Readers, Want To Be Part Of My Street Team?

Hey Folks, I hope you’ll find this an exciting announcement! For some time now, I’ve offered short stories and novels as rewards to those who support me as a first reader or as a patron (see https://hestanbrough.com/become-a-patron/). Now I’m taking it to the next level. Six years into my journey as a professional fiction writer, I’m finally starting a street team. If you’d like to read every short story and/or every novel I publish at your … Read more

Paper or No Paper

Hi Folks, Recently, Dean Wesley Smith talked in his blog about the fear of publishing. It’s a good article, and I recommend it. However, his article is tied to his Great Publishing Challenge. Seems he received a lot of comments that (to him) indicate fear of some aspect of publishing as the reason people don’t want to jump into the challenge. I was going to post a comment to his article, but I decided to publish … Read more

Don’t Listen to the Naysayers (and Don’t Be One)

Hi Folks, Note: This post appeared previously in slightly different form in the email in-boxes of my patrons in early December and then as a topic on my Daily Journal. “Oh, He’s Indie Published? Then I Won’t Bother!” (said only brain-dead lemmings ever) There. I said it. Aloud. There are people in this world who live only to be protected. They want to be told what and when to eat, which medicines to buy for real … 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

My Personal Writing Goals for 2020 and Beyond

Hi Folks, I’ve long believed it’s important to make my writing goals public. First, knowing that others know what I’m attempting helps hold my feet to the fire. Second, publishing my own goals might help other writers set their writing goals. But remember, the overall goal of writing in the first place is to have fun. Seriously, if you don’t enjoy writing, find something else to do. (grin) So here goes…. My personal writing goals for … Read more

Warning—Safeguard Your IP

Hey Folks, Note: This post appeared in slightly different form over on my Journal. If you decide to use WordPress.com (or any other “free” website builder), READ THE TERMS SERVICE. The terms of service are a legally enforceable contract, and when you click that little box saying you accept them, you’re effectively signing that contract. If you don’t want to read every boring word, at least search for terms like “Content” and “Rights” and “Intellectual Property … Read more

A Few Personal Thoughts on Publishing

Hi Folks, Note: This post was originally published in slightly different form on my Journal a week or so ago. “Seven Minutes in Belfast” is my most recent short story, one written in the Blackwell Ops world of the series by the same name. As I was adding that story to my inventory, I realized I didn’t publish anything at all during August, September and October of this year. That’s the longest I’ve gone without publishing … Read more

Restructuring My Personal Time and My Business

Hi Folks, A couple of weeks ago, I figured out a few things that will help me immensely in my personal time and in restructuing my business. I mention them here because they will also affect you to one degree or another. To restructure and make the most of my personal time… 1. I’m climbing back up on Heinlein’s Rules. To that end, I’ve set a daily word count goal . It worked for me in … Read more

On Word Choice and Distractions in Fiction

Hey Folks, Recently much has been written over on Pro Writers Writing about word choice. I decided to add a few of my own thoughts here. First, my own rule of thumb: When writing fiction, I try to never put anything on the page that will call attention to itself and thereby distract the reader from the story. That includes unnecessary or misused punctuation, archaic or pretentious words, archaic constructions, and clichéd words or phrases. Distracting … Read more

Some Sources Say

Hi Folks, A couple of weeks ago I read a blog post that warns writers away from publishing author newsletters. The blogger included a couple of quotes from writers who advocate not using an author newsletter. She even referenced Anne R. Allen’s recent blog post about readers not wanting a “personal relationship” with authors. Finally she wrote “News flash: Not every reader is a groupie. As a matter of fact, most don’t want their privacy violated. … Read more