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Holiday Sale #2


Passions-Revenge-cover1-217x300For the holidays the prices have dropped on 2 of my books so that more people can purchase them. Visit Amazon today and support the starving writer…

Visit Amazon to purchase Passion’s Revenge for just $3.

 
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Posted by on November 19, 2022 in Business of Writing

 

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Holiday Sale!


Project Stowaway cover-final  For the holidays the prices have dropped on 2 of my books so that more people can purchase them. Visit Amazon today and support the starving writer…

Visit Amazon to purchase Project Stowaway for just $3.

 
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Posted by on November 19, 2022 in Business of Writing

 

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That’s it! I am not Reading Ever Again!


No silly…not me…but recently I had a writer friend tell me this because he was so outraged that Kindles and Nooks have replaced actual books for a lot of people. He was outraged…outraged in the way you should be when someone torches your beach home…it was more than a little overboard in my opinion.

So what is my opinion when it comes to Kindles, Nooks, iPads and the like? Should e-readers replace paper books? This is a question I get asked all the time. I guess because I am a writer it is supposed to make me some kind of paper book loving radical but it doesn’t….e-books are kind of exciting as far as I am concerned…if you don’t think so…you might be old….or just plain stubborn.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a certain loyalty when it comes to books. I grew up reading those little bound paper collections, often in the dark, after bedtime, with a flashlight; I love books. But let’s call the e-readers what they are…advancement…the future of books…not the end of books. I have never understood the hollering folks are doing about electronic books being the end of books in general. I don’t know when the last time you picked one up was, but my iPad and my Kindle (yes I have both) use a program that, when I turn them on, tada….the novel that comes up looks like…oh my…a book!  E-readers aren’t killing reading unless all those naysayers who claim loyalty to paper products stop reading because of a stubborn makes-no-sense idea that somehow reading on anything else is not reading. Seriously….

So how do I really feel about e-readers? Well….

  • I can carry around my entire library any time I want.
  • I have a backlight on my e-readers so I don’t have to worry about book lights at night.
  • I can see a book while I am out or be discussing one at dinner and instantly purchase it.
  • E-readers are getting better and better at what they do as they are being developed and that’s cool.
  • I have the Kindle software on my iPad, my computer, my phone, my Galaxy Tab…oh yeah…and my Kindle…so I can read anywhere, anytime.

I think technology is cool and anything that lights up or makes my life easier is okay with me. I am also handicapped (in a wheel chair most of the time) so being able to carry a Kindle as opposed to four paperbacks is great! Do I still buy paper books? Yes I do, because there are still some publishers who aren’t converting to e-readers. Do I think that e-readers are going to kill reading or hurt writers? No, absolutely not…I think that there are some bugs to work out but in the end I think that writers are going to enjoy a wider audience because of e-publishing. I also think that we, as a society, are going to be subjected to a lot more crap writing but that’s the price you pay for being more accessible.

Grow people and stop seeing technology as the big bad of the reading and writing world. Instead seize the opportunity and run with it….get your work out there and get it into the hands of more people…it’s simple math the way I see it…better technology=more readers=more money…..simple.

 

© The Writer’s Advice, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

 

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Writing Space Rule Number 1 – Have One


For years I didn’t have a dedicated office space to write. I would set up a corner of the bedroom, the kitchen table, the end of the couch…all places I would eventually have to move away from. I ran with the logic that many advice columns scream out – write where ever you can. While I agree to some extent, now that I am more experienced (yes, and older) the advice I give writers is find a permanent spot. It’s possible depending on how important it is to you.

Writers are gnomish creatures who need their own little space.  In my case I tend to spread out. I need to be able to set a stack of paperwork here and there so that I “know where everything is”. I also can’t function if I have to set everything up before I start writing. I need to be able to just sit down and write. Now I do realize that not everyone has a lot of space in their homes and some folks are married to people who don’t understand the need for your own space. My advice to those people…there is always room for a small desk and maybe it is time for a sit down with your spouse.

Stephen King has famously said that for years he wrote in the laundry room between the washer and dryer. It’s not ideal but it is space. I have another writer friend who writes in a corner of the garage. It makes for some cold writing but, again, its space. Obviously a room of your own would be a great idea but if it isn’t possible check out garage sales and online places for a small writer’s desk and then;

-instead of an end table on your side of the bed, make it your writing area.

-Set up your writing desk in a corner of the family room and set aside a time when other people have to stay out.

-Take a look at the garage. Often times, depending on where you live, a corner between the work bench and the car works.

-If you have a guest bedroom, make it your office. A futon for guests is enough room. (Besides if you have a guest room always set up…well…you’ll have guests and who wants that all the time…)

-Take a look at formal dining rooms or formal living rooms. My office is set up in our formal living room but then I really hate wasted space. If it stayed a formal living room, we’d never actually use it.

There is always somewhere in the house that can be utilized as your writing space. Most times the question simply comes down to, how important is it to you. For more than a few years I have had to listen to my mother-in-law quietly insinuate that my having an office is taking up space that could be used for other things. It used to make me feel guilty until I sold my first book. Now when she brings it up we smile and then let it go. Your writing is important and you owe it to yourself to make your own space. Go take a look around and find that nook, corner, underutilized space and create your new writing home. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

 

 

© The Writer’s Advice, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

 
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Posted by on February 22, 2023 in Inspiration, Writing

 

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