One day in the life of a self-publisher My debut novel wasn’t selling, so I pulled it from the market to gamble time, money, and energy int a revision and a new cover. Today was typical: I contact the new cover artist to say I need more time. He wants the spine...
Or: Should I subject my art to deconstruction? My debut novel took me ten years to research, write, and publish. Perhaps its production was like the return of Jesus–taking an awfully long time but appearing at the right moment. I dunno. What slowed things down...
I’ve written and edited millions of words for Sons of Adamah. (100,000-word doc x 50ish drafts.) A person has to be a bit crazy to do that, no? My creative writing degree required short pieces, so approaching the scale of a novel was daunting. But short pieces...
As I lost all self-control in the hotel’s buffet room, this quote came to mind: “To win back my youth, Gerald, there is nothing I wouldn’t do–except take exercise, get up early, or be a useful member of society. (A Woman of No Importance. Oscar...
YOUR EDITOR WILL NOT SAY: “Wow, I found nothing wrong with your manuscript. First time ever in the history of editing. Congratulations.” “This book has changed my life. Here, let me pay you.” “This is Pulitzer material for...
