On Publishing, Indie-Publishing and Making a “Name” as a Published Author

Hey Folks, I received a query from a writer who’s interested in a copyedit. He also asked whether I would help him find an agent and a traditional publisher. Uhh, no. After I explained why I thought the agent chase and traditional publishing in general was not a good idea, he wrote in reponse “About publication: I agree with you. However, I want not money but name as a published author, which you know somebody does … Read more

Fear of Rejection

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

Some Reasons To Avoid Traditional Publishing

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

About Publishing and Publishers

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

Copyright Schmopyright (or Something Like That)

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

My Updated Fiction Length and Price List for 2017/2018

Hi Folks, First, a few explanatory notes — 1. In everything below, I’m talking about indie publishers, like you and me. All signs indicate the traditional publishing model (the agency model) is dead or dying across the board. I’m also talking here about ebooks. If you want to deal with print, see my excerpt from Dean’s post at http://hestanbrough.com/the-journal-friday-106/. And remember that DWS’ pricing guidelines are for trade paperback books, not mass-market paperback books. 2. As … Read more

Beware of Rights Grabbers

Hi Folks, I really hope I’m preaching to the choir here. Forgive me if that’s true, but better safe than sorry. And if you aren’t currently in the choir, this should convert you. A new literary acquaintance I’ve never met, Linda Maye Adams, commented on Dean Wesley Smith’s blog post  one day awhile back: Just passing along another rights grab I ran across. It’s a writing contest sponsored by a non-profit [Story Shares] who is trying … Read more

Traditional Publishing: Just Don’t

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

“Real” Books vs. Ebooks

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

The Journal, Saturday, 4/8

Hey Folks, Yesterday turned out to be productive, albeit not with actual writing. I did create a cover and a promo doc and get the new book up in all major e-venues. But this morning, something was bugging me about that cover. It just didn’t pop off the page. So I revised it. Now it reflects “noir” better and it pops off the page. That’s it on the left over there. Topic: Thoughts on Novel Two-Fers … Read more