Things change. I grew up with three major networks on television and PBS. UHF channels were like cable…that is, until cable came around. I grew up reading books — I love books! Lately, though, most fiction and non-fiction I’ve purchased has been electronic, read on my iPhone with the Kindle app and Stanza. Later today, […]
Queries that Worked: The Novel Pitch
Each day this week, I’m sharing a query letter that resulted in a request for more material, or a sale. In some cases — like today — I’ll share multiple queries. Today’s queries are for my first novel, Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors (HCWWPD). While HCWWPD didn’t sell, the queries I’m sharing did work, […]
Crowded
The first thing I ever wrote for submission was a comic book story for an anthology. (It was also the first thing I wrote that was accepted.) I met my wife in 1992 when we were both working for the same independent comic book company. Most of the people I hung out with at the […]
Ebooks vs. Books
In August, 3 million people read ebooks on their iPhones. A school library in Massachusetts went digital. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and other companies are investing more in ebook readers. It looks like ebooks are finally becoming accepted. I’ve been buying more ebooks than regular books, lately. At first, it was non-fiction. I vowed […]
Social Networking and the Power of Free
Earlier this week, Jason Pinter announced that he was giving his book, THE MARK, away for free as an e-book. I’ve been reading more books on my iTouch, using the Kindle app. I’d planned to read THE MARK, so I downloaded the e-book and have it for when I’m ready to read it. I stumbled […]
Book Advances — How Much Money Do Writers Make?
A $100,000 book advance sounds nice, doesn’t it? That sounds like enough money to quit your day job, spend a few hours writing each day, and then using the remainder of your time talking about creative things — with creative friends — over coffee or tea the rest of the day. Right? Wrong… I recently […]
Every Other Month (A New Book)
Granted, he works with a couple co-authors, but even still–17 books in 3 years is a lot of work, even for a fulltime writer like James Patterson.