M.G. Herron's Blog, page 32
March 22, 2016
How to Build a Better Book Pitch with Scott James
As authors, we spend hundreds of hours writing, revising, agonizing over our books because they need to be awesome. But when it comes to talking about them with readers, other authors, or even friends and family, our minds blank out and we stumble through some un-interesting description off the top of our heads.
I got fed up with myself doing this and developed what I call a “lunch line pitch” for my projects. A lunch line pitch is a unique way to describe what youre working on in 5 seconds t...
March 15, 2016
The Mountains Are My Spirit Animal
I craned myneck to take in theFront Range of the Rocky Mountains near Denver as we drove along highway 6 to a hiking trail near Golden, Colorado.
“The mountains are myspirit animal,” Fox said over his shoulder from the driver’s seat.
I nodded. I canrelate. Life in Austin is good, but I miss the sightof snow-covered peaks and the smell of mountain air after a fresh rainfall. Every time I go back to the nountains, a part of me feels like I’m going home.
***
Shelly and Iarrived in Denver on Thur...
March 8, 2016
A Modern Look at Stoicism, “An Art We Need to Bring to Our Own Lives”
(This is a book review of The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday.)
Part of the trouble with philosophy is that it’s not easy to put into practice. For systems that were originally designed to teach people how to live, philosophy has become, in many cases, too abstract for people to apply the lessonsto their lives.
Philosophy can even seemabsurd.Why spend your time debating the existence of God if you can’t prove your answer? And who cares what the definition of “is” is? No one less charismat...
A Modern Look at Stoicism, ���An Art We Need to Bring to Our Own Lives���
(This is a book review of The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday.)
Part of the trouble with philosophy is that its not easy to put into practice. For systems that were originally designed to teach people how to live, philosophy has become, in many cases, too abstract for people to apply the lessonsto their lives.
Philosophy can even seemabsurd.Why spend your time debating the existence of God if you cant prove your answer? And who cares what the definition of is is? No one less charismatic t...
March 1, 2016
Podcast Review: Hardcore History
If you like podcasts and you havent listened to Hardcore History, youre missing out on one of the highest quality, most entertaining showsIve ever discovered.
Dan Carlin’saward-winningperformanceswill catapultyou into the midst of epic battles, pivotal events, and historical drama that will forever changethe way you see the world.
On my dread of historyBefore I get into what’s so great about Hardcore History, I feel compelled to confess that I was thekid in school whohated history class.
I s...
Hardcore History: The Way History Class Is Supposed to Be Taught
If you like podcasts and you havent listened to Hardcore History, youre missing out on one of the highest quality, most entertaining showsIve ever discovered.
If you’ve never tried podcasts, I envy you. You have a fantastic new world to explore, and Dan Carlin’saward-winningperformanceswill catapultyou into the midst of epic battles, pivotal events, and historical drama that will forever changethe way you see the world.
On my dread of historyBefore I get into what’s so great about Hardcore H...
Hardcore History: The way history class is supposed to be taught
If you like podcasts and you havent listened to Hardcore History, youre missing out on one of the highest quality, most entertaining showsIve ever discovered.
If you’ve never tried podcasts, I envy you. You have a fantastic new world to explore, and Dan Carlin’saward-winningperformanceswill catapultyou into the midst of epic battles, pivotal events, and historical drama that will forever changethe way you see the world.
On my dread of historyBefore I get into what’s so great about Hardcore H...
February 23, 2016
Author Business Plans with Anna Castle
Being an indie author is about more than coffee and creativity. It’s also running a small business, which means sales, marketing, accounting, handling contractors, and much more.
Faced with this reality, indie authors have a lot on their plates. So what do you do? You take a page out of the entrepreneur’s book and put together a business plan.
A business plan will lay the foundations of your author business so that you can get back to doing more of what you love.
Big thanks to Anna Castle for...
February 20, 2016
Reading The Auriga Project at Malvern Books
A few weeks ago, I read from my scifi thriller novelThe Auriga Projectto a full room at Malvern Books in Austin, TX.This is a recording ofmy piece of that event.
I was preceded and followed by two other awesomeindie authors who live in Austin, Jackie Dana and Kate Baray. You can find their videos as Part 1 and Part 3 of this videoseries on YouTube.
Jackie organized the reading, so A BIG THANKS to her for putting in the work to make ithappen. More reading events at Malvern are on the calendar...
February 1, 2016
Michael Bunker on Film Options
Michael Bunker recently sold the film option for his novel, PENNSYLVANIA, to Jorgensen Pictures. At Indie Publishing Austin, he talks about the experience, visual media outlets, and original content.
This video was taken at Indie Publishing Austin’s meetup event.
The rest of the talk(about 15 minutes of video) is available to Patreon supporters only.
ResourcesMichael also recommended two books on screenwriting:
Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting...
