Preaching to the Choir (I Hope)

Hi Folks, Note: This is the final writer-instruction post in this series. Thanks for being along for the ride all these years. If you’re a writer, and if you’d like to continue to get writing tips and topics almost every day, please head on over to my Daily Journal at https://hestanbrough.com and subscribe there. It’s free. You can also stay on here. After all, what better way to verify that I practice what I preach than … 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

The Key to Marketing

Hi folks, Often, writers who follow my Daily Journal email to ask me about marketing. As in, “What’s more important? Social media or ads? Which social media? Amazon (or Google or Facebook) ads? My own website and a mailing list?” Okay, having your own website and a mailing list of folks who want to know about your next book is important. And some of the other things above maybe are helpful too. But the number one … Read more

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

An Informal Announcement

Hey Folks, Last week, for the first time since I started this blog, I failed to put up a post. My apology, but there was a reason for that. I’ve been working on an exciting new project. I’m not ready to announce it officially yet, but I want to whet some appetites. I’ve written over 50 novels and novellas and almost 200 short stories, many in very specific fictional worlds. Recently, it struck me that I … 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