Notes and Lessons Learned on the Business of Writing
Four drafts of negative feedback later – I’m arriving at the overwhelming conclusion that I have the Query Letter Blues. What are the QLBs? Why does it matter? Let’s take a moment on this Tuesday to discuss an underknown aspect of the writing profession and also why it isn’t that big of a deal if…
Woohoo – come enjoy this new audiobook: The Battle of Victoria Crater. It’s now available on YouTube and publishing on all your favorite audiobook platforms in the next few days! I create full audio experiences for my short stories with the help of Jeremiah Jones – an up and coming voice actor. Here’s what it’s…
Fun article in the BBC today documenting Hollywood’s strike issues, asking “Is Hollywood self-destructing?” The short answer is no, but let’s take a moment to talk about why. Understanding what Hollywood is, and isn’t, is crucial for anyone who wants to be a professional storyteller. To recap – Hollywood’s writers have been on strike since…
Taking a break from producing audiobooks and writing Mike.Sierra.Echo to discuss why superheroes are so played out: There’s no *there* there, anymore. Like the tired Westerns of the 1970s and 80s, superhero movies, books, and video games are rapidly approaching the cliff where there’s just nothing else to talk about. We’ve been discussing superheroes for…
Circling back around to something I wrote about almost two years ago – Creating Art is Creating Yourself. Back then, I said: “Creating art, putting it out there, getting the feedback through publication, letting failure help you begin more wisely. Creating art is creating yourself, providing you’re willing to let the process change you.” Still…
Happy Monday, folks – excited to say I’ve published a new scifi short story: Mons City Obituary! It’s available free on Smashwords as part of my hot scifi summer free book giveaway! I wrote Mons City Obituary as a flash fiction piece and you’ll love it as a celebration of classic space race-era scifi mixed…
Vacation gave me time to think – “Home is where your people are” – here are some notes on Reddit, Kbin, and Mastodon. The last couple of weeks validated my decision to move to the Fediverse. Let me share some conclusions with you – an author or author-supporter – about social media platforms for your…
Read More “Home is Where Your People Are – Reddit, Kbin, and Mastodon” »
I ran across an article about John Steinbeck and am writing these notes on my ‘ideal reader.’ You know, just in case you’re wondering “who is supposed to be reading Jackson’s work?” Steinbeck gave the following advice to Robert Wallsten, a young man who was “experiencing a kind of stage fright about actually starting to…
I’ve held off on posting anything this week for two reasons: Kbin/m/scifi has had my attention, posting new content and helping the community to grow I’m working on Mike.Sierra.Echo – please note the updated progress bar on the right. I appreciate your patience – looking forward to telling you all about it when I’m done.
If you think you could live with being a scorned scifi character, look at Wil Wheaton and the Wesley Haters. Wil Wheaton does an insightful deep-dive into the character of Wesley on WilWheaton.Net – take a look: “Wesley’s dream has come true, and he can’t even celebrate it. Yeah, he’s a full ensign, a Starfleet officer…
