Like many writers, I was excited when Amazon’s Kindle Vella debuted. I had been writing serial fiction, had tried the major platforms, and was disappointed with each of them. Amazon has smart people and tons of money, so I (along with others) hoped they’d get it right. Vella For Readers Sadly, what they released is […]
Make ‘No’ Your Magic Word
When two-year-olds first learn to say no, it’s a trying time for their parents. The epiphany that these all-powerful gods, known as mom and dad, who have controlled every aspect of their existence up to that point can be refused is intoxicating. Some studies have measured that toddlers argue with their parents 20-25 times an […]
Marketing Your Indie Book Via Online Forums
Online forums exist for every imaginable interest. From entertainment options, like fantasy, sci-fi, or romance, to self-help to personal finance, like stock or real estate investing. In the earliest days of the internet, these took the form of Usenet newsgroups and in modern times they take the form of subreddits, forums attached to a blog, […]
Marketing With BookCrossing
A while back, the paperback version of my urban fantasy novella “Merchant Magician” went on sale for cheaper than what it cost me to buy author copies. I grabbed 30 copies for $3.79 per copy. I didn’t know what I’d do with them when I ordered them, but I figured there’d be something I could […]
Wacky Writing Idea #16: Monster Orphanage
For this, and any other Wacky Writing Ideas, I happily release them into the wild for anyone to use. If you like the idea and want to write it up, do so with my blessing! If you want to change it or use it for something else, have at it! If you really want to do […]
Wacky Writing Idea #15: Everyone In The World Started Having Visions Of The Same Person
For this, and any other Wacky Writing Ideas, I happily release them into the wild for anyone to use. If you like the idea and want to write it up, do so with my blessing! If you want to change it or use it for something else, have at it! If you really want to do […]
Recorded My First Audiobook
This week (on Monday, November 14th) I launched the audiobook version of my non-fiction book “Negotiating After Getting A Job Offer“. I’m not much of an audiobook “reader” myself. Almost all my reading is done electronically on an iPad, with a tiny amount of print reading on the side. I keep encountering the fact that […]
The Emotional Impact of Butchering Our Pet Chickens
I recently posted about butchering our pet chickens. In my previous post, I focused on nut-and-bolts mechanics of killing them and preparing them to be eaten. In this post want to explore why I killed them and what the experience was like emotionally. For years I thought it was important that people who eat meat […]
Is There A Benefit To Having A Blog?
Some time back (early in 2022), there was a Reddit post asking about the benefit of having a blog as a self-published author. I posted a comment giving my view on this, but felt this was something worth expanding to a blog post. I was a personal finance blogger before I started writing novels and […]
The Complete Tightwad’s Approach To Shoestring Publishing
I’m a big believer in keeping costs low when you’re getting started writing, but the VAST majority of writers advise: “spend money on this, spend money on that. It takes money to make money!” Everyone gets to decide how to write and publish for themselves. I’m firmly of the opinion that there are *MANY* reasons […]