Phil Giunta's Blog, page 93

About This Writing Stuff...

This week, great attention is being paid to James Patterson as a result of his ad in the NYT and Publisher's Weekly expressing his concern over the future of books. Jami Gold delves into better storytelling while Veronica Sicoe explains alternate character arcs.  From Writer Unboxed, we get advice about writing short fiction, beginnings and endings, anxiety, and self-publishing.  Speaking of self-publishing, Ted Heller relates his negative experience with the process while Joel Friedlander offers four strategies for savvy self-pubbers.  Jody Hedlund wonders if free eBooks draw new readers and advises writers against hurrying toward publication.

Three more of my fellow ReDeus authors chat up their stories for the upcoming second volume in the anthology series, Beyond Borders !

The Future is No Fun: Self-Publishing is the Worst by Ted Heller

Authors Sue Author Solutions via Indie Reader

James Patterson: Prototypical Indie Author by Linda Messina

Konrath on Patterson by Joe Konrath

Three Tips for Better Storytelling and Why is Storytelling Ability So Important? by Jami Gold

Do Free eBooks Really Hook New Readers? and Why Writers Shouldn't Rush into Publication by Jody Hedlund

The Three Types of Character Arc: Change, Growth and Fall by Veronica Sicoe

What Novelists Should Know About Short Fiction by Suzannah Windsor Freeman

Beginning and Ending by Donald Maass

The New Era of Self-Publishing by Allison Winn Scotch

Let's Talk About Anxiety and the Creative Process by Dan Blank

The 4 Best Strategies for Savvy Self-Publishers by Joel Friedlander

Kelly Meding Dives Beyond Borders while Jenna Silverstein Faces History Beyond Borders and Steven Lyons Sees Spirits Beyond Borders !

Two Wonderful Reviews!!

The Haunted Bookcase blog on WordPress has reviewed both of my novels consecutively and I couldn't be more pleased with their comments!

Check out the review for By Your Side and Testing the Prisoner !

My Convention Schedule

As warmer weather approaches, just wanted to post a list of the summer cons at which I've been invited as a writer guest.  Come on out and say hello!





Balticon 47 : May 24-27, 2013. Hunt Valley Inn in Hunt Valley, MD. Guests include SF writer Joe Haldeman, artist and production designer Rick Sternbach and about a hundred writers, artists, and musicians.  For my third year as a writer guest, I will be joining Robert Greenberger and Steven H. Wilson as we launch the second volume in the ReDeus series, Beyond Borders !


Wizard World Philly: May 30 - June 2. Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA. Guests include Adam Baldwin, John Barrowman, Brandon Routh, Shawn and Aaron Ashmore, Steve Guttenberg, Lauren Holly, Stan Lee, William Shatner, Ray Park, Lou Ferrigno, Summer Glau, Henry Winkler, Charisma Carpenter and more. Arist and writer guests include Dave Bullock, Jim Calafiore, Howard Chaykin and many more.  I will be sharing a table with artist Laura Inglis who created the wonderfully eerie cover images for By Your Side and the second edition of Testing the Prisoner.


Shore Leave 35 : August 2-4. Hunt Valley Inn in Hunt Valley, MD. Guests include William Shatner, Amanda Tapping, Julie Caitlin-Brown. Writer guests include David Weber, Peter David, Robert Greenberger, Aaron Rosenberg, Michael Jan Friedman, Glenn Hauman, Phil Giunta, Steven H. Wilson, Allyn Gibson, Greg Cox, Ann Crispin, Kelly Meding and many more!

Chiller Theatre Convention

Just wanted to share some pics of a few cool celebs I just met today at Chiller Theatre convention in New Jersey.  First up was the legendary David Warner (Time After Time, The Omen, Time Bandits, TRON, various Star Trek roles).

Then I got the business from Back to the Future's Mr. Strickland, James Tolkan.  He wasted no time in reminding me what a "slacker" I am.  :)

Finally, the lovely Debbie Gibson, 80s pop-star-turned-actress.  Everyone was friendly and easy going.  It was yet another truly wonderful convention experience.

About This Writing Stuff...

This week, there is much ado about self-publishing from James Scott Bell, David Gaughran and Digital Book World.  Barry Eisler discusses at length the publishing options available to authors today. Writer Unboxed offers wonderful advice on everything from how not to start your novel to dealing with burnout to knowing when your work is worth fighting for--and that fine line between truth and TMI.

Two of my fellow ReDeus authors chat up their divine stories for the upcoming release of ReDeus: Beyond Borders.  That and more from Kristen Lamb, Jody Hedlund and Indie Reader.  Enjoy!


