The Passive Voice

The Journal: Personas vs. Pseudonyms

In today’s Journal * Personas vs. Pseudonyms * Of Interest * The Numbers Personas vs. Pseudonyms As I mentioned yesterday, I thought you might enjoy reading about a few of my pseudonyms. Actually, though, “pseudonyms” is a misnomor. A pseudonym is only a false name, a mask one can hastily put on to conceal one’s “true” identity for whatever reason. (Does anyone ever reveal their true identity? And which one? But that’s a matter for another post.) A pseudonym is a lie, and it doesn’t imbue the writer with any particular skills. It’s only words. I’ve used a few pseudonyms—one … Read more

The Journal: D2D Paper Price Increase

In today’s Journal * D2D Paper Price Increase * Of Interest * The Numbers D2D Paper Price Increase I’ve been sitting on this for awhile, unintentionally. Frankly I’d forgotten about it. And I’m putting it out there today mostly to justify sharing the items in “Of Interest” with you. Anyway, if you publish (distribute) through Draft2Digital, and if you’re signed up to get their newsletter, you already know this. But just in case you don’t, D2D is adjusting what they call their “print price,” by which they mean their paper-publication price. D2D writes, “For two years we’ve been able to … Read more

The Journal: 10,000 Trillion Ants

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Rewording Heinlein’s Rule 4 * An Analogy * Dean Wesley Smith’s post yesterday * An Anniversary of Note * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “There are, by some rough estimates, 10,000 trillion ants in the world at any given moment, and their combined weight would match the total weight of the planet’s human population.” Christoph Irmscher, paraphrasing Edward Osborne Wilson in “The Ant Man’s World.”https://www.thepassivevoice.com/the-ant-mans-world/ Idea for an SF novel or series of novels? Rewording Heinlein’s Rule 4 I was talking with screenwriter MGP again and he … Read more

The Journal: A Little More on Process

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * If you don’t currently practice * Questions from a screenwriter * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” Elinor Smith If you don’t currently practice writing into the dark, and if you want to, read my previous two posts. I have a feeling some folks see “WITD” in the subject line or in the contents list and skip reading the post. … Read more

The Journal: How to Write Faster

In today’s Journal * “Of Interest” Is No More * How to Write Faster * Size Really Doesn’t Matter * The Numbers “Of Interest” Is No More After years of including an “Of Interest” section in the Journal I’ve discontinued it. I’ve realized there are no longer any writers out there who are both actively teaching and who can teach you more than I can about the craft of writing. Most of those who do purport to teach simply regurgitate the same old myths you’ve been hearing during most of your life. You can easily find them all over the … Read more

The Journal: Learn

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Today * A Rose by Any Other Name * Arm Yourself * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Terror’s not ghosts flying through the walls, going woo-woo-woo. Terror is when the party is over and everyone has gone home and at last you can take a deep breath and you lock the doors and your place is finally empty and quiet, and you turn out the lights and then you hear the toilet flush upstairs. That’s terror.” Warren Murphy Today the Journal has only three entries in “Of … Read more

The Journal: Insider Info About Traditional Publishing

In today’s Journal * Insider Info About Traditional Publishing * Of Interest * The Numbers Insider Info About Traditional Publishing By his own admission, John Gilstrap was one of the last very fortunate writers for whom lightning struck under the old “traditional” publishing system. The lightning struck in the form of a very large, life-changing, six-figure advance. Today on the Kill Zone, he posted a brief explanatory article along with links to a video he recorded. In that video, he, his agent, and his editor are chatting about traditional publishing. I trust John for various reasons, so I’m publishing this … Read more

The Journal: Selling Books Without Promo

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * Selling Books Without Self-Promotion * The Person Who Doesn’t Conform * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “So! How do you sell books without a single self-promotional tweet, post, or video?” Greer Macallister (Writer Unboxed article in “Of Interest”) “[A] lot of people have lost respect for the … person who doesn’t conform.” Erykah Badu Ahem… based on my experience, I suspect Ms. Badu’s comment would be more accurate if she replaced “have lost respect for” with “fear.” Welcome to recent new subscribers! Glad to have … Read more

The Journal: Traditional Publishing Contracts: Derivative Rights

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * From Dan Baldwin’s Writing Tip of the Week * About Kris Rusch Licensing Books * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “There is only one thing you can do, I think. Log out of BookScan. Close Goodreads. Log off Twitter. And go write. I know it’s not a very original thought. But clichés can be true. Maybe it’s the only true thing.” Lincoln Michael “At the root of most fear is what other people will think of us.” Courage is Calling by Ryan Holiday Below is reprinted most … Read more

The Journal: One More Benefit of Being Prolific

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * One More Benefit of Being Prolific * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Reading was like a drug, a dope. The novels created moods in which I lived for days.” Richard Wright, Black Boy I didn’t know books (and films) affected others like this. I received an email this morning from a person who apparently “follows” me on Amazon. She wrote, “Amazon announced yet another book publication by Harvey Stanbrough. How is it possible that you say you are not writing, yet books keep shooting out?” Well, that’s … Read more