Krista D. Ball's Blog, page 20

Let's Talk Money (Part 2)

Yesterday, I talked about the money of writing, and how there is so little information about what average, everyday authors make off their fiction. I'm aiming to change that by blogging about my own experiences with royalties, sales, and all of that financial stuff that we're not supposed to talk about.

So, let's jump into my first ever self-published story -The Amazing Transformation of Wicca Dog.

I posted Wicca Dog on Sunday evening, July 25. I've opted to keep it free for a month before...

Let's Talk Money (Part 1)

When I was a teenager, I dreamed of selling my first book and wearing more jewellery and makeup than Danielle Steele.  After all, the only authors I knew about were the big names – Stephen King, Danielle Steele, Sidney Sheldon, Tom Clancy – and they were making big bucks.  So, obviously all authors made that kind of money, right?

Then, I met some authors and discovered that they had full-time jobs. I was crushed. I wanted to fully support myself from writing and be rich. I didn't want to be...

Fox the Corgi reads…

Diana Pharaoh Francis in his spare time.

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My dirty secret

I read Star Trek novels.  Please don't judge me.

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FREE story available for download!

My fun and light-hearted short story, The Amazing Transformation of Wicca Dog, is available for free download from Smashwords.  Check it out here.

Why no cover art, you ask? There will be soon. I mostly wanted to upload the story early so that I could play with the features and get used to the interface. I'm going to keep the story for "you set the price" on Smashwords (please feel free to not donate for the story – I'm just happy to share it). Once I have the cover art and all that, I'll be s...

The Allure of Sexy New Projects

The current writing problem I have is trying to finish a long-term project before starting anything new. I have been working on Road to Hell off and on for two years. This year, I've decided that this demon-possess manuscript shall be cleaned up and submitted somewhere before I start on anything else.

See, short stories are awesome because they resemble summer affairs. Wham, bam, submit it, ma'am! But a novel is so much more like a long-term relationship. It still needs work after the shiny...

"What are you working on?"

I get asked this a lot, so I'll answer it. The problem is that this question is a lot more complicated when you might think.

As many of you are aware, I left my job with the homeless agency in January to begin writing full-time. I lasted 10 days before the trauma of being home got to me. I now have a part-time job with a former employer software testing, doing odd jobs, and doing odds and ends writing stuff as needed. So, that means the other half of my time is spent writing.

However, my goal i...

Krista's 10 Rules for Writing

Rule #1: Don't be boring.

Rule #2: Focus on your current project. If you need to, sketch out notes and stories of all of the ideas that come to you while you are on your current project, so that you don't forget them. If you need to, try balancing 2 projects that aren't alike (i.e. novel and short story, or erotica and murder mystery) so that you remain productive but get breaks.

Rule #3: Don't sit around waiting for your Muse. Look, she's cheating on you anyway with some skinny chick on...

Got Plot? Are You Sure?

Plot is everyday life mixed with a cocktail of meth, ritalin, and crack. It's too bad that so many new writers forget to include it in their work.

The most common piece of feedback that I have given in critiques is "nothing happens in this scene/chapter/book/story." It's unfortunate because they have come up with great characters, a great situation, a great setting. And what do the characters do? Why, they are on a balcony, looking out over the city, sipping their tea, and talking about all...

Follow Up to "Let's Support Each Other"

My previous post did not generate a lot of comment traffic, but it sure created a lot of off-site comments. I received a number of Facebook and Twitter messages. Thank you to everyone to asked questions and made comments.

I had a number of people ask who and what they should be reading. Times are tough and folks don't want to spend a lot of money on bad writing, poor layout, and other problems that are associated (justified or not) with small, independent, and self-published titles.

I read a...