Independent author
I’ve talked on here about beta readers before, but the topic is rattling around my head again — and not only because my next novel should head off to that stage by this weekend. Last week, I ran across this article on SelfPublishingAdvice.org by author Michael La Ronn. It’s titled “Writing: How to Find Beta Readers,” but it’s really all about how to find beta readers on Goodreads. [Read more…] about How do you find beta readers? (Hint: Not on Goodreads)
In a recent critique I received of “Killing the Immortals,” a couple of people mentioned that they thought there was too much dialogue, particularly in the early going. It’s an interesting criticism that I hadn’t heard before. The first 2-1/2 chapters are pretty dialogue heavy, while the second half of the third chapter is completely devoid of dialogue at all. [Read more…] about Is Using Dialogue a Writing Crutch?
To figure out why you should hire a professional editor for your novel, perhaps we should first look at why you shouldn’t do so. That because, well, it’s not at all cut and dried. Not everybody needs to put forth the effort, legwork and cold, hard cash to hire an editor for their novel. There are good reasons not to, and you might fit that profile. [Read more…] about Why Shouldn’t I Hire an Editor for My Novel?
I’m used to getting bad reviews and hate mail. Close to 20 years in journalism will do that for you. It won’t make you rich, but it’ll certainly help harden you to criticism of your writing. I’ve had my byline published thousands of times, above stories both long and short, dull and exciting, fact and opinion. I’ve written stories I was very proud of (See my Writing section for a few examples), and ones I never wanted to see again after hitting the “Send” button. And, regardless of how I felt about them, there was always a chance I’d receive email or comment from a reader, telling me why whatever I wrote was garbage, and I should crawl into a hole and die. [Read more…] about The Worst Thing You Could Say About My Story