Word Magic
If you’re a self-publishing author who’s writing fiction, you may wonder about writing serial fiction. Does the thought of committing to regular publication make you nervous too? Most of the questions I get about serials involve the publishing process. That is, getting your writing done and publishing your episodes on a schedule. My best advice: start with a strong idea. … Read more
A reader asked why I focus on scenes when writing fiction. It’s a good question, because there are many reasons. “Because I’m lazy,” I said. Although I meant it as a joke, it’s nevertheless true. Life’s too short to bend your brain writing a lot of material you’ll toss away in revision. When you focus on scenes, you leave out … Read more
Recently I’ve received lots of questions from freelance beginners; they want to get paid to write, but how do you get started? You have a couple of options: Write something like a book or an online course and sell your creation; or Offer your writing services—that is, sell your writing skills. Want to get paid to write? Sell your skills … Read more
Fiction writing can be fun. Or torture. It’s your choice, because so much depends on your mindset while you’re writing. A week ago I chatted with one of my students. She wanted to delete her current novel: “I hate it so much I want to print it out to get the satisfaction of putting every page through my shredder.” No … Read more
Are you a self-publishing author? If you’ve published a novel or two, you know that sales can be elusive. A recent study showed that 55% of KDP authors made less than $1 a day. On the other hand, bestselling self-publishing authors can make several thousand dollars a day. Why is that? What do bestselling authors know? Self-publishing: what do bestselling … Read more