Lev Raphael's Blog, page 47
February 8, 2015
Killer Covers Can Boost Book Sales
Every day you'll find a handful of blogs, maybe more, telling you about the joys of going indie. You have more control over timing, editing, copy-editing, design, distribution, everything. You have the chance to make more money, and you also don't have to worry about giving up rights.
But that's when you're starting out fresh. What you don't read as much about is authors like me whose careers were based in traditional publishing, who then got the rights back to books that were in limbo and lau...
But that's when you're starting out fresh. What you don't read as much about is authors like me whose careers were based in traditional publishing, who then got the rights back to books that were in limbo and lau...
Complete Makeovers Boost Book Sales
Every day you'll find a handful of blogs, maybe more, telling you about the joys of going indie. You have more control over timing, editing, copy-editing, design, distribution, everything. You have the chance to make more money, and you also don't have to worry about giving up rights.
But that's when you're starting out fresh. What you don't read as much about is authors like me whose careers were based in traditional publishing, who then got the rights back to books that were in limbo and lau...
But that's when you're starting out fresh. What you don't read as much about is authors like me whose careers were based in traditional publishing, who then got the rights back to books that were in limbo and lau...
February 7, 2015
The Secrets of Publishing Success
I just saw something that seems to worry Romance writers, especially indie authors:
Any kind of price drop in ebooks is troubling, and I've written a book that's close to Historical Romance, Rosedale in Love. It revisits Edith Wharton's classic novel The House of Mirth and gives it a surprise happy ending. But romance per se isn't one of the genres I publish in. Not that I'd ever rule it out. I started as a short story writer, became a mystery author, added memoir, psychology, horror and more...
Any kind of price drop in ebooks is troubling, and I've written a book that's close to Historical Romance, Rosedale in Love. It revisits Edith Wharton's classic novel The House of Mirth and gives it a surprise happy ending. But romance per se isn't one of the genres I publish in. Not that I'd ever rule it out. I started as a short story writer, became a mystery author, added memoir, psychology, horror and more...
Does Forever Have a Fact Checker?
I'm a big fan of crime shows because I write a mystery series and I used to be the crime fiction reviewer for The Detroit Free Press. I've also taught crime fiction at Michigan State University.
There's lots of repetition on TV so each new season I look for something with a different spin. Forever sure has it: the narrator and lead can't be killed. He's also a New York City medical examiner with the insight of Sherlock Holmes, and he's played by the dashing Ioan Gruffudd who has a killer Engli...
There's lots of repetition on TV so each new season I look for something with a different spin. Forever sure has it: the narrator and lead can't be killed. He's also a New York City medical examiner with the insight of Sherlock Holmes, and he's played by the dashing Ioan Gruffudd who has a killer Engli...
February 4, 2015
The Jewish Holiday You've Never Heard Of
Today is Tu B'Shevat, Jewish Arbor Day, the "New Year for trees." This is a minor Jewish festival and of all the Jewish holidays, probably the one most people have never heard of. Its name translates as the 15th of the month of Shevat.
It's the day on the Hebrew calendar marking the emergence of spring in Israel, specifically in fruit trees, and there are various customs associated with the holiday including a Seder and planting trees.
So trees are on my my mind, which is nothing unusual when...
It's the day on the Hebrew calendar marking the emergence of spring in Israel, specifically in fruit trees, and there are various customs associated with the holiday including a Seder and planting trees.
So trees are on my my mind, which is nothing unusual when...
10 Reasons Why Anyone Can Be a Writer
1--Because writing is just a craft like carpentry and if you can build a bookcase, you can write Infinite Jest, or at least Emma.
2--Because even your mother did NaNoWriMo. Twice.
3--Because there are apps for everything.
4--Because spell check does half the work and best sellers can't be all that hard anyway.
5--Because all you need is passion, patience, and a fondness for rejection--just like stalkers.
6--Because agents are a dying breed, traditional publishers are thieves, and Amazon is wide op...
2--Because even your mother did NaNoWriMo. Twice.
3--Because there are apps for everything.
4--Because spell check does half the work and best sellers can't be all that hard anyway.
5--Because all you need is passion, patience, and a fondness for rejection--just like stalkers.
6--Because agents are a dying breed, traditional publishers are thieves, and Amazon is wide op...
The Ten Best Reasons Why Anyone Can Be a Writer
1--Because writing is just a craft like carpentry and if you can build a bookcase, you can write Infinite Jest, or at least Emma.
2--Because even your mother did NaNoWriMo. Twice.
3--Because there are apps for everything.
4--Because spell check does half the work and best sellers can't be all that hard anyway.
5--Because all you need is passion, patience, and a fondness for rejection--just like stalkers.
6--Because agents are a dying breed, traditional publishers are thieves, and Amazon is wide op...
2--Because even your mother did NaNoWriMo. Twice.
3--Because there are apps for everything.
4--Because spell check does half the work and best sellers can't be all that hard anyway.
5--Because all you need is passion, patience, and a fondness for rejection--just like stalkers.
6--Because agents are a dying breed, traditional publishers are thieves, and Amazon is wide op...
February 2, 2015
My Secret Writer's Retreat
People often ask me if I go to writers' retreats.
I never have and I've never wanted to. That's because I live in one.
The house I bought 30 years ago in a heavily-treed subdivision may be surrounded by roads with serious traffic (for our area), but it's dead center and you can't hear any road noise whatsoever. There's also very little traffic on the streets themselves, sometimes none at all.
What you can hear is bird song. And yes, lawnmowers in the Spring; leaf blowers in the Fall and snow blo...
I never have and I've never wanted to. That's because I live in one.
The house I bought 30 years ago in a heavily-treed subdivision may be surrounded by roads with serious traffic (for our area), but it's dead center and you can't hear any road noise whatsoever. There's also very little traffic on the streets themselves, sometimes none at all.
What you can hear is bird song. And yes, lawnmowers in the Spring; leaf blowers in the Fall and snow blo...
February 1, 2015
The Secret to Writing Your Novel in a Weekend
When I signed up with an elite secret group to write a novel in a weekend, I was feeling pretty cocky. I mean, how hard could it be? My dentist, my veterinarian, my cleaning lady, and even my 16-year-old cousin had all done NaNoWriMo (my cousin did it twice). So how hard could a weekend novel be for someone who had already been published?
But I didn't expect to be woken up at 3 a.m. that Friday morning by a hipster SWAT team of three guys banging on my front door. They wore identical black Va...
But I didn't expect to be woken up at 3 a.m. that Friday morning by a hipster SWAT team of three guys banging on my front door. They wore identical black Va...
The Kick-Ass Way to Write a Novel in a Weekend
When I signed up with an elite secret group to write a novel in a weekend, I was feeling pretty cocky. I mean, how hard could it be? My dentist, my veterinarian, my cleaning lady, and even my 16-year-old cousin had all done NaNoWriMo (my cousin did it twice). So how hard could a weekend novel be for someone who had already been published?
But I didn't expect to be woken up at 3 a.m. that Friday morning by a hipster SWAT team of three guys banging on my front door. They wore identical black Va...
But I didn't expect to be woken up at 3 a.m. that Friday morning by a hipster SWAT team of three guys banging on my front door. They wore identical black Va...
