Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 132

2014’s Top 5 Posts for Writers

My blog covers Reading, Writing, and Publishing; yet, the Top 5 posts for the last year are all about writing…

Image Courtesy of de Silva Chaminda ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/iitotoro

Perhaps readers and publishers want to know about writers—or, my visitors are all writers interested in publishing who, of course, also read :-)

But, since it’s the last day of the year, at least in my time zone, I’ll share my New Year’s Resolution before listing those Top 5 posts:

“…to analyse but not reduc...

How “Sacred” Is A Print Book?

The raging argument over print vs e-books—carried out, still, in some of the media—perhaps igniting physical confrontations on a few campuses—a false argument, in my experience…

I read both—both have value to me…

But, there are differences—I can underline a print book but only highlight an e-book—different actions, in my experience.

The New York Review of Books has an article by Tim Parks about underlining and writing in the margins—A Weapon for Readers.

As is my usual reportorial practice, I’ll...

Revision In Writing

Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, books or essays, research papers or notes for a speech, revision is critical.

Image Courtesy of Herman Brinkman ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/hbrinkman

Even if your effort feels good and right and adequate, a revision could make it better.

Just like scraping ice off a window—revision takes things away to aid clear decisions.

And, even though revision usually also adds things after some removal, a writer will often not notice what needs adding withou...

Friday Poll ~ Where Are You In Your Writer’s Journey?

As always, before the new poll, we’ll look at last week’s results from How Do You Find The Books You Read?

Image courtesy of http://www.freeimages.com/profile/finerain

First place went to “A Friend’s Recommendation”.

Second place had “A Review I Read”.

Third was a two-way tie with “In A Book Shop by Browsing” & “At An Internet Retailer by Browsing”.

Fourth place also had a two way tie: “In A Friend’s Library” & “At An Internet Retailer from ‘Also Bought’ Recommendation”.

Fifth place had “In the Pub...

Do I Celebrate Christmas?

I may completely lose a few of my readers today………

Image Courtesy of http://www.freeimages.com/profile/shadowrave

In fact, many folks who trusted me to post reasonable things might think I’m bonkers.

However…

Judging from most of the mainstream media, Christmas is just the modern incarnation of some ancient ritual; or, it’s the season of festivity, happiness, and gift-giving; or, it’s a time to be with family and friends to warm-up before the cold sets in, in earnest…

Of course, folks in the South...

Should Writers Self-Edit?

I’m sure there are a few writers out there who should never self-edit; but, what if they have a burning desire to publish a book, don’t know anyone else who can help with editing, and have no money to hire someone?

Image Courtesy of Andrew Beierle ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/andrewatla

Now, let me edit that first sentence…

Some writers are weak in editing, have no access to folks with experience, and can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars; but, they have a strong desireto publish the...

Research for Writers

I blogmostly about writing, reading, or publishing fiction because I’m mostly concerned with fiction—it helps me get to the truth…

Image Courtesy of Mikhail Lavrenov ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/miklav

As Stephen King said: “Fiction is the truth inside the lie.”

There are, however, many books we find a need to read that are non-fiction.

Also, publishing non-fiction calls for a different way of promotion.

And, the writer of non-fiction almost always has a substantial amount of research to do...

Discovering Books ~ Going Beyond Genre

Because of the unique nature of a relatively new discoverability tool, I’m reblogging a post I did back in February.

#Discoverability is a trending term in the BookWorld.

Image courtesy of wynand van niekerk ~ http://fgx.co.za/

Self-publishing has transformed the traditional way readers find their books.

Even those who prefer buying from a bookstore will check online to build a list.

Same thing for devoted library patrons.

Yet, even buying online presents a challenge of discoverability.

Let me quote...

Friday Poll ~ How Do You Find The Books You Read?

First, the results of last week’s poll—Writers’ Deadlines:

Image Courtesy of Craig Parylo ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/parylo00

Most voted is: I sometimes give myself writing deadlines

Second is:I usually meet my writing deadlines

Third:My job rarely imposes writing deadlines

Fourth, two-way tie:My job sometimes imposes writing deadlines &I rarely meet my wriiting deadlines

Fifth is a five-way tie:

My job always imposes writing deadlines

I always give myself writing deadlines

I rarely give myse...

How Can Writers Find New Ideas?

Reading about how-to-write can get stale, especially with the current trend of people borrowing ideas from each other and trying to dress them up in slightly different clothes…

Image Courtesy of Crissie Hardy ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/cris_aphi

Discovering new ideas for your writing usually takes more than a little effort.

It also usually means talking, at length, with other people.

So, why would I use an image of a bunch of matches for this post?

Think of the matches as people, each one...