In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* Whalin’s 10 Publishing Myths (a review)
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quotes of the Day
“A Lisbon, Portugal court just ruled that rather than the ‘official’ 17,000 COVID deaths reported by the health ministries, only 152 actually died of COVID.” Russell Blake
Now there’s a current story idea if I ever saw one.
“Experience the place through your characters’ eyes [ears, nose, etc. and] … Speak to the senses.” Erika Liodice
I recommend Blake’s post on the push to vaccinate children too, especially now that the president seems to be doubling down by partnering with XBox to get children vaccinated.
Whalin’s 10 Publishing Myths (a review)
If anyone out there is thinking about buying a book by Terry Whalin titled 10 Publishing Myths, I advise against it. The advice is for absolutely beginning wannabe writers, and on top of that it’s severely outdated and much of it is wrong. For example, he talks a lot about CreateSpace (no longer in existence) and says books published by them are available only on Amazon (wrong).
In some cases he actually starts or perpetuates a myth. For example, the myth that places like AuthorHouse, Publish America and other subsidy publishers are “self-publishers.” They aren’t. They’re scams, every one of them. If you want to “self-publish” or “indie publish,” the word “self” is key. You become a publisher.
Finally, late in his book a paragraph says he lists an “11th myth” online. Only it isn’t online. It’s supposedly available by PDF after you enter your name and email address online. Then you click submit, and it takes you to a page that says it can’t be found.
Anyway, you’ve all heard much more from me about publishing myths than are included in this book. If you’re interested in the topic, I urge you to check out Dean Wesley Smith’s “Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing” series over on his website (free) or in his books (inexpensive). I also recommend his “Think Like a Publisher” series.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “Writing Four Novels in a Month…” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/writing-four-novels-in-a-month/.
See “What’s It All About, Alfie? Figuring Out Chapter Arcs” at https://killzoneblog.com/2021/06/whats-it-all-about-alfiefiguring-out-chapter-arcs.html. “Figuring Out” in the title almost kept me from posting this, so caution: This should be read and the information absorbed with the conscious mind but applied through the creative subconscious. If this article causes you to “figure out” your scene as you’re writing it, please accept my apology for having listed it at all.
See “How To Write A Good Book Review – The Amazon Review” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/how-to-write-a-good-book-review-the-amazon-review/.
See “Chelsea Apple Makes a Case for BookTok Authenticity” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/chelsea-apple-makes-a-case-for-booktok-authenticity/.
See “How to Create an Authentic Setting from a Place You’ve Never Been” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/how-to-create-an-authentic-setting-from-a-place-youve-never-been/.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 450 words
Writing of WCGN2: The Comancheros (novel)
Day 1…… 1216 words. Total words to date…… 1216
Day 2…… 1913 words. Total words to date…… 3129
Day 3…… 3103 words. Total words to date…… 6232
Day 4…… 2490 words. Total words to date…… 8722
Day 5…… 4179 words. Total words to date…… 12901
Day 6…… 3492 words. Total words to date…… 16393
Day 7…… 4419 words. Total words to date…… 20812
Total fiction words for June……… 69306
Total fiction words for the year………… 523795
Total nonfiction words for June… 18790
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 125020
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 648815
Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… 10
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… 1
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… 3
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 63
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 217
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31
Disclaimer: In this blog, I provide advice on writing fiction. I advocate a technique called Writing Into the Dark. To be crystal clear, WITD is not “the only way” to write, nor will I ever say it is. However, as I am the only writer who advocates WITD both publicly and regularly, I will continue to do so, among myriad other topics.