R.L. Herron's Blog, page 5

What Do You Need for a Book Signing?

I just finished a book-signing event in Sterling Heights. I joined some good friends and authors from the Rochester Writers’ Group. It’s the second one for me this month, and it was a decent day all around. The weather cooperated and I sold six books in four hours. Not exactly setting the world on fire, […]

Does Self-Promotion Feel Like a Losing Battle?

Along with a host of other local authors, I just finished participating in DetroitBookFest, at historic Eastern Market. The weather, although far too hot, was cooperative. It didn’t rain, I sold seven books and thought it was a good event. I’ll also be in attendance, with other local authors, signing books near the library at […]

What Do You Include in Your Book Marketing?

Annoying animation courtesy giphy.com I know I’ve asked you this before. You’re an indie author who’s written a book. Now what? Most indie authors think writing the book is the hard part … until they discover they also have to take on the job of marketing it. Oops. That’s usually when I hear: Where do […]

How Well Do You Use Irony?

An Example of Verbal Irony Made Visual Irony is a key element in literature and it can take many forms. Fiction thrives on it, and I use it often, including in this dialogue exchange in my novel “One Way Street”: (to set the scene … the characters are two Marines during the Vietnam War, sitting […]

Elements All Fiction Needs

Beginning writers often believe they need a clever plot, but Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer contends that a good writer is actually little more than a good storyteller. Mark Twain, who considered himself a storyteller, went so far as to say, “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons […]

Getting & Staying Creative

Atlanta Symphony guest conductor Donald Runnicles (Photo by Jeff Roffman) You may find it hard to believe, but I’ve discovered the best remedy for overcoming those moments of author terror known as writer’s block. It’s called working on multiple projects at once, and it works. It keeps my creative juices flowing. If you’ve tried it […]

Author Interview

Michigan Author, Ryan Ennis Today I’m not posting about my own books or the ins-and-outs of indie publishing. At the recommendation of a friend, I’m interviewing another Michigan author, Ryan Ennis. Welcome to “Painting With Light,” Ryan. Thank you. Glad to be here! Can you tell us a little about yourself? I’m a teacher, librarian, […]

Why Call Yourself a Writer?

Photo Courtesy of Shutterstock. There are two types of writers. Those who write because they have something to say, and those who write merely for the sake of saying they’re a writer. It doesn’t seem to matter if they’re young or old, but a lot of people are solidly in the second camp. Most of […]

Things an Indie Author Should Share

Last weekend, my wife and I were wandering around our local Costco. We had a list for that shopping trip, but we got sidetracked by one of the giveaway stations offering free pastry samples. We went past, tried one, and were very pleased with the tasty little chunks of poppy seed roll. We found an […]

How Easy is it to Become an Author?

You have stories to tell and fantastic ideas floating around in your imagination that deserve to be communicated to a vast army of readers. Hell, you can imagine and create stories that are as good as any of them out there, can’t you? How Hard Can It Be? Who wouldn’t be excited? You know in […]