[Updated 7/13/2020] You’ve been writing for days, months, years, perhaps decades. You have a few pages or paragraphs under your belt. Or, perhaps, you have partially finished manuscripts collecting dust somewhere. But, you just can’t bring yourself to use the word writer. Are you still an aspiring writer? If you answered yes, you’re not alone. You’re wrong. Misguided. Lacking a certain amount of self-confidence and a personal sense of authority and ownership. But, you’re not alone. Let’s talk about a few of the things that might be holding you back from using the W-word.
The Mukhtaar Estate is Now Open
I’ve been receiving a lot of questions lately about writing, The Mukhtaar Chronicles, music, dogs, books…you name it. And they’ve been coming at me from about 10 different directions all at once. Well, I’ve finally decided to embrace the fact that I live on Facebook most of the time. Yes, I still respond on Twitter, and I always participate in discussions that take place in the comments section here at the blog. But I’m on Facebook ALL – OF – THE – TIME. It’s a sickness. You should feel sorry for me, really, now that I think about it. Anyway, I’m proud to announce the grand opening of The Mukhtaar Estate, a Facebook discussion group geared towards…well, it’s geared towards …
Start Writing your Bestseller! | Nicholas C. Rossis
While checking out Nicholas’s blog this morning, I noticed he shared a wonderful infographic. It shows how long it took all of our favorite writers to achieve some measure of success; how old they were when they began writing, age when first published, age when they published their most famous work, and age when they achieved that mythical “success” we always talk about. Check it out at the Source link below! Source: Start Writing your Bestseller! | Nicholas C. Rossis
Guest Post: Andy Peloquin
I’d like to extend a warm welcome today to Andy Peloquin, writer extraordinaire, hot wing aficionado, Selena Gomez fan, and overall very tall guy (he’s 6’6″!). Andy joins us today on the launch of his latest novel, The Last Bucelarii (Book 1): Blade of the Destroyer. He gives us a personal reminder of why we, as writers, cannot afford to be anti-social. We are all too susceptible to shrink away from society and work on our writing. But we hurt ourselves (and our writing careers) by doing so. Speaking of Blade of the Destroyer, just look at this gorgeous cover! From the Jacket: The Hunter of Voramis is the perfect assassin: ruthless, unrelenting, immortal. Yet he is haunted by lost memories, …
A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing: Konrath Kindle Unlimited Numbers
Joe Konrath, indie author and trailblazer of independent publishing, offers his insight into the new payout structure of Kindle Unlimited. Under KU 1.0, Amazon was rewarding writers for enrolling in KDP Select. Amazon wanted as many titles as possible, to build their Kindle Unlimited catalog. Shorts are easier and faster to write than novels, so Amazon rewarded short stories by paying authors much higher for shorter works, way out of proportion with novels and with the paper short story market, in order to get more titles into KU so it appealed to more subscribers. Under KU 2.0, Amazon is rewarding writers for being good writers. Amazon wants writers to hook readers for longer than 10% of the ebook. Amazon wants …
Kindle Unlimited Scores a Knockout – The Wayfinder – Hugh C. Howey
After 40 days in the Kindle Unlimited program, and after going through my first royalty statement that includes KU pagereads, I have a few observations. First, a little background for the uninitiated: Over a year ago, Amazon launched an ebook subscription service known as Kindle Unlimited. For $9.95 a month, readers could enjoy unlimited access to over a… Source: Kindle Unlimited Scores a Knockout – The Wayfinder – Hugh C. Howey
Har! How to Deal with Book Piracy | Nicholas C. Rossis
If you’ve followed me on social media long enough, you’ve likely heard me repeat the words of Neil Gaiman when it comes to piracy: “Piracy is not the enemy of writers. Obscurity is.” I’ve noticed a surge of “piracy” lately, judging by recent interactions with my readers. Check out Nicholas’s full article (the link is below) for why I put “piracy” in quotes. It’s usually not what you think it is. And, if it is what you think it is…so what? Source: Har! How to Deal with Book Piracy | Nicholas C. Rossis
If You Like It Then You Should Have Glued Some Gears On It | mishaburnett
I read this article from my friend Misha Burnett a few minutes ago and had to pass it along to my readers. Misha breaks down his dislike of the genre system and makes some brilliant points as to why it hurts more than helps. He’s going to be categorizing his fiction as Slipstream from now on, a word I admittedly have never heard in this context until tonight. I think the continued fracturing of genres is leading to a lot of unnecessary confusion. Source: If You Like It Then You Should Have Glued Some Gears On It | mishaburnett
Spotlight: The Power of Six by Nicholas Rossis
It is my great honor and privilege to introduce you all to a wonderful writer and friend, Nicholas Rossis. I first met Nicholas through social media many months ago, and we hit it off right away. Those of you who know Nicholas know what a warm and generous man he is. And those of you who have read his work know what an incredible writer he is! Let’s get to the important stuff. Nicholas is the author of the #1 Amazon bestselling epic fantasy series Pearseus (Year 18: The Schism, and Rise of the Prince are both available on Amazon, and I strongly recommend them). Nicholas is releasing six amazing Science Fiction short stories in his collection “The Power of …
Free Story: Simulation Over
Nicholas Rossis, a wonderful writer and friend, author of the #1 bestselling epic fantasy series Pearseus (Year 18: The Schism, and Rise of the Prince available on Amazon), will be releasing The Power of Six, a collection of six science fiction short stories, on May 15, 2014. In anticipation of the release, Nicholas has honored us with a preview by allowing me to post one of the six stories, Simulation Over. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!