Michell, Author at Irreverent Muse

Changing My Ways

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Michell

As I write this, I kinda think I should have titled this blog, “Old dogs need to learn new tricks” but, I’m not a dog. 🙂 I have always been a pantster writer. I have an idea, I sit down and I write until I can’t write anymore. Usually, I’m discovering the story as I go. Yes, there have been occasions when I’ve planned a story before writing it (e.g. Jack Kane and the Statue of Liberty, which I co-wrote with JR Murdock), but for the most part…pantster. Definitely. Except, I can’t do that with a series. At least, I can’t do it as much. Why? Several reasons. Why a Series Won’t Support Pantster Writing I learned early on when […]

The Importance of Networking

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Michell

The Importance of Networking I’ve talked about networking many times in the past; why it is important and necessary. At When Words Collide I was reminded once again of how critical it is to a writer to network. It all began with one of the keynote speeches. Sam Morgan, a literary agent, talked about how he got into his current career. He went from one connection to the next to the next until he had gone from unemployed college graduate to literary agent. He said he didn’t even know what a literary agent was until he got the job. His talk made it sound like he bounced from one person to the next like a ping pong ball. If you […]

Why Do You Want to Publish a Book?

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Michell

Why Do You Want to Publish a Book? I was asked some questions recently that made me really think. Not think as in “what’s the right answer”, but think as in “what’s the right answer for what you are doing”. Especially when it comes to publishing a book. There are many people out there who claim to want to write a book. The number who actually accomplish that goal is significantly smaller. The number who publish the book they wrote is even smaller still. For those of us who do want to see our books published, the question that first needs to be asked is “Why?” Possible Reasons for Publishing Your Book I Want a Copy on my Bookshelf (or […]

Don’t Submit To Your Editor Too Soon (or Mistakes were made)

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Michell

Mistakes Were Made I made a mistake. I admit it. Nothing Earth shattering, mind you. Just something that has slowed my own process. What was it you ask? I submitted my draft of Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie Masters too soon. My editor was eager to see it (who can blame him) and I sent it before I’d had any chance to fix the problems I knew were there. Why is that a Mistake? I wrote SotA: ZM fast. Maybe faster than usual. Because I forced myself to write every day to meet my self-imposed deadline, I had some sections that were less than stellar. They weren’t completely thought out or they were filler to my thought process. That being the […]

« 1 … 31 32 33 34 35 … 268 »