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The Daily Journal, Wednesday, February 20

In today’s Journal My apology for the very long Journal today. But it’s all good stuff. ▪ Update on the challenge ▪ Topic: Writers Need Adventure — Don’t They? ▪ Two folks chimed in ▪ Daily diary (yeah, it’s back) ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers With novel 3 of the challenge in the bank, I’ll probably begin novel 4 today. No idea at the moment what it will be. Maybe back to one of my series, maybe a standalone. I guess we’ll see. It won’t be another Blackwell Ops book, though, unless another truly unique character pops into my … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, February 18

In today’s Journal ▪ Update on the challenge ▪ Update on Pro Writers Writing ▪ Topic: Ignore Name Calling ▪ The daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Today would be the last day of writing for book 3 of the challenge if I didn’t have a day in the bank. (grin) As it stands, I have today and tomorrow to finish the book on time. And it looks as if I’ll make it. I’d like to finish it today and carry over that bank day, but we’ll see. Everything depends on the characters. As it is, I expect … Read more

The Daily Journal, Friday, February 15

In today’s Journal ▪ Update on Pro Writers Writing ▪ Topic: On Being “In the Zone” ▪ The daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Update on Pro Writers Writing Last night I got started setting up the website for Pro Writers Writing. There isn’t much to see yet, beyond Robert Sadler’s excellent design for the logo that stretches across the top. I anticipate launching the new site in mid-March or a little later. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, Pro Writers Writing will be a blog similar to the Kill Zone blog. However, whereas TKZ authors … Read more

The Daily Journal, Thursday, February 14

In today’s Journal ▪ Topic: An Apology ▪ A new blogger ▪ The daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Topic: An Apology Yesterday in “Of Interest” I posted a link to “Nine Lessons from a Small Indie Publisher.” Had I read it first (I usually do), I wouldn’t have posted it. IMHO, this is not a “small indie publisher.” This is a traditional publisher doing his best to make indie publishing look bad, and he’s doing such a bad job at it that the attempt is transparent. How low will they stoop? Yes, in true indie publishing the … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, February 13

In today’s Journal ▪ Draft2Digital ▪ Behind the scenes: an announcement ▪ Crime Writer Sue Coletta ▪ The daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Draft2Digital, the ebook distributor where you can also create print books, has a new refer-a-friend royalty program. At least it’s new to me. Basically, if someone opens a new account at Draft2Digital and uses my link — https://www.draft2digital.com/referHS — I earn 10% of D2D’s royalty share (not yours) for the next two years. As you know, I’ve been recommending D2D as a distributor for the past couple of years. So if you haven’t joined … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, February 10

In today’s Journal ▪ Barely caught a gotcha ▪ Topic: Marketing ▪ The daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Special thanks to Mike Rom, one of my new first readers. Mike is a pure reader. He reads avidly, and as he does, things pop out at him. He notes those things and tells me about them. Perfect. Topic: A Marketing Thought That Many Miss We’ve all seen the pros and cons re marketing our work: ▪ Use social media ▪ Don’t use social media ▪ Be aggressive in your marketing ▪ Be passive in your marketing ▪ Have … Read more

The Daily Journal, Saturday, February 9

In today’s Journal ▪Topic: The Secret to Success… ▪ The daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Probably another short edition of the Journal today. UPDATE: Nope. Long Journal entry, short writing day. (grin) Topic: The Secret to Success as a Writer (If You Define “Success” as Yearning to Get Back to the Story) Okay, that’s a crappy title. It’s too long and maybe too restrictive and it has nothing to do with money. At least directly. Bradbury and countless other luminaries have said if you write what you love, the money will come. I assume the corollary is … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, February 5

Hey Folks, In today’s Journal ▪ First readers (revisited, briefly) ▪ Looking for experts ▪ On being a grouch ▪ Topic: How I Hit on What to Write Next ▪ I added the “Eight Tricks” link… ▪ The daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers As usual, I overexplained about first readers. Let me try to fix it. All it takes to be a good first reader is to read for pleasure, as if you aren’t supposed to give any feedback. You aren’t a teacher reading an assignment. You’re a reader, reading for enjoyment. You aren’t editing or proofreading. … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, February 4

Hey Folks, In today’s Journal ▪ An opportunity for a free writing webinar ▪ Topic: Ramblings on a Minor Crisis ▪ The daily diary ▪ A LOT in Of Interest ▪ The numbers According to the latest Reedsy newsletter, there’s a new live webinar this Wednesday (Bebruary 6) at 2 p.m. eastern time. Ann Leslie Tuttle, who “spent over 20 years as an editor at Harlequin, the world’s leading publisher of romance,” will present “What Makes the Perfect Romance.” For more information or to register, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-makes-the-perfect-romance-registration-55070670859. Did I say it’s free? *** Topic: Ramblings on a Minor Crisis Yesterday … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, February 3

Hey Folks, In today’s Journal ▪ On the challenge ▪ A brief topic on Productivity and Being Prolific ▪ Topic on What to Require of a First Reader ▪ The daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers On the challenge, the good news is, after today I still have 1 day in the bank on my challenge. The bad news is I have only 1 day  in the bank. Not that I’m complaining At All. But what can be foreseen can be remedied. So in the back of my mind is the determination to spend a lot of time … Read more