Are book deadlines normally agreed between writer/s and publisher or imposed by publisher? And are there any consequences for missing them? Is there a way to negotiate deadlines that is mental health-friendly to the author? The deadlines are negotiated at contract stage in broad terms, meaning the contract states that the publisher will bring the
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Effect of Marketing
August blog prompts have arrived, so here we go. How much does marketing count at the release of a new book? I saw a tweet from another author which said “There is no such thing as “your book wouldn’t sell”. There is only “I don’t know how to sell your book”. There is a market
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Stories From the Writer Desk
Sometimes when writers are working, our minds enter this strange place where reality is a bit distorted. Me: Canadian High Society. Google: Canada High Society, a community of cannabis connoisseurs. Me, very tired and misreading: A community of cannibal connoisseurs? In Canada? They are so polite, why in the world would they allow cannibalism… Is
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Adverbs and Proper Use
July blog prompts have arrived. If you are wondering how these happen, Mod R combs your comments and questions you send in and then compiles them for each month. You have very unique comparisons and metaphors when you write descriptions. Are they just things you come up with naturally, or do you have helping tools
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Assigning Genre: Industry Insiders’ Perspective
Hi. Here’s a question that will hopefully not be too troublesome. When marketing a book do you or the publisher or bookseller decide if the book is a mystery, or romance or science fiction or fantasy?Reason I ask is that frequently I am in a bookstore or library, I find a book in the romance
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Books, Conventions, and Money
Is it worth participating in book festivals? I’m looking at going to one in another state. The cost for a table in Authors’ Alley is $110, and the festival is for one day. The last time it was held in person, attendance was around 9500 people. Maybe. Longer answer: it’s absolutely worth it if you
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On Public Transportation, Surprising Blocking Qualities Of
Me, googledriving through Houston, heading south on Greenbriar: Okay, Woman’s Hospital of Texas on my right, the green space on my left. Good, good. Now I just need a clear view of both, so I can describe the hospital escape… Google Maps Houston: Me: Hmm, some Unidentified Construction Thingie is blocking the view. Maybe if
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Writing What You Hate
You guys say the key to being an author is to love the grind. And while I love writing I have a hard time getting to the finish line. I usually hop around to new projects leaving half finished worlds behind in my wake like a serial world killer. I recently challenged myself to just
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All Knowing God
Background: AC in Kid 2’s house had to be replaced. The unit was installed on on 05/26. The bill was paid in full. The unit stopped working on 06/12. The installation sent the technician out who said he fixed things. On 06/13, the kids woke up to water raining from the vent under the AC.
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Entertainment Roundup
What I am reading. I am still on the manga/manhwa/manhua kick, and since so many of you asked, I thought I would share some recommendations. I would suggest Tapas and Tappytoon as entry point services. The content on both is carefully curated and you are less likely to encounter themes that might be too jarring
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Vive la France
I’ve noted quite a bit of French nomenclature and references to different French cultural things in House Andrews novels. When did an interest in France come into your lives? And have you two spent much time in France? This is the original text of WAR AND PEACE. I’d estimate about 1/10 of it is in
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Yesterday
My yesterday: The Irish are upset because the Aussie doesn’t care they exist or have a country. The English Northerners are perturbed by the absence of twat and think the guy sounds too posh. I added nonce, which made them laugh, and apparently they do go around calling each other that. The Irish are upset.
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