Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 198
July 2, 2012
Internet Woes . . .
I’m at my local, friendly computer repair shop. My ISP stopped working yesterday. They’re being kind to me to let me check my email but I don’t want to overstay my welcome. Should be back blogging tomorrow…
June 29, 2012
A Post Full of Questions About Blogs. . .
What do you like to see in blogs? Why do you read them? Do you relax when reading them or do they stir you up? What’s you favorite kind of blog? Are blogs a “form” of writing? Will blogs ever attain classic-status like books? What do you think motivates a blogger to persist even when [...]
June 28, 2012
Publishing A Book At Your Local Library?
Imagine walking into your library and, not only being able to borrow e-books, but also being able to have an e-edition of your own book published. And, of course, your book would then be available for sale at venues such as Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, and Sony, as well as for loan from the [...]
June 27, 2012
Me and My Poet Friend
Most of this blog is devoted to posts about Writing—with the rest concerning Reading and Publishing. Some of the posts deal with the act of writing and that can be very hard to describe… I published a novel and I’m working on a follow-up short story collection—I’ve written about this process and will certainly write [...]
June 26, 2012
Readers Writing To Authors :-)
OK, here’s how it goes… Students write to their favorite authors and, if their letter wins a contest, they get a $500 gift card, plus they get to nominate a library to receive $10,000! The contest is Letters About Literature: LAL is a national reading promotion program of the Center for the Book at the [...]
June 25, 2012
Do Publishers Hate Libraries ?
With e-books becoming all the rage you’d think publishers would know that folks who go to libraries and borrow books regularly also buy books—regularly . Strange that some of the largest U. S. publishers won’t sell e-books to libraries and one of them is charging 300% the normal cost. I’ve had a number of posts [...]
June 21, 2012
Free Software for Writers . . .
There’s almost too much software for writers. And, there’s certainly enough free software that, if a writer can afford a computer and at least temporary connection to the Internet, they can be well supplied with writing tools. I have 10 free programs on my computer that I use at different times for different jobs. Most [...]
What’s The “Best” Way To Learn “Proper” Grammar?
Everyone who reads regularly knows quite a lot about grammar, even folks who don’t think they do. Of course, not everyone can state the rules of grammar; and; even those who can might disagree. Every aspect of language changes over time—it’s a normal consequence of human social evolution. If a writer were to conceive of [...]
June 20, 2012
Authors Promoting Each Other by Interviewing Each Other
If you’re a writer who treads the frontier of self-publishing, finding unique but viable forms of promotion can be a challenge. This is an area of the “business” of writing that calls on the creativity and sociability of an author. I was chatting with two authors at a birthday celebration last night and we were [...]
June 19, 2012
Preparing To Write A Book . . .
I published a novel in May of 2011. I’m preparing to write a companion book—a collection of 19 short stories that happen in the same universe and time-frame as the novel. It may be of interest how I prepare to write. In fact, it may be important to let you know I consider all the [...]
