Hi Folks, Note: This follows on a topic I wrote for The Daily Journal. If you haven’t read it, you can find it at http://hestanbrough.com/the-journal-friday-915/. At the beginning of the calendar year, I challenged myself to write 15 novels during the year. Later, after an intended novel fell short and ended as a novella, I adjusted the goal to 16 novels or novellas. That should have clued me I was in trouble. It didn’t. I plunged … Read more
Hey Folks, Note: This post was originally scheduled for 1/10/2014. 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. Once upon a time, I edited a manuscript that was teeming with clichés, ripe to bursting with platitudes and filled to the brim with trite, self-serving crap. It virtually screamed Look at me! Aren’t I wonderful? Aren’t I generous with my time and helpful in … Read more
Hi Folks, Via The Digital Reader, The Huffington Post (whom I would never and am not now promoting) published an article titled “The 4 Great Myths of Book Publishing.” You can read the full article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-4-great-myths-of-book-publishing_us_5988e9ebe4b08a4c247f252d/ but I’ll save you the trouble. There are actually a lot more myths about traditional publishing than four, but we’ll go with the ones they list. According to the article, the myths are that a traditional publisher will aggressively … Read more
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 A LOT so it’s up to date. Hi Folks, In my years of dealing with other writers, I’ve heard a few clichéd thoughts. In every case, the clichés are caused by the same old myths we’ve all been taught and bought into to one degree or another. One of the more … Read more
Note: This post was originally scheduled for early 2015. 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. This post first appeared in slightly different form as an article in the November 2014 issue of the Society of Southwestern Authors (SSA) newsletter, The Write Word. Hey Folks, I recently received an email from a place called Publish Wholesale. They were interested in “publishing my … Read more
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
Hi Folks, Distractions happen. They do. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do about them. But if you’re a mechanic and you get a phone call (distraction) and your spouse or significant other shows up unannounced for lunch (distraction) or a chunk of spy satellite falls out of the sky and flattens the dry cleaner across the street (distraction), you look, you take care of it, and you go back to work on the engine or the … Read more
Hey Folks, Note: If you’re one who prefers reading paper books over ebooks, that’s fine. I’m happy for you. Enjoy. This post is not to bash you, but to shed some light on some misconceptions that have been circulating far too long. On my Facebook pages, I recently announced the BundleRabbit bundle (Guns of the West) that includes two of my books, two of DWS’ books, and one each by five other writers. (You can see … Read more
Hi Folks, I’ve long needed a specific incentive to do anything, to strive toward any goal, to achieve any level of success. I love telling stories. But that doesn’t provide me with the appropriate incentive to spend hours in the chair writing. I’d also love to make a good living with sales of my fiction, but because I’m a realist, that doesn’t provide even the slightest impetus. The fact is, these things take time, and frankly, … Read more
Hey Folks, I’m sending this to all subscribers to the Pro Writers blog and the Free Story of the Week posts. The Pro Writers posts will resume on Tuesday, June 27. This is a special post to notify you of updates and some exciting news. The Free Story of the Week will be supplanted with the challenge I outline below. Basically, I’m decluttering and revamping my websites, and I’m prepping to begin a new long-term writing … Read more