Requesting Your Recommendations

Hi Folks, Every now and then over the years, especially over at the Journal, I ask fellow writers for recommendations for websites. Most often I hear crickets. I’m not sure whether there are no other websites that you visit, or whether you just don’t want to share. Or maybe I’m just not specific enough with my request. I’ll try again. Please recommend the websites of any authors who 1. have written and published 10 or more … Read more

Writing Sales Copy (Book Descriptions)

Hey folks, Note: This post appeared in slightly different form on my Journal. If your books aren’t selling as well as you’d like, here’s the three-step process to more sales: 1. Write the next story or novel. The more work you have out there, the more discoverable you are and the more readers will take you seriously as an author. 2. Create (or have created) a genre- appropriate cover. 3. Write intriguing sales copy that hints … Read more

The Power of Schedule

Hi Folks, I’ve been at this almost-daily writing since mid-October of 2014. Or another way to look at it, I’ve ONLY been at this since mid-October of 2014. Either way, I’ve only recently realized the importance of Schedule. I’ve read other blogs on this topic and they made perfect sense. Like The Importance of Routines by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. I didn’t skip over them. I read them, absorbed what was useful to me, and moved on. … Read more

HarveyStanbrough.com — A New Look

Hey folks, Some of you might have noticed the website has a new look. If you haven’t, check it out at http://harveystanbrough.com. I’m slowly transitioning the website. Well, expanding might be a better term. The site will continue to be a valuable source for writers. I’ll continue the weekly posts each Tuesday on topics of interest to writers, and the Writers’ Resources listed in the left sidebar will remain. I’ll also continue to offer writer services … Read more

On the Theft of Ebooks

Note: This post was originally scheduled for late 2014. It didn’t post to MailChimp, so I’m posting it again now. I’ve revised the original post so it’s up to date.Hi Folks, This is a necessary post. There is a subculture out there who seems to believe anything electronic is up for grabs, that it belongs to everyone at once. It doesn’t. My unintentional mentor, Dean Wesley Smith, recently (as I write this) posted a blog regarding … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, 5/18

Hey Folks, Huh. Not sure why MailChimp didn’t send last night’s post. Still, any hard-core followers went to the main site to check it out. The post was there. I put it up at around 5:15. And it was tagged appropriately (Daily Journal category) so MailChimp should have sent it out at 7. Here’s hoping it’ll go out today. I’m posting this at 4:41. There was no topic in yesterday’s post. The only matter of any … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, 1/29

Hey Folks, Well, Sunday. Sunday mornin’ comin’ down. And I got a late start, thanks to waking up with mind twisted up and wrapped around a ball of crap. The “Today and Writing” segment is still below, but I won’t belabor you with an hourly accounting today. Or probably any day in the future unless something important happens that I think might be of interest. Just know that I’m now firmly trained to write while I’m … Read more

Stigma Dis, Stigma Dat… Whatever

Note: This post was originally scheduled for October 2014. It didn’t post to MailChimp, so I’m posting it again now. I’ve revised the original post so it’s up to date. Hey Folks, Received yet another note today from a friend about the “stigma” of self-publishing. What a bunch of crap. There, I said it. Not only is it a bunch of crap that there’s a “stigma” in the first place, but it’s an even bigger, smellier … Read more

The Journal, Monday, 1/2

Hey Folks, Ugh. Not doing too well on the retraining thing. But I have excuses. (grin) Excuse 1. Rolled out late at 3:45 because I stayed up and watched the Green Bay/Detroit football game. I planned on a quick, abbreviated wake-up period of no more than a half-hour, but… Excuse 2. I allowed an email from a writers’ group to sidetrack me. The email mentioned that a pulp writer, Van Allen Plexico (http://www.whiterocketbooks.com/plexico/), would be speaking … Read more

The Journal, Monday, 12/19

Hey Folks, Rolled out right at 3:30, wide awake, then honestly did nothing for almost the first two hours. Babies to take care of and all that, so I got nothing accomplished. I took care of some small things around the house, then turned my attention to the edit from around 8 until noon. In that time I got 36 pages done, so I increased the bank by one. Now to fiction for the balance of … Read more