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Jeff Haws

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You are here: Home / 2016 / Archives for June 2016

Archives for June 2016

Excerpt from my short story: “The Slingshot”

June 28, 2016 by Jeff Haws Leave a Comment

Slingshot

In the midst of writing “Killing the Immortals” and getting that behemoth edited and ready for publication, I’ve had to allow a few much shorter pieces to gather a bit of dust. And, frankly, that’s fine. Getting some distance from the process of writing them helps by making it easier to look at them with fresh eyes.

It’s actually funny revisiting them after all these months; it’s like I didn’t even write them. I don’t really remember typing the words, so it’s pretty much like reading someone else’s story. I’ve been trying to iron out some wrinkles, catch typos, and get these ready to send to an editor for a deeper look. After that, I’m not sure, but I definitely want to get a final manuscript complete so they’re ready to go when I decide what I want to do with them.

One of those short stories is called “The Slingshot.” On the surface, it’s about a terrible accident happening, and how a family deals with it. Theme-wise, it’s about the relationship of two brothers, and how it can transcend some very difficult circumstances. The first chapter is below. I’d love to hear your thoughts, in the comments here, on Twitter, Facebook, or come knock on my door. Ya know, whatever. [Read more…] about Excerpt from my short story: “The Slingshot”

Filed Under: Blog, New stories, Short stories, Updates, Writing Tagged With: excerpt, short story, Slingshot

Release Plan for “Killing the Immortals”

June 21, 2016 by Jeff Haws Leave a Comment

Planning

With the Release Day for “Killing the Immortals” fast approaching, I’ve had to shift gears lately from focusing on writing/editing to marketing/publicity. For many authors, this is where shit gets real. “I’m an author, not a marketer” has been the cry from many an author when it comes time to get the word out on their books. And, to be fair, it’s not something that comes naturally for a lot of them, particularly those who didn’t grow up in the social media age and are trying to adjust.

Twenty years ago, the barriers to entry for publishing a book were rather high, and most everyone had to go through a traditional publisher to get their book out there. That also meant going through a literary agent, which meant query letters, rejections, and years of waiting, waiting, waiting. It also meant someone was handling the majority of marketing for you. Your publisher came up with a marketing plan, and you showed up where/when needed. Maybe you did a book signing. Maybe you did a speaking engagement, or a newspaper interview. Whatever it was, your publisher probably lined it up for you.

Today, that landscape has changed. Even if you get a publisher, they only handle so much. Almost no publisher is going to take over your Twitter account; that’s on you. And if you’re self published, you’re everything. I’ve got to not only do it all, but plan it all too. [Read more…] about Release Plan for “Killing the Immortals”

Filed Under: Blog, Marketing, Personal, Publishing, Selling Tagged With: book, Marketing, media, Planning, PR, publicity, release, social

3 Reasons to Join the Curiouser Author Society

June 14, 2016 by Jeff Haws Leave a Comment

Team

Writing can be a pretty solitary pursuit. Most people are solo authors on their manuscripts. Most will bring in help at the tail end of the project; some may even solicit some advice over the course of the project. But, for the most part, the story is being pulled from some deep, dark part of your brain. Well, mine is deep and dark. Yours might be sunny and bright. Don’t let Negative Nancy here tell you how your pretty little brain should work.

But the process doesn’t have to be as solitary (and whiskey-fueled) as many make it out to be. While you may or may not get explicit help during the course of writing a story, having the support of others — knowing there are people going through the same problems you are, and that are rooting for you to succeed too — can be a great motivating factor toward getting to the finish line. One such option for that support is the Curiouser Author Society, a pay spinoff from Shayla Raquel’s Curiouser Editing site that can provide lots of editing services for your book. The Society is more of a general help site, with an e-newsletter and a (private) Facebook page where the members can interact with Shayla and each other, getting questions answered, offering advice, critiques, and bad jokes (mostly by me).

After several weeks of trying out the Society, I thought it could be worthwhile for more authors to give it a shot. Here are three reasons you might want to consider joining: [Read more…] about 3 Reasons to Join the Curiouser Author Society

Filed Under: Blog, Criticism, Marketing

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