Seth Harwood's Blog, page 10
November 5, 2015
EVENT UPDATES
Happy to be back in your ear-buds with this interview a la the boys at The Miscreant Hour Podcast. Check out more of their work over at GrindfactorDotCom. In it, we talk about some of my writing influences, what all I’ve been working on, the problems of researching and not researching, and much, much more.
What else can I say? They’re Miscreants. But also readers. Was very cool to get contacted out of the blue by a reader to do this cast. If you’ve read my books and want to come talk, drop a line.
SATURDAY JUNE 27 — If you’re in the Bay Area and want to come out and see YOUR BOY, then I’m excited to say I’ll be returning to Kepler’s Books and their Mystery Day on Saturday June 27, 2016 from 1PM–5PM. I will be hosting my own panel from 2:30PM-4PM, so be there!
This event was organized by the great Keith Raffel and features a LOT of super crime authors, including David Corbett, Paul Draker, Cara Black, Laurie R. King and my buddies Janet Rudolph of the Mystery Readers Journal and Terry Shames, former Author Boot Camper!
Come on and join us!
Your podcast action is here — The Miscreant Hour Podcast with YOUR BOY.
Check out the GrindFactorDotCom and show those Miscreants some love!
Kepler’s Book Event details and info.
Mystery Readers Journal.
ABOUT the AUTHOR — Janet Rudolph.
#GrindFactorDotCom. #ShoutEngineDotCom. #CrimeWav. #KeplersDotCom. #MysteryReadersDotOrg.
Miscreant Hour Interview and Kepler’s Books Event
Happy to be back in your ear-buds with this interview a la the boys at the Miscreant Hour Podcast. Check out more of their work at Grindfactor.com.
In it, we talk about some of my writing influences, what all I’ve been working on, the problems of researching and not researching, and more.
What else can I say? They’re Miscreants. But also readers. Was very cool to get contacted out of the blue by a reader to do this cast. If you’ve read my books and want to come talk, drop a line.
Or, if you’re in the Bay Area and want to come out for an event, I’m excited to say I’ll be returning to Kepler’s Books and their Mystery Day on Saturday June 27, 1-5PM. My own panel will be from 2:30-4:00. Be there!
More info on the Kepler’s event is here at Kepler’s.com.
This event was organized by the great Keith Raffel and features a LOT of super crime authors, including David Corbett, Paul Draker, Cara Black, Laurie R. King and my buddies Janet Rudolph of the Mystery Readers Journal and Terry Shames, former Author Boot Camper!
Come on and join us!
Your podcast action is here: click to download or listen now.
Also, go here to show those Miscreants some love!
CrimeWAV – The Miscreant Hour Podcast Episode Click here to listen
More soon.
June 12, 2015
Miscreant Hour Interview and Kepler's Books Event
Happy to be back in your ear-buds with this interview a la the boys at the Miscreant Hour Podcast. Check out more of their work at Grindfactor.com.
In it, we talk about some of my writing influences, what all I've been working on, the problems of researching and not researching, and more.
What else can I say? They're Miscreants. But also readers. Was very cool to get contacted out of the blue by a reader to do this cast. If you've read my books and want to come talk, drop a line.
Or, if you're in the Bay Area and want to come out for an event, I'm excited to say I'll be returning to Kepler's Books and their Mystery Day on Saturday June 27, 1-5PM. My own panel will be from 2:30-4:00. Be there!
More info on the Kepler's event is here at Kepler's.com.
This event was organized by the great Keith Raffel and features a LOT of super crime authors, including David Corbett, Paul Draker, Cara Black, Laurie R. King and my buddies Janet Rudolph of the Mystery Readers Journal and Terry Shames, former Author Boot Camper!
Come on and join us!
Your podcast action is here: click to download or listen now.
Also, go here to show those Miscreants some love!
CrimeWAV - The Miscreant Hour Podcast Episode
More soon.
November 24, 2014
SF Reading, Podcast and new Stories!
San Francisco fans and readers: I'll be appearing at the next Babylon Salon on December 6th. Come on out at 6:30PM PDT to hang, drink and hear me read from my new project, The Maltese Jordans.
Babylon Salon has lots of cool readers and takes place at Cantina SF. More info here.
Last week I went to Bouchercon 2015 in Long Beach, CA. Was a blast! I appeared on a panel with some great authors, spent quality time with friends, and did a short reading that Erik Arneson recorded for his Word Crimes Podcast.
