Kelly McClymer's Blog, page 21

Taking a Tip from Stephen King — Let Your Spouse Be Your Alpha Reader

My guest today, writer Z. D. Robinson, makes the claim that he lets his wife have the last say on his drafts, and she's never steered him wrong. I was skeptical at first, and asked him to explain how it works. As soon as I learned where he got the idea, I became a true believer.

When I decided to start seriously writing the story in my head, the story that would later become my debut novel, I grabbed a couple books on fiction writing. Many of those books are too pretentious to be taken...

Sample Sunday – The Ex-Files, Chapter 8

Okay. Here's Chapter Eight of The Ex-Files, as promised to my daughter as part of the wedding promotion. I'm posting late because I had to do this one from my notes.

I've been married a long time, so my dating and ex-regret experiences are distant memories. I had to do some research to see what kinds of things single women nowadays are regretting about breaking up with Mr. Imperfect. Surprisingly, it is the same kind of thing that we were regretting back in the dark ages, when I was young and ...

Instant Karmic Smackdown — Hubris, I Thee Banish!

I'd rather touch the Van de Graff generator without being grounded than ask for a review.

I have a hands off policy regarding reviews. It has always been my opinion, born of being a voracious reader from childhood, that a reader's reaction to a book is between the reader and the book. Love it, hate it, feel meh about it, it's all good.

I read all the reviews of my books, but I don't take them to heart for that reason. I've hated books others have loved and loved books that others have hated...

Conundrum: Putting a Not To-Do List on the To-Do List

Multi-tasking FAIL. Water and notebooks don't mix.

I've been stumbling around trying to manage an ever growing To Do list all summer long. With September looming, I am beginning to panic. There are not enough hours in the day…well, there are, if I don't sleep. But I need to sleep.

Part of the problem is that I've added on a significant need for promotion, given the newly released backlist that I am handling myself. Promotion can suck up a lot of time, and knowing when to stop can be tricky. I l...

Lesson From the Backlist: Phoebe Matthews – Doing the Backlist

Welcome Phoebe Matthews, author of the award-winning Mudflat paranormal series, to talk about what she has learned while making her backlist books available as ebooks.

[image error]Google occasionally pops up references to reviews, and last year they sent me a link to a teenage site where kids were introducing themselves and chatting about likes and dislikes, boyfriends, schools, etc. A 14-year-old wrote, "My favorite book is Boy on the Cover by Phoebe Matthews. I have read it at least 30 times."

That book...

Guest Post Elaine Raco Chase – Write What You Want to Know

Please welcome author Elaine Raco Chase to the blog. Elaine is going to burst a writing bubble for us — always a fun thing to do! Take it away, Elaine –

[image error]WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW -

That's always the first thing a writer is told to do.  I've been a creative writing teacher for over 20 years (with over 25 students who've published)  and I always tell my students:  WRITE WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW…then learn it.

I've eighteen books published – a dozen category contemporary romances, a mystery series, edited a b...

#Sample#Sunday: The Ex-Files – Chapter 2

As promised to my daughter (and on my blog), I have begun the process of finishing the abandoned chicklit novel….the only novel of mine she has ever read. This is part of the extended Wedding Day Promo plan.

As added incentive, I am participating in the Clarion Write-a-Thon. Please consider supporting a writer (doesn't have to be me).

Comments with critique are welcome, but no promises that I'll follow anyone's suggestions, no matter how brilliant. I'm a stubborn writer, to which my various...

How Much Should an Author's Ebook Royalty Be? Number Crunching Ahead.

Dear Reader, I knew that one day events would transpire in such a way that my poor dear husband (a scientist, a professor, a lover of numbers that make sense) would find the travails of living with a writer too much and he would break under the strain. That day is today, after 32 years of (relative) forbearance. The specific events which have broken him are this writer's foolish propensity for handing him her iPad and saying, "Read this blog, these numbers don't make sense, do they?"

With a...

Want To Make The Most of Your Guest Post Promotion Opportunity? Read This Book!

Today, I'd like to welcome Jaime McDougall as my guest poster. Jaime has graciously agreed to stop by on her Blog Tour discussing her non-fiction book on the etiquette of  guest blogging for maximum promotion effect, So You Want to Write a Guest Post: An Author's Guide to Promoting with Guest Blogging. Take it away, Jaime —

[image error] The Dangerous Writer

When it comes to writing guest posts, I think the best thing you can do prior to writing a guest post that the readers at the site will appreciate is...

Lesson From the Backlist: Leslie Langtry's Backlistpalooza

Please welcome Leslie Langtry to the blog to give us this week's lesson from the backlist. Leslie writes sexy, funny thrillers, and is willing to share what she learned when she decided to put up her out of print backlist as ebooks. Be careful, though. Leslie may be funny, but her family of Bombays are all assassins with sharp wit — and even sharper weapons.

[image error]I did it.  I'll admit it.  And it feels fantastic.

No, I'm not talking about sex or chocolate.  I'm talking about taking the route many a...