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

When Do You Hit Your Stride?

Writing a novel like writing anything is hard work.  It takes determination, skill and careful planning to get a novel off the ground.  It is definitely not like writing a short story or a poem because of the sheer amount of words necessary, the characterization, the subplots and all of the other bells and whistles

The Day Job

School has been in session for a week and a half now and I must admit I am somewhat overwhelmed at times.  I have decided to start out the year teaching 11th graders a hard and fast course in grammar. The first week was nearly a wash in that we had two days of orientation,

I’m Giving Away My Post Apocalypse Novel for 5 Days! – Day 1

As stated yesterday, I am going to give away my post-apocalyptic novel This Broken Earth for the next five days.  It is available through Amazon only, though, but Amazon has a handy app for any mobile device where you can download books and read them if you don’t own a Kindle. I will be tracking the

5 Things to Do When You’ve Written a Stinker

If you are a regular reader of my blog you know that writing is indeed hard work.  It takes a lot of time and effort and like anything that is done well it is sometimes difficult to make it work.  I think of that story about Thomas Edison who failed over 100 times to make