You can download or listen to the audio right here.
Enjoy! I'm reading a piece from the new Jack Palms project. Word up!
What's more?
Look here for the new book of stories, Fisher Cat and Other Stories. I'll have more info coming soon about it, but if you want a sneak peak, head over to our pals at Amazon and review, buy, sample, whatever!
October 15, 2014
Guest Post: Emily Eddins gives 10 Tips for Indie Authors
[note: Sorry if you're getting this in your RSS feed twice. We've updated the website so I have to re-post a few items.]
Hello! Today I'm happy to present a guest post by my former Author Boot Camp student Emily Eddins, whose book Altitude Adjustment just hit shelves and sites. It recently hit the Top 5 in New Releases for short bios and memoirs.
Today she's here to share 10 Great Tips she learned during the self-publishing process. Independent authors take note!
Top Ten Pieces of Advice for Independent Authors
My book, Altitude Adjustment, hit the market this summer. It is a series of “laugh-out-loud funny” vignettes about life in a ski town in California. It took me a really long time to get from writing to publishing – ten years, in fact. Along the way, some of the essays that make up my book were published in literary journals. This helped me gain credibility as a writer. I did this with the help of the very awesome Writer’s Relief submission service. Check them out if you would like to publish with literary journals to build your resume.
While I eventually published three of the pieces in different literary journals, I originally created them as part of a collection. I wanted to send them out into the world that way. Rather than spend the next five years looking for agents and publishers, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge as an independent author. Here’s what I’ve learned along the way.
1.Keep your budget in mind before you hire a company to publish your work. Weigh the pros, cons and costs of having a self-publishing company print your work for you, upload your e-books for you, etc. Decide whether you have the tech savvy to do it all yourself, or whether you need help. If you are buying services a-la-carte, they can add up. Estimate how many books you think you can sell.
2.Do your research before you hire a company. Check with the Better Business Bureau and other authors who have used them to see if they come recommended or have had problems delivering a satisfactory product in the past.
3.Pad your schedule with extra time. I originally thought it would take me around six months to put my finished product out into the world. Due to printing problems and other delays, the reality was closer to nine months.
4.Err on the side of caution when timing your media releases and book launch. Due to a printing problem, I had brick and mortar stores lined up to buy books that the printing house temporarily delayed. Some media was launched before bookstores were able to get the books in stock, thus affecting my ability to maximize book sales to my target audience. I should have played it safe and waited to schedule media until my books were all in house.
5.Leverage your own network for book sales. Ask all of your friends and family who love you and want to help to forward your Facebook page, Amazon link, etc. Get in touch with anybody you think might be able to help spread the word, like former teachers such as @sethharwood who asked me to guest blog!
6.Understand how on-demand printing works. In some instances, large book dealers like Amazon order a small batch of your book right when it becomes available. Until those sell out, they can be sent to prime customers within two days. After that, books can take 1-3 weeks to ship and send.
7.Find a publisher and printer near your brick and mortar stores. My publisher is in the mid-west, and my printer is in Tennessee. This added to shipping delays to the brick and mortar merchants carrying my books, who are all in California.
8.Don’t be afraid to ask your local bookstore to carry your book in the Local Authors section. Everyone I have asked was happy to do it!
9.Don’t get mired in the glitches. Shit happens. Don’t be surprised when it does. If your Twitter link doesn’t work right or your Nook book randomly disappears from the Barnes and Noble website, get into problem-solving mode, but don’t get down in the dumps.
10. Celebrate! Bask in the love of your friends and readers who connect to what you’ve written. Congratulate yourself for achieving your dream. You’ve worked hard!
[From Seth: Also throw a release party and have a great time!]
Thank you Emily for stopping by!
October 6, 2014
Announcing Write On -- also a prompt for you to try!
In my connection with Amazon, I've been asked to lend a writing assignment to their new writing community site, Write On (just unveiled this week!) If you'd like to head over and try it out, you can use the code SHARWOOD to get started. (Since it's still in Beta, you need a code.)
I've also given them a writing assignment, as you can see above. If you're ready to try something new on for size, meet other writers, and offer your work up for discussion, head over to Write On and post it here: Write On Writing Prompt Forum Thread. Enjoy! Good writing!
