Hey Folks, A couple of days ago, I started reading the second Jack Reacher book Lee Child ever wrote. And his first Jack Reacher book was also very his first novel and a New York Times bestseller. That “bestseller” label doesn’t always do it for me, but this is good stuff. The guy’s an excellent writer. As opposed, say, to someone else who’s also always on the bestseller lists only because he’s a masterful marketer. Umm, … Read more
Hi Folks, Way back in October of last year (and originally, probably three or four years before that), I published a post titled “Trust Your Professional.” If you missed it, you can see the original post at http://harveystanbrough.com/pro-writers/trust-your-professional/. The whole point is that getting What You Want is much more important to You than it is to the person or persons from whom you’re trying to get it. This is true in every case. That’s why … Read more
Hi Folks, An interesting article titled “Micro-Progress Your Novel” caught my attention back in late February. I had to share it because it’s so… well, not new. Despite the high-falutin’ title, the article is all about eating an elephant one bite at a time. That’s all. Instead of trying to “write a novel,” which the author of the post calls a “daunting prospect,” the idea is to set a series of smaller goals, like writing for … Read more
Hey Folks, Breaks are a necessary part of life. For the professional fiction writer, they might be even more necessary. I suppose it all depends on how you define “break.” I have more than enough days when I don’t write any fiction. There are days when life intervenes with chores that have stacked up or shopping trips to the next town over or minor emergencies. You know, like coating the roof of the camping trailer because … Read more
Hey Folks, Wow. I am depressed. Well, not really. But had I not finally understood awhile back that I can only advise, and that I can’t afford mentally or emotionally to tie my advice to a given outcome, wow would I be depressed. I edited a novel for a client in February 2006. Then I edited a rewrite of a couple chapters in April 2006 for the same novel. This morning (as I write this), TWELVE … Read more
Hi Folks, Please Note: This is a guest post by Dean Wesley Smith, who graciously allowed me to cross-post it here. You can find the URL for Dean’s website below and in the Quick Links in the sidebar. This was originally posted on Dean’s site on February 20, 2018. There Are So Many… I mentioned that I had taught at a wonderful writer’s seminar called Superstars. Put on by Kevin Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Eric Flint, Dave … Read more
Hi Folks, As I write this, I’ve just completed another classic (half-price, self-paced) workshop from Dean Wesley Smith. I already know a lot of what I’m hearing in the workshop, but reminders are good too. And I knew hardly any of it a year or two ago. Yet I thought my writing was good. (grin) All of this reminded me again of a writer who emailed me awhile back and asked me to critique a short … Read more
Hi Folks, As I write this (back in early February), a young writer got in touch with me earlier today to ask my recommendation on publishing. She mentioned that she was “talking to a publishing company that is a subsidiary of Hay House.” I didn’t look up the company, but a little bell went off in my mind. I believe Hay House is one of the companies that charges writers an up-front fee to publish their … Read more
Hi Folks, Note: This post was originally scheduled for 9/13/2013. 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. No, I’m not saying copyright isn’t important. I’m saying that, like global warming, it exists without you doing anything at all. Let’s get right to it. I received an email from a former editing client. The subject line was “intellectual property?” His entire email read … Read more
Note: Recently, as I tried to have MailChimp add the specific post title to my email, instead it added only the code: RSSFEED:SUBJECT. Understandably, this looked suspicious to some readers. I understand. From this point forward, the posts will have a generic subject line. Thanks for your patience. H Hi Folks, Know what? Writer’s block doesn’t exist. Wait. Way too haughty. Let me try again: Writer’s block doesn’t exist unless you experience it. Okay, that’s a … Read more