Writing 101: Why It's Okay to Use Ain't

I'll go toe-to-toe with any editor over words like "a lot" and "for ever," and I have, but there's one battle I'm never going to fight: ain't. This battle was lost long, long ago. So all writers are now obligated to wave the white flag...and use it in their novels.

A Lesson in Speaking History

The writers who hate the word ain't should turn to embrace it immediately -- because it was an author who originally popularized the word. Maybe if Charles Dickens had been a bit less successful, today's blog post would be about me baking cookies instead.

Indie News: Self-Published Authors are Getting Conned

The self-publishing boom has inspired a lot of writers to become self-published authors, but at what cost? Many companies and individuals are offering services designed to tempt indies. Unfortunately, some of those authors are getting conned.

For What It's Worth...

Almost 400,000 indie books were published in 2012, a 422 percent jump over the number of self-published titles created in 2007. There are new indie authors being born all the time...but you know the maxim states that a sucker is born every single minute.

Turning a word processing file into an ebook is not the simple process it seems to be. I happen to know this from experience, because I stumbled and bumbled my way through the entire procedure while looking up instructions for every single step on the Internet. What I discovered, what many indies discover, is that there are a lot of people out there willing to complete the process for me. 

Last Hope's

"This book was awesome! I loved everything about it."

"Surprising twists...emotions from happiness to anger to sadness."

The Book Owl Extraordinaire has reviewed Hope's Rebellion. Read the entire review to find out why the book got an A+ rating! 

This is the last day of the Free Love, Free Words event. Go to Smashwords now to get your copy of the book for free while you still can! All you need is the code WQ47M.

Writing 101: Why Self-Publishing is a DIY

I'm crafty by nature, so the letters DIY never frighten me. But for others, it's a terrifying prospect to create a book from scratch and market it to the masses. The popularity of self-publishing has led to a wide availability of services geared toward indie authors. At some point, you may be tempted to hire someone to publish your book for you. I'm here to tell you not to do that. 

Elbow Grease

The moment you begin writing out that idea which has taken root in your imagination, it stops being yours. After you write your manuscript and turn it into a book and share it with anyone, it will become something different. That book will never look to readers the same way it looks inside your head. You're the only one who will ever really understand that book, everything about why you wrote it and what it means.

That's why you're the best person to turn that manuscript into a book that others can read. Believe me, this is not going to feel like the most attractive option when you're in the thick of it -- but it still remains the best.

Writing 101: All the Little Tips

You know about the hard work that goes into writing a book, and you probably have some idea of what you'll need to do as an indie author. But there are lots of little things you need to know that lots of people skip over -- until today.

Details, Details, Details

Little things matter, but as an author you're expected to be detail-oriented. So don't forget about all the little things that can help you on your journey, and don't neglect those details.

Writing 101: Is It Creative, or Just Crazy?

Don't we all have an image of the brilliant genius? The Vincent Van Gogh, locked away in a room, painting masterpieces furiously in order to work through all this issues? The Sylvia Plath, writing brilliantly of suicide just before ending her own life? But at some point, doesn't behavior take a step beyond the eccentric and into the insane? Is it creative...or is it just crazy? 

There Are Quirks, and Then There Are Quirks

T.S. Eliot was a highly successful writer, best known as a critic, poet and playwright. He was somewhat less well-known as an incredible eccentric. Allegedly, Eliot lived above a publishing house but rented a room at another business. Here, he answered only to the name "the Captain" and once inside his room painted his face green so he would resemble a corpse.

Writing 101: Can You Write Non-Fiction?

So you want to write a bestseller, right? Want to do a book signing in public? Have fans? Maybe even appear on one of those talk shows? Look at the statistics and pay attention to what sells, and you'll see that the non-fiction market is (always) booming. So here's what you need to figure out: can you write non-fiction?

Real vs. Imagined

Because I can't...not really, anyway. This is sort of a shame, since in my day job I'm required to write non-fiction for many hours on end. Lately I have been getting a lot of feedback about the need to incorporate myself more into these articles, add personal anecdotes and whatnot. I've written, at some length, about my great inability to actually do this.

Indie News: Good-Bye, Paper Books

Since the first ensign handed the first captain the first datapad on Star Trek, I wanted one. Amazon made that fantasy a reality when they unveiled their Kindle, the device that changed the book market. And today, at last, I think we're all ready to say good-bye to paper books for ever.

eReading

Well, maybe not all of us. But ebooks are definitely here to stay, and they're getting more popular all the time. The ebook market continues to grow, and more writers are coming out of the shadows to self-publish their own stories. 

At the end of 2012, 23 percent of adults had read an ebook. At the end of 2013, it was up to 28 percent. Now, about 4 percent of people read ebooks exclusively and never sully their hands with paper volumes. Bookstores offering paper books continue to go out of business all around the world. But there are also less blacksmiths these days because fewer people are riding horses. 

Because the lessening popularity of paper books hasn't affected readership. Around 76 percent of adults in the United States read a book in the last year, with the typical adult reading about 5 books per year. Meanwhile, ebook sales are up at digital bookstores.

The age of paper books is over, and I'm totally ready. Beam me up, Scotty.