The Journal, Tuesday, 8/15

Hey Folks, Via The Digital Reader, The Huffington Post (whom I would never and am not now promoting) published an article titled “The 4 Great Myths of Book Publishing.” You can read the full article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-4-great-myths-of-book-publishing_us_5988e9ebe4b08a4c247f252d/, but I’ll save you the trouble. There are actually a lot more myths about traditional publishing than four, but we’ll go with the ones they list. According to the article, the myths are that a traditional publisher will aggressively promote your book to the widest possible readership, ensure your book gets on the shelves of all the nation’s bookstores, print your book’s text … Read more

The Journal, Monday, 8/14

Hey Folks, I know at least one writer who still does extensive research before writing. That said, most of us use the hunt-and-peck method. In the midst of a story (sometimes a sentence) we pop online for a moment, do some quick research on the type of tree the hero is leaning against, which months a particular river flows, etc. Then we pop back into the story, add what we learned and move on. Most often, that search is accomplish on Google or Bing or one of the other popular search engines. For us, now there are a lot more … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, 8/13

Hey Folks, Wow. I’ve done absolutely nothing today re writing. Not even on the handout for the upcoming seminar. Nada. Went to the grocery, then out to lunch, then back to the house to try to watch a ball game. But I have DirecTV so it’s blacked out when a game is being played within 10,000 miles of my house. So I watched a few episodes of Forensic Files instead. Then I came in here to post this. So nothing today, just a placeholder. Back at it tomorrow. Of Interest See Dean’s site. He’s talking about online workshops again. Fiction … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, 8/12

Hey Folks, Well, I know at least part of today will include a trip to Sierra Vista. I hope part of the trip will include lunch. (grin) This morning after my routine, I designed two covers, created two promo docs, then published two short stories to D2D and Amazon, then uploaded them to BundleRabbit. Finally I added the covers and universal buy links to the Short Fiction page on my website. I took a moment to do some multiplication. Goodness. I have 181 short stories now. Went to SV around 10 and got back a little after 1. I’ll work … Read more

The Journal, Friday, 8/11

Hey Folks, I did pretty much nothing writing related today other than working on the handout for the upcoming intensive. Did a lot of stuff outside and around the office. Man, I’d forgotten how difficult it is to put on one of these things and prepare for it. (grin) But it’s all good. For one thing, I decided to scrap the nonfiction book idea for now. That will come after the seminar(s) is over, if at all. Right now I just wanna teach a good class. Today I did a lot of back-and-forth stuff, going from the handout I’m preparing … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, 8/10

Hey Folks, I don’t remember whether I’ve mentioned this before, but if anyone would like to read “The Fiction Factory” (being the Experience of a Writer who, for Twenty-two Years, has kept a Story-mill Grinding Successfully) by John Milton Edwards, send me an email and I’ll send you a PDF copy. Very interesting stuff. Chock full of gems. Part of my recent problem (“problem” is too harsh a word) is that my brain is trying to shut down to allow for the new knowledge I’ll absorb during the workshop I’m currently taking from Dean. Of course, that’s absurd. Nothing I’ve … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, 8/9

Hey Folks, Well, I guess I’m taking a full-blown hiatus for a week or so. No writing today. No worries and no reason for concern. I think I’m just a little tired. Doing a lot of non-writing things right now, mixed in with a lot of reading, sitting and nothing. I think I’m gonna slack off on The Journal a bit too. It had served its purpose on this end awhile back, and I’ve heard from some of you that it’s been a boon on that end. I’ll keep it going, but maybe not every day. The “streak” aspect of … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, 8/8

Hey Folks, Well, I got a good night’s rest last night. Still not feeling up to par, but a little better maybe. I decided to offer the ebook edition of The Rise of a Warrior to users of Facebook (and you) free of charge. You can read a description of the book at http://harveystanbrough.com/the-rise-of-a-warrior/. The Rise of a Warrior is a stand-alone book, but it’s also chronologically the first book of the Wes Crowley series. All you have to do is email me to let me know whether you want Kindle, .epub or .pdf. Thus far (about 6 hours into … Read more

The Journal, Monday, 8/7

Hey Folks, A little under the weather today. Nothing serious, just blah. Not sure how much writing I’ll get done, if any. Feels like a day of doing zip. I added my most recent novel, a whodunit mystery, to the website. You can see it at http://harveystanbrough.com/the-implications/. Topic: Ebook Editors (actually, formatting programs) This stuff was going to go into “Of Interest” but it’s too important. Especially for those who are new to ebook publishing or thinking about ebook publishing. If you fit either of those categories, or if you are frustrated with your current formatting process or software, here … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, 8/6

Hey Folks, Not sure what the day will hold, but at least I got some writing done and finished the story. Today, and Writing I rose way early, a little before 2, so the girls could spend some time outside before the kids and grandkids get up. (My babies spend all their time under my bed when anyone’s visiting.) I started writing at 4. Did a lot of cycling back to add in small details (verisimilitude, that) and wrote a little over 1400 words to finish the story. Probably no more writing today, and that’s fine. After the visit I’ll … Read more