When I look at everything I’ve done to get published, I realize that, while my efforts as a whole have been important, one thing has stood out as the make or break characteristic for me – persistence. I say that because I’ve had my fair share of disappointment as a writer. I have submitted and been rejected over and over again. I have been told a story will be accepted once I make the requested edits only to be turned down. There have been days when I wonder why I subject myself to the roller coaster ride that is trying to get my stories published. Naturally, I questioned whether my work was actually good enough to see print; that seems […]
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No Disassemble!
For some reason, the movie Short Circuit popped into my head this morning. It got me to thinking about context. As in, so much of the way we learn is by getting things in the proper (or improper) context. For example, as babies, we learn words by associating the word to the thing. It could be food, like a banana, or a cat or the sun or whatever. We learn the word through that contextual association. How different it was for Number 5 to learn about the world through television. Some things didn’t make sense, at least in how Number 5 imitated them and others did. How crushing a bug made disassemble equate to death. How often do you have […]
Read more(Perfect) Promotion and Marketing
Do you have $10,000,000 to promote your book? No? How about $1,000,000? A big budget is certainly one way to hit all your target markets and get the recognition for your work that you feel you so richly deserve. The problem is, will you EVER recoup that investment? I know working from a limited budget (and even more limited time) means I have to really think about what I’m going to try next. So what avenues are available to we authors? FREE PROMOTION I actually hesitate to use the word ‘Free’ because there always seems to be a cost of some kind. That cost might be time, it might be doing someone else a favor or it might even be […]
Read moreRegrouping the Troops
I am constantly guilty of taking on too many projects. My wife hears about my latest project addition and shakes her head (in sorrow and disbelief, I think). Occassionally, my rational mind kicks in and points out the volume of work I have placed onto my plate. When that happens, there is often a reckoning within my own head. What have I done? Am I crazy or merely stupid? What was I thinking? These thoughts are often accompanied by worries that I will let someone else down. I won’t meet my deadlines. My work won’t be up to snuff. In my head, those are all legitimate concerns. Perhaps I focus too much on them, but they are important. For me, […]
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