The Battle of the Book Pubbing Platforms by Indie Reader

Lazy Literary Agents In Self-Publishing Money Grab via Argo Navis and Self-Publishing Grabs Huge Market Share from Traditional Publishers by David Gaughran

Are Libraries Offering Enough Self-Published Ebooks? by Beth Bacon

Eisler on Digital Denial via Joe Konrath

What Makes a Reader Pick Up a Book by a Debut Author? by Jody Hedlund

Little Darlings and Why They Must Die...for REAL by Kristen Lamb

How to Make Money Self-Pubishing Fiction by James Scott Bell

Boundaries and Burnout by Barbara O'Neal

Knowing if Your Manuscript is Worth Fighting For by Heather Reid

Must We Tell All? by Carleen Brice

What NOT To Do When Beginning Your Novel: Advice from Literary Agents by Chuck Sambuchino

Scott Pearson Takes His Templar Knight Beyond Borders and William Leisner Celebrates America Beyond Borders via Crazy 8 Press

About This Writing Stuff...

After two weeks of spring cleaning and yard work, it's nice to be posting another edition of About This Writing Stuff...   Here and now, Authors Guild president Scott Turow comes under fire (again) for his comments regarding Amazon's procurement of Goodreads and his article in the NY Times.  It's all here in one place, folks.   Meanwhile, Rob Hart wants to eliminate cliches from your writing and Jami Gold talks character flaws.  SF writer Veronica Sicoe faces the future, good and bad.  Sophie Masson looks for a good title while fellow ReDeus author Lorraine Anderson chats up her story in the upcoming ReDeus: Beyond Borders !



How to Use Character Flaws to Develop a Plot and The Thin Line Between Character Strengths and Flaws by Jami Gold

Top 10 Storytelling Cliches Writers Need to Stop Using by Rob W. Hart

This is How Modern Monopolies Can Be Built by The Authors Guild

The Slow Death of the American Author by Scott Turow

A List of Things Scott Turow Doesn't Care About by David Gaughran

Scott Turow and The Politics of Cowardice by Barry Eisler via Joe Konrath

B&N Rebrands PubIt! as Nook Press by Laura Hazard Owen

New Publisher Authors Trust: Themselves by Leslie Kaufman

Utopia & Dystopia: The Many Faces of the Future by Veronica Sicoe

Finding a Good Title by Sophie Masson

Lorraine Anderson Wants to Tell a Joke Beyond Borders via Crazy 8 Press

Authors Chat Up ReDeus: Beyond Borders on Crazy 8 Press Blog

Every Monday and Friday, the Crazy 8 Press blog features a post from one of the writer of ReDeus: Beyond Borders. I was fortunate to go first back on April 1 (how appropriate!), followed by:

David McDonald goes Down Under and Beyond Borders

Steven H. Wilson goes Beyond Borders to Worship Odin

Lawrence M. Schoen Talks the First Crossover Beyond Borders

More to come in the weeks ahead, leading up to the launch of ReDeus: Beyond Borders at Balticon 47 !

A Successful Goodreads Giveaway!

The Goodreads Giveaway for By Your Side ended early this morning with an astounding 1,078 entries! It was remarkable to me at least. Congratulations to the five winners!   I hope you enjoy the book!

About This Writing Stuff...

This week, CJ Lyons (via Jane Friedman) discusses the value of KDP Select while Nichole Bernier makes a case for the paperback.  It's a numbers game as Neil Gaiman offers 8 simple rules to write by, Tom Pawlik (via Chuck Sambuchino) cooks up 9 ingredients for character development, Jami Gold has three tips for beta readers and Kristen Lamb describes the three phases to becoming a master author.  Gabriela Pereira thinks you should do more than kill your darlings.  From the land down under, David McDonald chats up his story for our volume two of our shared anthology, ReDeus: Beyond Borders.   All that and more...enjoy!


Amazon KDP Select: Is it Worthwhile for Authors? by CJ Lyons via Jane Friedman

The Point of the Paperback by Nichole Bernier

Neil Gaiman's 8 Rules of Writings by Maria Popova

The 9 Ingredients of Character Development by Tom Pawlik via Chuck Sambuchino

Book Experts Weigh-In on the Publishing Industry's Revolution by The Washington Post

David McDonald Goes Down Under and Beyond Borders by David McDonald via Crazy 8 Press

Indie Bookstore Sales of Kobo Ebooks Dwarf Google; Still Small by Jeremy Greenfield

Dealing with Bad Reviews by Joe Konrath

Three Tips for Being a Better Beta Reader by Jami Gold

Three Phases of Becoming a Master Author by Kristen Lamb

Killing Your Darlings is Not Enough by Gabriela Pereira

Five Things I Wish I'd Known Before Publishing a Book by Sarah Pekkanen

Wizard World Comic Con Philadelphia

Laura Inglis and I will be guests and sharing a table at Wizard World Comic Con Philadelphia this summer.  Laura created the cover art for my second novel By Your Side as well as the new cover for my first novel, Testing the Prisoner .   Hope to see you there!