A couple of weeks ago (in other words, centuries in the past, in Internet time), someone (let’s call her Naive Non-Fiction Author) published an article on one of the big aggregator sites, saying that all self-published books were terrible, and that all self-published authors were deluded fools who write drivel in hopes of parting honest readers ( Read more... )

About fifteen months ago, Amazon took a major step to level the playing field for self-published authors: it allowed us to offer books for pre-order to our readers.  Pre-orders provide several advantages to authors, including:

• Fans can order not-yet-published books on an impulse after finishing and enjoying earlier books by an author;
• Authors can ( Read more... )

My mother (who is an avid reader, but not a writer) is consistently amazed by the way writers help other writers, especially with regard to self-publishing.  I tell her about the conversations I enjoy at writers conferences or about the way New York Times bestselling authors take time out of their production schedules to beta read my work or about ( Read more... )

There’s nothing like coming back from vacation to make a person all think-y and reflective and introspective.  Or, um, maybe it’s the calendar change-over doing all that…

I started off 2014 with major plans for my career.  I planned on publishing nine books (the Diamond Brides Series) during the year - I had 3.5 of them written on January 1, so I ( Read more... )

We wrapped up another good weekend here in Klaskyville, starting with a Thursday night family dinner to celebrate a cousin’s graduation from elementary school (OK - I enjoyed the family get-together, but “graduation from elementary school” feel odd to type, to this non-parent…)  On Friday, we saw THE REAL THING at Studio Theatre - a play that is as ( Read more... )

I have the theme from The Six Million Dollar Man running through my head (and now, I suspect, you do too…)

A few weeks ago, I attended a writing workshop let by a Big Name Author.  In the past, I had heard many positive things about the BNA and his workshop, but I have to admit, I was *very* disappointed in the actual presentation.  I thought that ( Read more... )

So, I had a nice, long chat with my agent yesterday.  In these days of combined self- and traditional-publishing, nice long chats with my agent are … interesting.

You see, my agent is not involved with my self-publishing career.  He does not provide advice, he does not provide support, and he does not see any profit.  To the extent that I devote my ( Read more... )

As a customer, I prefer to shop at stores that permit me to return damaged or faulty goods easily.  I don’t return a lot of items; I’m not one of those people who buys four dresses, with an eye toward keeping one.  I don’t bring home a half dozen table lamps, to settle on one.

In the past month, though, I’ve made two returns to Amazon.  The first ( Read more... )