Where there’s a will, there’s a way
Everyone should have a will. It makes the burden of death easier on a loved one. That goes double for writers, and all creatives. Without one, royalties for our creations are in jeopardy.
AMS Ads – Sponsored Keyword versus Product Display
I’ve been advertising my books with Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) for the past six months. Product Display ads appear to be the holy grail, and they’ve taken off for me once. Once. I think I know why. CAVEAT: This is all speculation. I have no concrete evidence about what Amazon is doing with regards to…
John Grisham, habits, and story
It’s summer. It’s hot. I’m cranky and I’m trying to stay focused on writing my fourth book. So here’s a couple of videos from John Grisham where he talks about habits, his work space and about story. He seems like a nice guy to sit and chat with.
My struggle with advertising
I’ve worked for myself for 17 of the last 20 years. My business focus has changed a couple times, from graphic design to Hollywood visual effects to writing and self-publishing. Throughout that time, I had to do minimal advertising. Until now.
A change of strategy
I need to change my strategy. I’ve decided to raise my prices and to stop offering freebies and deep discounts. Let me explain.
It’s about connection
I’ve written in the past about why I write, about the magic of being immersed in a story as my characters pull me in interesting and sometimes surprising directions. But there’s more to it than that.
Produce. Promote. Persist.
I think if I had another life to live, I’d be a film score composer. Films tell stories, but music does too.
Living the research
After going through my editor’s changes on Vermin, I settled back into writing the first draft of my third book, David’s Summer. As I may have mentioned before, the story is inspired by my true life events. And that’s partly what makes it so difficult.
Writing between mountains
I’m about to launch into some deep symbolism, or complete cliche. I won’t know until I’m done. It’s all part of the process. Bear with me.
Screenwriting and first person
Since I made the transition to writing books almost two years ago, all three so far have been written in third person unlimited point of view. I didn’t want to face the restrictions of writing in first person. Then I experienced an epiphany.