Sale for UK readers!
As most of you are aware, I did a countdown promotions deal for Storm Without End in December. For those in the UK who happen to like my writing, both novels are now on sale for 0.99p! If you like...
View ArticleThe First Days of an Editing Project
Demystifying how I edit a novel for a client is one of my favorite subjects to talk about. I love working on novels for clients almost as much as I love working on my own novels. As I’ve mentioned...
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A Reviewer’s Responsibility
(c) Serge Saint (Creative Commons – Flickr) Last year, I wasn’t the most responsible of reviewers. When I agreed to review a book, I would do so, though it would usually take me a month or two longer...
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An Open Letter to Publishing Houses Small and Large
(c) JordyR (Creative Commons – Flickr) Dear Publishers Small and Large, I love reading books. I really appreciate what you do. I love the fact that you can take a novel and find an audience for it. I...
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A New Way of Plotting – An Experiment
(c) @boetter (Creative Commons – Flickr) As some of you are probably aware, I experiment with my writing process quite a lot. Instead of sticking to one prescribed method, I’m always on the lookout for...
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Orangeberry Book Tours – A Review of Many Parts – Part 2
(c) Orangeberry Book Tours This is part two of my progress with Orangeberry Book Tours, an online promotion venue for authors. Orangeberry is a high ranking book tour group in Alexa, Google, and other...
View ArticleCharacter versus Plot Driven Stories
Characterization is something I have to tackle all of the time with my editorial clients. It’s something many of my clients want help improving. Even clients who feel like they have a reasonable–or...
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An Editor’s Perspective: Plotters vs Pantsers
(c) Jon Gosier – CC (Flickr) This post needs some warnings. Maybe I’m insecure, or maybe I’m just aware that I’m about to stir a bee’s nest, but I’m going to post warnings. Warning #1: These are my...
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Conceptualizing a Novel: Journaling, Plots, and Characterization
It’s well known that I love writing journals. I’m a hardcore moleskine junky, but really, I love paper and pen. I become a whole new person on a creative level when I’m given these old-fashioned tools...
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Book Review: SEAL Team Six: Hunt the Falcon by Don Mann (with Ralph Pezzullo)
SEAL Team Six: Hunt the Falcon tells the story of a group of SEAL operatives on the hunt for the Falcon, an Iranian terrorist who had kidnapped the main character’s wife several months prior. The Short...
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NaNoWriMo 2014: Writing Through Troubled Times
Gratuitous Winter Wolf Cover I’m jumping the shark. Maybe I should have found a picture of a shark jumping at a helicopter, which in turn is being chased by a blue whale… in space. If you just stopped...
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Quantity over Quality… or not?
(c) Jo Naylor (Creative Commons License – Flickr) We’re coming up to November, where a great many people are planning on participating in NaNoWriMo. It’s the time of year where accusations of quantity...
View ArticleOn Self-Publishing: Ebook Sales versus Print Sales
One of my dear writer friends, Megan, asked me a question about self-publishing and income. She wanted to know if ebook or print sales were more profitable when publishing through Amazon. I have no...
View ArticleA Year in Review: 1 Million Words
Earlier this month, I promised myself I wouldn’t do a year in review. It’d mostly be a long chain of disasters and other unpleasant things. However, today, I discovered I had done something well worth...
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The State of the Blain Address
I figure if the President of the United States can give a State of the Union address (when is that, anyway?) I can give a State of the Blain address. Welcome to 2015 and all of that jazz. I haven’t...
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The Evolution of a Book Cover
My cover artist is Chris Howard. Before I begin talking about the Rider of the Sun Horse cover, I want to talk about him. He’s really the star of this show, and I really can’t recommend him enough. If...
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The Evolution of Cover Art Text
Yesterday, I gushed about the cover art creation process. Today, I took the mock up from Chris Howard and gave it to my texting lady, who also happens to be an author and one of my best friends. Go...
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SFWA Opening Doors to Self-Published Authors
SFWA, AKA Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association of America, held a referendum regarding the admittance of self-published authors and small presses for membership into the organization. The...
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Author Services: Amazon’s PPC Advertising Platform
Gratuitous Winter Wolf Cover For those using KDP Select, Amazon’s exclusive self-publishing platform, an interesting new tool has been released. I don’t even know what the platform is technically...
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Transitioning from Part-Time to Full-Time Writing
Until this year, I have been under the very common umbrella of part-time writer, no matter how much I’d like to claim I was writing full time. By spending more than half of my time editing for clients,...
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