Category: Independent Publishing

• One Amazon/Goodreads Combo, Comin’ Up

  So, Amazon – great, lumbering consumer juggernaut that it is – gobbled up literary social networking site Goodreads in (an impeccably timed) Good Friday announcement. If you’re interested in catching…

• Scene from a Window

  Yes, this is what spring is looking like in southeastern Pennsylvania today. Not many distractions to lure me away from the desk, so much has been written. Not much novel…

• Another Public Display

  Tonight I have the pleasure of doing something a lot of writers don’t enjoy – talking to people in public. The topic will be indie and self-publishing and I’ll be…

• An Early ‘Guide’

  Last week marked what would have been the late Douglas Adams‘ 61st birthday, and I should take this (belated) opportunity to thank him for proving to me that although writing…

• A Contract From Alibi

  A great entry from “Redshirts” author John Scalzi on what could possibly be the worst publishing contract ever. Most surprisingly, it’s not from a sneaky vanity press, but a division…

• Black and White and Read All Over

  Writers can come from any number of backgrounds – just go down the list of famous authors and you’ll see a broad spectrum of “first” careers. But if you’re a…

• Feel the Music

  Music, much like smell, is a powerful memory trigger. Just as a whiff of a lover’s old cologne or perfume can ignite an encyclopedia of emotions, music carries with it…

• The Power of the F-You Factor

  It’s all well and good for authors to talk about deciding to pursue writing for the sake of art. But today it’s time to talk about a secret reason many…

• More About Ray

  Chances are if you’re visiting this blog today it’s because you read an essay I wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer about my former boss, Ray Daub, who passed away Thanksgiving…

• The Cranky Reader Redux

  Back in October I wrote here about the Blessings of the Cranky Reader, in which I ruminated on the emotional and creative repercussions of receiving my first 1-star, boy-this-book-really-sucks review…