Michell Plested's Blog, page 15

What Makes a Book? (Pt. 2 – Edits)

As I mentioned in the previous post, edits are an important, nay critical piece of the process. I can’t tell you how often I have heard people complain about a story they were reading that was riddled with errors and how they simply couldn’t finish it. I’ve also heard many complaints about books that don’t have enough cohesion or are missing a critical piece. These complaints are both examples of poor/insufficient/non-existent editing. “But wait!” you say. “Edits were not the first part of the your previous article. What about finding a publisher or the contract piece?” To that, all I can say is, there are tons of publishers and articles on how to query them. I know I can’t really […]

What Makes a Book? (Pt. 1 – Overview of Activities)

When I got my first book contract I was told my book wouldn’t be coming out for almost two years. By the time all was said and done, it was actually slightly more than that. But why? What the heck takes so long? I mean, the book is already written, right? That’s the hardest part, isn’t it? Fast forward seven years. I now have six novels in print and I am a publisher myself (check out https://evilalteregopress.wordpress.com/ if you are interested) and I have a much better idea why things take so long. Over the next few posts I hope to provide you with some idea of things to consider when you are getting published (whether with a small or […]

Music

There is a very strong connection between music and writing. Both tell stories. Both can bring forth very strong emotions in the recipient. For me, music represents yet another avenue for inspiration. For example, as soon as I heard Kiss from a Rose by Seal, a story popped into my head. The imagery from the song was so strong the story was almost immediately there. It took me a while to work out all the details for the story, but once I did, I had to write it. That has happened other times too; a song has inspired a character or a setting or plot points. I wonder if stories do the same for song writers? Music also provides me […]

Interview on Global News for Scouts of the Apocalypse

On Friday I had the good fortune to be interviewed for a piece on Global News Calgary. You can read and see the whole thing here.

Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie Plague Available for $0.99

We have finally managed to get Amazon to put SotA:Zombie Plague up for $0.99. I meant to have that happen back in May, but for whatever reason, Amazon didn’t want to play nice and nothing could convince them to change their minds. If you have been curious about the hype around the book, now is the time to pick it up. Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074P8CVD5. Enjoy.

Book Awards

I’ve heard different opinions about book awards from different publishers. On the one extreme, I’ve had publishers say awards don’t mean anything. They don’t really make any difference in book sales. On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve had publishers say awards are critical. They can make a book and a writer’s career. I’m somewhere in the middle (maybe I lean a little towards “Awards are important”). I think a book award can absolutely sell books. A book award can increase awareness. A book award can open doors that might remain closed otherwise. A book award can move a career forward. But…why do I feel that way? I feel that way because I know some readers look for “Award […]

When Life Gives Lemons…

I went on a week’s vacation a little while ago and the last thing I did before I left the house was reboot my computer. That was also the last time I saw it alive. It (the computer) made the unfortunate decision to refuse to reboot. Because I was going out of town and had my backup laptop available, I didn’t worry too much. I could fix it when I got home (I told myself). That was two weeks ago. Fortunately, all of my data is backed up in at least two different places. I have spent several hours working on said computer and only last night did I see the faintest glimmer of life come back to its old, […]

Happy 150th Birthday, Canada!

For those of you who are unaware, Canada celebrates its 150th birthday as a country July 1st, 2017. I am so proud of this wonderful country I live in and I want to wish all Canadians a joyous Canada Day!

Stuck in the Doldrums

I have this nasty (or is it merely foolish?) habit of taking too much on. Too many writing projects, too many volunteer jobs. Just…too many. I can go great guns for a long period of time but, when I stop to smell the roses I have a hard time getting things going again. That was the case with the release of Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie War. It was a LOT of work to get it ready and out. Now that it’s in print, I still have work to do promoting it plus there’s all the other stuff. Getting underway on all that other stuff is proving to be difficult. It doesn’t help that it’s summer and spending time out-of-doors […]

I Have Books

My copies of Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie War have arrived and I couldn’t be happier. They are beautiful and I love the cover more and more every time I look at it. Even better, I was concerned that, because it was significantly different from the first book cover, I would find the difference too jarring. I needn’t have worried. They compliment each other in a way that is really fantastic. I’ve noticed that the print copies are still only available on Amazon.com. I will work to correct that. In the mean time, if you want your own copy (or copies or even other books of mine), please email me (use author at michellplested dot com to contact me). Let […]