C. Gockel's Blog, page 128
March 28, 2014
ucresearch:
While walking around the Prelinger Archive in San...
March 27, 2014
Gatekeeping is Dead … and Other Book Festival Tidbits | RJ Crayton
Great article by RJ Crayton, a self-published author of speculative Sci-Fi.
I’ve read that the author’s who do best financially are hybrid authors, so I guess pounding on the publishing house door and getting them to publish that one novel for you isn’t a bad idea–and 25% royalties might be better than the 0% royalties you get from WattPadd. But WattPadd, FictionPress, Fanfiction.net, and AO3 might get you more constructive criticism and feedback.
March 26, 2014
Writing Faster: Breaking the 10,000-Word-Day Barrier and Composing a Rough Draft in 2 Weeks | Lindsay Buroker
About a year ago, I read Rachel Aaron’s 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love. It was basically what I already knew (it’s
Pretty good stuff here. My revenues have been improving, and that means I’ve been able to devote more time to writing. But I was finding more time was not equalling more words. You can spend hours as a writer obsessing over sales data, perusing Kboards, and attending to marketing matters. (Not to mention improving the quality of your work!)
This helped put me back on track—I don’t see myself writing 10,000 words a day, but on days when I don’t have IT work to do (what I do in real life) 3,000 is a good goal. 3,000 words is about an hour and a half for me—with other things I need to do—marketing, getting Monsters, Chaos, In the Balance and Fates ready for print, and child care—that’s plenty.
March 24, 2014
March 23, 2014
EXCERPT FROM WARRIORS:
Amy says, “I knew Loki. That is how I recognized you.”
Bohdi doesn’t quite sniffle at the lie. But it makes a little shudder run through him. He pushes his hands deeper into his pocket.
Valli snickers. “She knew father…I can guess what that means.”
Bohdi’s skin heats. Without thinking he slips his hand from his pocket. “Respect!” Bohdi snaps. Lighter in his fist, he brings the blunt end down hard on the back of Valli’s head.
Valli’s eyes go wide, and he turns to Bohdi and snarls. “What are you doing, human?”
200 Followers!
Thank you all for deciding to follow me! Please let me know by answering here or in an anon (or non-anon) note — what do you want to see most this blog? Excerpts from upcoming books? Posts about writing? Self-publishing advice? Something I haven’t mentioned?
The Neurological Similarities Between Successful Writers And...
The Neurological Similarities Between Successful Writers And The Mentally Ill
…of course, it’s not just the Fitzgeralds who battled depression and led lives that eventually spun out of their control. Mark Twain, Tennessee Williams, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson, Stephen King, Anne Rice, David Foster Wallace, even J.K. Rowling are just a few of the writers who have been struck by the illness that Hemingway once referred to as “The Artist’s Reward.”
The common theory for why writers are often depressed is rather basic: writers think a lot and people who think a lot tend to be unhappy. Add to that long periods of isolation and the high levels of narcissism that draws someone to a career like writing, and it seems obvious why they might not be the happiest bunch. Read More >
I’m actually a rather happy person (and at least when I took an online test of narcissism really not narcissistic.) But maybe I’m not that successful of a writer and that’s why I don’t fit the mold? Or maybe my mild Aspieness and dyslexia have given me enough grief in my life to fill my mental illness quotient?
As for narcissism, maybe as you become successful you become more narcissistic? But that could be true of most people in most professions. And a horrible trap! Then you wouldn’t learn anything new.
March 22, 2014
March 21, 2014
wantstobelieve:
Young Loki; green-eyed, mist-born
ice-spear in one hand
stag-hunting come...
Young Loki; green-eyed, mist-born
ice-spear in one hand
stag-hunting come dawn
streak of shade on a bone-pale land.
The I Bring the Fire series is now on Google Play.
I’ve...
The I Bring the Fire series is now on Google Play.
I’ve been hearing around the intertubes (okay, on Kboards) that Google Play is becoming the next biggest market for ebooks after Amazon. Why is this?
Probably because there aren’t a lot of books on Google Play since it is a pain in the tuckus to get listed there.
Talk about unintuitive user interfaces! I found this post on Kboards and was able to use it to do the basics, but I still got “creative” error messages. Below I’ve paraphrased the two I received and have given the correct interpretation. You’re welcome, and good luck!
"The address provided is incorrect" actually means: “We have not sent a verifying deposit to your bank”
And "Pricing is unconfirmed" error actually means “You have been signed in too long with no activity and we will not accept any input from you at this time, although we will make it LOOK like we are accepting input. Nothing will be saved though until you log out and sign in again!”
(Note: even after I signed out, signed in, and resubmitted I still got a “Needs Action” alert. However, when I opened up my dash the next morning the changes had been processed).
I haven’t been checking sales, though I’m sure they are abysmal since I haven’t promoted on Google Play yet. However, I have contacted BookBub about adding the GooglePlay link my list of “to buy” sites.
I will report back!
