see the eclipse: From “A Fun First Day” on August 16, “Now if we can just survive this stupid eclipse, we will be fine. Shadow goes right smack over the top of us as it makes landfall. The actual center is about two miles from the new store. No telling what will happen here with that many people trying to cram into a 60 mile wide area. We just don’t have … Read more