At lunch the other day with an author friend, we discussed writing, as we always do, and at some point in the conversation, again as always, we agreed that the computer is both a curse and a blessing to the publishing business. In theory it should make everything better, but the downside of facilitation is glut: many writers, many manuscripts, higher slush piles for agents and editors, and longer waits for publication or even rejection letters.

I remember the time when the computer…

Hey, can I buy your vote?



Um, not with money.



Sex? Nah, you don't want that from me either.



Okay, fine, I don't have anything to offer.



But can you vote for me anyway?



My new book "The Next Adventures of Guy ... more wackiness" is up for Preditor's and Editors SF/Fantasy Book Reader's Poll.



Wouldja mind voting?



Go here ...



http://www.critters.org/predpoll/novelsf.shtml



This…

In a number of blogs recently (including one from Angela Savage, which I've now added to News and Views on AustCrimeFiction incidentally) mention was recently made of Lindy Cameron's great initiative - GENRE FLASH.

Basically…

Tomorrow I'll write something. Haven't written anything since about August. I mean not a single word written in anger since that time. I tried rewriting a book I finished in July, but frankly I should have started a different book altogether. Plenty of ideas. No time for starting a new project - not with a rewrite needed. And nothing is less attractive to me than rewriting. Therefore, complete and utter paralysis. Not writer's block, mind you. Not if writer's block is equal not having ideas.…

So many books… so little time. If only you had time to find the right ones. Of course that would require you to pick them up and read a couple of pages to know if they appeal to you, but who has time to do such a thing? Well, YOU do, if you do it the smart way. That would be by joining an OnLine Book Club at Dear Reader.com.…

So many books… so little time. If only you had time to find the right ones. Of course that would require you to pick them up and read a couple of pages to know if they appeal to you, but who has time to do such a thing? Well, YOU do,…

Everyone who wants to be published should be told first and foremost: keep track of everything you do. Make a little book/file of people's names (everyone, since you never know who will be important), another little book/file of ideas (again, even wild and crazy ones can be useful later), and a third little book/file documenting every phone call, query, pitch, sample request and casual discussion you have with people in the business.

I do this now but wish I'd started six years ago. I…

The home team has spent the last week or so building a plan for 2008 intended to break my writing into the mainstream outside my home area. We ended up considering what seemed like hundreds of options, each with a long decision tree. Mailings? Sure, but to who? Where? When? How many? What will the postcard say? And that's just one tiny bit of the puzzle. But we have arrived at a conclusion.…

In 2008:

1. "I will __survive! I will _survive!" Even corny disco songs know that it takes determination to get through what life throws at us. No matter what, in 2008 I am resolved to survive and even thrive.

2. "I'm gonna sit right down and _write myself a letter." Actually I do this every morning. When you're over fifty, it's the only way to remember what your intentions are for the day.

3. "Wherever you may hide away; I swear to you, I will be…

Posted by Lorraine (L.L.) Bartlett

In 2008, I resolve not to lose my Writers Plot posts. That's how I started my day, logging into typepad to find my post for today had disappeared. Poof! Gone! (I shall try to reconstruct--but as most people know, the results are seldom the same/as good.)

Everybody on the Internet seems to be talking about their goals and/or resolutions. I no longer make resolutions. What for? I never kept them. But when January 1st rolls around it does…

Don't you just love fresh starts?

I'm teaming up with some fellow authors and we're putting our heads together, trying to figure out how to get the word out about our books. To that end, I'm going to start doing a "Saturday Spotlight" here on my blog. I've asked some fellow authors to give me information about themselves and their books, and I'll post it here. Most of them write romantic suspense (heavy on the romance) not really 'crime fiction', which is why they aren't coming onto…

First of all...Happy New Year to everyone! May you have peace, prosperity, happiness, and a best seller in the new year.

I'm knee-deep in yet another re-write/round of edits on CRIMSON SWAN. After six months of "I love it but it's not right for our list right now"-rejections, a senior editor with one of the top publishing houses in NY gave my agent detailed feedback on what she liked and what she thought needed improving. She also said she'd be…

In the last couple of weeks I enjoyed two very different book signing experiences. First, I visited the Borders bookstore in Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. This one was easy, since the store is on the concourse before the security gates, unlike the other airport stores I’ve signed in. It’s also right at the bottom of the escalator people come down on their way to one set of gates. I saw a lot of people that day, but many of them were rushing to catch…

Your Holiday Gift - Download a Free Copy of my Full-Sized Novel Vision from Fictionwise! Happy Holidays from N. D. Hansen-Hill, the Author of:

Fantasy

The Trees Series…