Writer Beware: Oyster, Scribd and Smashwords

There is a new website called Oyster that, like Netflix, offers a service for a monthly fee of $9.95: eb00k lending.  After doing much research, I discovered how an indie publisher can list their book on the site and receive money every time a book is “rented”.  However, there are some things to think about before

Pulp Author Spotlight: Robert E. Howard

Recently I have been very interested in a set of authors from the 1920’s and 30’s who have been called the “Lovecraft Circle“.  The reason they have been called this is because they are a set of authors who corresponded with H.P. Lovecraft and all wrote similar material, writing mostly in the pulp genre.  Their

Writing An Ending First

My latest work in progress, Come Apart, has been a year long experiment to see if I could write the final chapter of a book first and then build the rest of the novel around that final chapter. I can tell you that the progress has been a challenge. This all started when I read Pines  by Blake

Vanity Presses in Sheep’s Clothing

I’ve self-published a few books (some more successful than others) and even though I may not have a best seller out there I’m pretty happy selling a few hundred books or so, building a following, and if it takes me years to build toward that best seller, then so be it. If I don’t become

Novel Contests vs Self Publishing

I had big plans this January to enter the Amazon Breakout Novelist Competition with my newest book Come Apart.  Of all of the novels I have written, I feel that this is some of my best work as a writer.  The competition has a grand prize of $50,000 and a publishing contract, but as I have

3 Things I Learned from Tom Clancy

Yesterday the world lost a prolific and well known writer.  Tom Clancy passed away at the age of 66, leaving behind a massive list of best selling novels, books that inspired movies and a host of video games. But what did Clancy have to teach us?  I’m sure there will never be any Tom Clancy

Podcasting: An Untapped Marketing Strategy

To date there are literally millions of podcasts out there each with a different subject to hock at us, most of them informational or for entertainment. Currently Ryan McKinley and I are recording a podcast called Fanboys on Fiction, and we are getting some regular hits on iTunes and on the host site, Podomatic.com.  However, I

My Daughter’s Gift

Last night I lay in bed with laptop open, writing away at Come Apart, my newest WIP.  Due to school starting up, the self-imposed renovation of my classroom, the induction of several new alternative education students into my program and a myriad of other things I have been neglecting it. It is always difficult to pick

Moneyball and the Publishing Industry

The above scene from the Brad Pitt film Moneyball is poignant for many reasons, but when I saw it again recently I instantly began thinking about the publishing industry. In the clip, Billy Beene (Brad Pitt) is interviewed by the Boston Red Sox owner who offers him $12.5 million to be their general manager.  The speech

I’m Giving Away My Post Apocalyptic Novel – Day 2

Here I am in the middle of day 2 of the 5 day give away of my post apocalyptic novel This Broken Earth.  I went to Kindle Direct just moments ago and found the following information about how many books have been downloaded since the promo began yesterday (click the image below to expand): I have