August 22, 2014
New Online Mystery Class and Graham hits CrimeWAV
New stuff this month: first up, I'm teaching an online creative writing class in Mysteries and Thrillers starting in September. (9/22 to be exact.) The class is enrolling now and filling fast. Go here to get more info or to sign up.
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Here's a quick description:
The Art of Mysteries and Thrillers: Plot, Action, and Characterization (Online Course)
This course will focus on how to write the great crime, noir, or mystery you have been eager to get down on paper, or to polish to a submission-ready sheen. In the first half of the course, we will spend time developing effective tools for dialogue, descriptive action, three-dimensional characters, and suspense. By reading classic writers of the genre such as Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Jim Thompson, as well as some contemporary stars, we will build a set of reference points to use for our discussions of student work. Then, during the second half of the course, each student will workshop a story or novel excerpt with the class to get feedback on writing and revision. More here.
[image error]Graham mean mugginWant more? Well, the new epsiode of CrimeWAV is now live here: Barry Graham reads "Big Davey Joins the Majority."
Direct link to the audio is here. Click now to listen or download. Thanks to Barry for coming on. More info about him is here: barrygrahamauthor.com He's also on Twitter here @BazNoir.
Big thanks to the guys from the Booked. Podcast guys, Robb and Liv, for hosting this show. Dopeness personified, even if they don't know shit about Scottish/Scots/Scotch.
July 24, 2014
Guest Post: Emily Eddins gives 10 Tips for Indie Authors
Hello! Today I'm happy to present a guest post by my former Author Boot Camp student Emily Eddins, whose book Altitude Adjustment just hit shelves and sites. It recently hit the Top 5 in New Releases for short bios and memoirs.
Today she's here to share 10 Great Tips she learned during the self-publishing process. Independent authors take note!
Top Ten Pieces of Advice for Independent Authors
My book, Altitude Adjustment, hit the market this summer. It is a series of “laugh-out-loud funny” vignettes about life in a ski town in California. It took me a really long time to get from writing to publishing – ten years, in fact. Along the way, some of the essays that make up my book were published in literary journals. This helped me gain credibility as a writer. I did this with the help of the very awesome Writer’s Relief submission service. Check them out if you would like to publish with literary journals to build your resume.
While I eventually published three of the pieces in different literary journals, I originally created them as part of a collection. I wanted to send them out into the world that way. Rather than spend the next five years looking for agents and publishers, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge as an independent author. Here’s what I’ve learned along the way.
July 17, 2014
Digi.Lit Conference 2014 - Panel Discussion Download.
Back in June, I did a panel at LitQuake's Digi.Lit conference called "Do You Read Me? Author Branding and Marketing."
Its description is as follows: Digital authors grapple with the familiar challenges of cutting through the clutter. In this session, you can learn tips and strategies from the experts on how to promote your writing to a digital audience, and how to build the right identity to best can attract readers to your work.
Click here to download or listen to the complete talk. Enjoy!
And MAN, did I get Zen up on it. What the crap? Anyway, maybe it's funny or helpful, I hope. (Maybe both!) If you want to jump to where I start speaking, it's around the 22:30 mark. Just saying. The payoff of listening for you if you're not a writer: I drop a number of hints about the content of the new Jack Palms thriller. You with me? Get it in your ear!
Many thanks to the other great authors/speakers on the panel: Elise Cannon, moderator, Nina Amir, and the wonderfully awesome and insightful Jane Friedman.
Digi.Lit Conference 2014 - Panel Discussion Download
Back in June, I did a panel at LitQuake's Digi.Lit conference called "Do You Read Me? Author Branding and Marketing."
Its description is as follows: Digital authors grapple with the familiar challenges of cutting through the clutter. In this session, you can learn tips and strategies from the experts on how to promote your writing to a digital audience, and how to build the right identity to best can attract readers to your work.
Click here to download or listen to the complete talk. Enjoy!
And MAN, did I get Zen up on it. What the crap? Anyway, maybe it's funny or helpful, I hope. (Maybe both!) If you want to jump to where I start speaking, it's around the 22:30 mark. Just saying. The payoff of listening for you if you're not a writer: I drop a number of hints about the content of the new Jack Palms thriller. You with me? Get it in your ear!
Many thanks to the other great authors/speakers on the panel: Elise Cannon, moderator, Nina Amir, and the wonderfully awesome and insightful Jane Friedman.
