Beth Martin's Blog, page 3

Why I Finally Purchased ISBNs

I wrote this post on my I chose not to purchase my own ISBN. The post was very much a reaction to the passionate and loud advice to indie authors at the time that you had to buy ISBNs to give your books any semblance of respectability, and I just wasn’t buying it (the advice or the overpriced identifiers). I felt the world also needed a passionate retort to the discourse: No way! I do

New Short Story Release: Worth a Thousand Words

I recently gave a talk for the Maryland Writers Association on using AI tools for creative writing. I felt confident giving this talk because I’ve fully integrated tools like Chat GPT and Midjourney into my workflow.Specifically, Chat GPT was been a wonderful tool to bounce ideas off of (no worries, I’m not using AI to write my stories and all my words are still my own). I pulled up the

Book Review: You by Caroline Kepnes

Stalking as a spectator sport!My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐While chilling inside during a very rainy spring break, I decided to read a fun and entertaining book while stuck inside. Recently, some of the writers on my Discord group discussed the best stalker romances they were/had read, and You came up in the convo. I was already aware of—and a huge fan of—the Netflix adaptation, but had never realized the TV

May's Theme: Engineering in Writing

This month, I’m shifting focus from GET ALL THE WORD DOWN (learn more about Badger Camp in my previous post—we’ll be doing another Badger Camp soon, so stay tuned!) to creating intentional and intricate stories using the power of engineering. My math background is engineering adjacent, and I hung out with lots of engineers in college. I’ve always found the meticulous problem-solving

Introducing “Badger Camp”

Like many authors, I use writing challenges to help me stay motivated when drafting a new novel. Since a number of writers are distancing themselves from NaNoWriMo, the writers on the “Write All the Words” discord group thought it would be fun to create a new writing challenge where we can set our own writing goals and support each other as we try to reach those goals.Introducing: Badger

Marking Vernal Equinox by Celebrating Balance

When trying to figure out what my March theme should be, I pulled out my calendar and pondered over the events of the month. St. Patrick’s Day is fun, but I don’t have Irish heritage and typically forget even to wear green to commemorate the occasion. Easter is in March this year, but I didn’t want to focus on any religious themes and already did the whole “new beginnings” topic for the New Year.

Launching a New Adventure: The Starship Blunder Shared Universe Project

I'm thrilled to announce a brand-new project I’ve been working on this year: the Starship Blunder Shared Universe! This anthology will be more than a collection of stories; it's the beginning of an entire universe waiting to be explored and expanded. I want to invite you all to be a part of this creative journey with me!What is Starship Blunder?The spacecraft Starship Blunder travels through the

February's Theme: Love's Labyrinth

I don’t ever get overly romantic and sappy, but I’m willing to make an exception for Valentine’s Day. So for February, I wanted to embrace everything romantic with the theme: “Love’s Labyrinth: A Month of Romance and Puzzles”! This month, I’m going to explore the many facets of love, not just through the lens of romance, but also through more fun mazes and science-fiction stories. To get all the

Book Review: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno Garcia

I saw this book at my local bookstore and loved the cover with all the vibrant colors. After purchasing it, it sat in my office for a while before I finally picked it up and started reading it. Only a few pages in, I broke down and purchased the Kindle version. As much as I love and want to enjoy print books, the printing on my copy was particularly light, and I had a hard time

New Journals

Being an indie author, I’ve made it my business to learn all kinds of cool stuff about publishing. There’s a branch of self-publishing where people create something called ‘low-content’ books, which are any type of book that doesn’t have a lot of text, like sketchbooks, journals, planners, etc. All you need is a cute cover and some lined pages, and you’ve put together a journal.I don’t have much