Professional Writer Series

The Journal, Friday, June 8

Hey Folks, This will almost be a topic on websites and what to do with them. Welcome to new subscribers. In this golden era of indy publishing, there are no limits. You can have complete control of your writing career. IF you’ve managed to avoid the hordes of traditional and vanity publishers out there who only want to take your money. But it does take a little work. It’s important to have an author website, a place where fans can visit to learn about you and what you’re doing. It’s also important, especially as you write more stories and novels … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, June 7

Hey Folks, Well, it’s Thursday. That means I have a half-day. My wife and I decided we’d take one day off per week from walking, and we decided Thursday would be that day. That way I can start writing early and go straight through (with short breaks) instead of using an hour of that time for a walk. *** Still adjusting my way of doing things. I was determined to get up early this morning. But with the sun coming up earlier and going down later, it’s more difficult to go to bed earlier. And since we got rid of … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, June 5

Hey Folks, Looking forward to another good day of writing. The novel is running, and it’s weird (for me). It seems to be psychological suspense with a lot of police procedural mixed in. Meaning the final main genre probably will be police procedural. Well, unless it develops into a thriller. I’ll have to see what happens with the scope. I like the effects/ramifications of both of the PS and PP genres. Both require minuscule, exacting and precise detail-detail-detail (but none of it boring, all of it tension-building) at the sub-molecular level. I love that stuff. Both require intensity. Both require … Read more

The Journal, Monday, June 4

Hey Folks, Wow. Nothing but whole lot of nothing going on yesterday in a writerly way. Did a little work around the yard, did some reading, but very little else. My business computer was all messed up (the last Lenovo I’ll ever buy) so I spent a few hours messing with it. Finally got it working again, or at least limping along. I did spend a little time online finding things for “Of Interest” and they’re below. Nothing time sensitive, so I figured it would keep until today. Hence no Journal yesterday. I stayed up too late on Sunday night, … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, June 2

Hey Folks, Dean’s post today (see “Of Interest” below) struck a chord with me. As a result, I added the topic below. I encourage you to read both his post and the topic. Some folks get it one way, some another. And this is a very important topic. Topic: “That” You Write vs. “What” You Write In today’s post (below), Dean Wesley Smith wrote “…all that matters is the writing, not the end product.” That seemingly innocuous statement is only one of the many truly major lessons I’ve learned from him and attempted to pass along. To establish credentials for … Read more

The Journal, Friday, June 1

Hey Folks, Short post today, which I’m sure you’ll find a relief after some of my recent ones. (grin) I had a good walk this morning. Otherwise I’m just writing today. I haven’t set aside the work tentatively titled Seduction quite yet, but I moved on to another one today. Maybe I’ll finish Seduction, maybe not. Not worried about it. It feels sluggish right now, and at the moment I just want to produce, get myself back on track with a routine. The new one, Dread, is listed below. New month, too, so I had to set up all my … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, May 31

Hey Folks, I keep hammering away at this. But as an instructor, I know some folks “get it” when they hear information one way, and some get it when they hear it another way or from another source. With that in mind, see Kris Rusch’s “Business Musings: An Agent Nightmare Revealed” at https://kriswrites.com/2018/05/30/business-musings-an-agent-nightmare-revealed/. Yep. It’s so important I added it to the main body of the Journal. And shared it with several writer groups on FB. *** Today should be a writing day, and it probably will be. It might be a percolation day. A percolation day is a day … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, May 30

Hey Folks, Had a great walk this morning. Fourth day in a row. My wife agrees that we should walk every day that we can and then we’ll take a day “off” only when the weather won’t permit us to walk. But it doesn’t rain here much, so…. Then again, we aren’t going all that far yet either. Only a mile or so. Later we’ll have to leave a little earlier on days when she has to go to work, but we’ll figure that out. There’s about a 1/4 mile dirt road from the highway to our house. I can’t … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, May 29

Hey Folks, Hmmm. I was confused for a few minutes this morning, but I finally figured it out. I erroneously titled yesterday’s post “Sunday, May 27” even though I wrote and posted it on Monday, May 28. Oh well. I had planned to get back to writing fiction today, but I have more admin stuff to take care of so probably not. And I’m in no rush. Anyway, here’s the second part of the topic I posted yesterday. If you didn’t see the first part. I strongly recommend you go back and read it. Then I’ll probably spend the balance … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, May 27

Hey Folks, Well, summer is here. Not only temperature-wise but with the earlier sunrises. I like that. With the advent of earlier sunrises, my wife and I can get back to walking in the early morning. We walk for time at the beginning. About 12 minutes out, then whatever time it takes to get back. Later, as I get in better shape and my weight starts to readjust a bit, we’ll increase the time out. I’ve written a lengthy two-part topic on Ebook Distribution. A comment I ran across on another blog set me off. I think I have a … Read more