Even The Mighty Smaug Had A Weak Underbelly

My magnum opus received a rejection today, not for publication, but rather, that it was not qualified for a review by any “reviewers” on the website “The New Podler Review of Books: Small Press and self-published books worth reading”. Now I don’t remember ever submitting a review request to this site, although it’s possible. I […]

 

Summer Sales Upon Us?

On May 15, 2013, in CALEB PIRTLE, Indie Authors, Motivation, Sales, STEPHEN WOODFIN, Success, Summer, by rsguthrie

My previous post was a bit heavy (as they will at times be) so I thought I would follow-up with something carrying “Summer” in the title. I’m unusually happy that Winter is behind us (by the way, I know that seasons aren’t technically capitalized, but I can’t help but find myself thinking that is wrong—am […]

 

Motherless Day

On May 12, 2013, in Holidays, by rsguthrie

It’s a tough day for us, from any angle. Both my wife and I have already lost our mothers (and fathers, and all our grandparents). I was very close with my mother. When I had cancer in 2002 she would come by my house every day and just sit with me. We could talk four […]

 

The Next Big Thing

On May 9, 2013, in Alex O'Loughlin, Blog Chain, Interviews, The Next Big Thing, by rsguthrie

I don’t usually do the “blog chains”, mostly because by the time they get to me everyone who’s willing to do one has done it already and/or they want the blogger to find like seven or eight other bloggers (impossible for me; I’m too impatient), but when friend and fellow author, Robin Nolet, asked me, […]

 

Word Count, In A Word? Worthless.

As most of you know from previous posts, comments I’ve made, and for the mind-readers out there, that I believe the faithful old writer’s term “word count” is about as useful to the quality of a book as is the words “pigeon shit”. Now pardon my New York Central Park language, but what in the […]

 

Myriad Reasons To Read This Post (And One For Me To Feel Like A Chowderhead)

On April 27, 2013, in Grammar Police, Learning Challenges, Mea Culpa, Writing Tips, by rsguthrie

Nah, there’s really only one, but if you’re a writer, it’s a big one (and a reason that wakes many in a cold sweat): you don’t want to look as if you don’t know your own profession. Quick pop quiz: Which of the sentences below is correct? There are a myriad of reasons to be […]

 

Will Television Really Rot My Brain?

On April 24, 2013, in Opinion, Poor Writing, Rant, Soap Box, Television, Television Writing, by rsguthrie

I have always been a little addicted to television (which is like saying you’re a little pregnant, I know). The irony is that I grew up with crappy television and in my young adulthood, as much as the box still lured me into its glowing beam, I did formulate an opinion that watching the boob […]

 

Call T.O.D. On KDP Select And Smash The Words.

When I first began this digital publishing journey in 2011, I used Smashwords founder Mark Coker’s Smashwords Style Guide (which is free, BTW) as my bible to format an eBook, even though I was mostly planning on selling books on Amazon. At the time, Amazon had a true lion’s share of the market (something like […]

 

Eye Candy. A 99 Cent Investment. Worth Every Penny.

I’ve blogged about it before. The book world these past few years has been turned on its ass, and not all for the good of (decent) writers. Yes, now writers with talent that were getting turned down by publishers (most great writers were turned down for years by publishers) can post their wonderful books. But […]

 

Golf Game Gone To Dog Poop

On April 12, 2013, in (or...), and Such, Humor, Just for Fun, Miscellaneous, Parody, by rsguthrie

When I lived in the Los Angeles suburbs, for a whole year we golfed every weekend (and some evenings under the lights at the local Long Beach 9-hole par 3 course near my home). When I moved to Colorado, everyone boasted about 350 golf days a year.  I was ecstatic. Wow—turns out I had not given […]