I will no longer be posting to this blog. I'll be posting instead to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Different Things with Different Characters
You'll need to do different things with different characters. Your main characters you'll have to know better than you know yourself. Your minor characters you won't do much with because we really don't need to know much about them. If your minor characteri is a doorman to a fancy schmanzy apartment house in NYC, all he has to do is be able to open the door. If he's a nasty doorman, than he has to be nasty. That's it.
The semi-major characters have to have some personality, but not as much as your major characters.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
The semi-major characters have to have some personality, but not as much as your major characters.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Different Kinds of Characters
You'll have essentially three types of characters in your story: major, semi-major, and minor.
Major characters are those who are the focus of the action. The two people in a love affair. The detective who is investigating the murder. The father of the victim who is grieving. In my Kearney mystery the major characters were Will, Henry Harrier, and Julie, Henry's daughter.
Minor characters are basically no more than plot devices. A cop directing traffic. A kid cutting the grass. In my Kearney mystery, the waiter who brings Will and Henry their meals the first day of the investigation is a minor character.
The rest of them range in the middle. In the Kearney book, the police detective was a semi-major character. He influenced the action but was not the focus of attention. The person who did the murder was semi-major. To move writers' careers along is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Major characters are those who are the focus of the action. The two people in a love affair. The detective who is investigating the murder. The father of the victim who is grieving. In my Kearney mystery the major characters were Will, Henry Harrier, and Julie, Henry's daughter.
Minor characters are basically no more than plot devices. A cop directing traffic. A kid cutting the grass. In my Kearney mystery, the waiter who brings Will and Henry their meals the first day of the investigation is a minor character.
The rest of them range in the middle. In the Kearney book, the police detective was a semi-major character. He influenced the action but was not the focus of attention. The person who did the murder was semi-major. To move writers' careers along is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Monday, April 19, 2010
First Step in Developing Character
There are only two things to think about with characters: what they do and what they don't do.
First you have to figure out who your characters are. So go through your story and note everything and every time and every place that every character of yours thinks or says or does something.
Every time he or she time travels. Has a pizza. Kills somebody. Gets killed by somebody. Runs fast. Doesn't run when he or she should. Shuns conflict. Creates conflict. Gets married. Falls in love. Hates somebody. Learns to drive a car. Does a random act of kindness. Whatever and everything every character does or does not think, say, or do.
Write down and keep everything. These are clues to who your characters are.
More on that next time.
To move writers' careers along is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
First you have to figure out who your characters are. So go through your story and note everything and every time and every place that every character of yours thinks or says or does something.
Every time he or she time travels. Has a pizza. Kills somebody. Gets killed by somebody. Runs fast. Doesn't run when he or she should. Shuns conflict. Creates conflict. Gets married. Falls in love. Hates somebody. Learns to drive a car. Does a random act of kindness. Whatever and everything every character does or does not think, say, or do.
Write down and keep everything. These are clues to who your characters are.
More on that next time.
To move writers' careers along is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Reworking the First Draft
Once you're done you begin to rework the draft. The next step is character. Who are your main characters. You have a sense of this from the drivel you wrote. Take each character you have in there and develop him or her. You have to know your characters inside and out. More on that next time.
To move writers' careers along is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To move writers' careers along is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Writing The First Draft--A Pre-Synopsis
If it helps write a pre-synopsis. This is a brief version of the story so you can see it down on paper. It's for nobody else but you so you don't have to worry about how it reads.
It's just for you to see how the initial version of the story goes. What the premise story is. Who the major characters are. What happens. When the action takes place. Where it takes place. Why people are doing what they are doing. How the story unfolds. Whose point of view it's told from.
If this doesn't help you don't it. It's all up to you.
To move writers' careers along is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
It's just for you to see how the initial version of the story goes. What the premise story is. Who the major characters are. What happens. When the action takes place. Where it takes place. Why people are doing what they are doing. How the story unfolds. Whose point of view it's told from.
If this doesn't help you don't it. It's all up to you.
To move writers' careers along is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Writing the Novel First: How to Write the First Draft
You write the first draft by writing it.
People say it's hard to write. They say starting a story is intimidating. People tell me the tyranny of the blank computer screen or of the white page. People tell me these things but I've never felt them. Not that writing isn't hard. Maybe it's because I always know what I'm going to write before I write it. Then I sit down and write it.
Just write. Don't outline. Don't think. Just start writing the story. Even if you think it is the worst thing ever written by anybody anywhere anytime. Keep writing until you get to the end. Even if you get other story ideas write them down and keep on writing the story you're writing.
Like Alice said writing a story is easy. You begin at the beginning then go right on through to the end and stop. Voila!
Remember, you're not a writer if you're not writing. And you can't sell anything if you have nothing to sell.
Take notes as you go. As you think of an idea or a character trait keep notes. Write down what you want to fix, i.e. "On p. 13 make Leslie's father the son of her brother's second cousin once-removed." But don't go back whatever you do. But do not--DO NOT--I repeat do not succumb to the temptation to go back and fix something.
Everybody thinks their work is crap. Usually the first time through it is.
To move writers' careers along is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
People say it's hard to write. They say starting a story is intimidating. People tell me the tyranny of the blank computer screen or of the white page. People tell me these things but I've never felt them. Not that writing isn't hard. Maybe it's because I always know what I'm going to write before I write it. Then I sit down and write it.
Just write. Don't outline. Don't think. Just start writing the story. Even if you think it is the worst thing ever written by anybody anywhere anytime. Keep writing until you get to the end. Even if you get other story ideas write them down and keep on writing the story you're writing.
Like Alice said writing a story is easy. You begin at the beginning then go right on through to the end and stop. Voila!
Remember, you're not a writer if you're not writing. And you can't sell anything if you have nothing to sell.
Take notes as you go. As you think of an idea or a character trait keep notes. Write down what you want to fix, i.e. "On p. 13 make Leslie's father the son of her brother's second cousin once-removed." But don't go back whatever you do. But do not--DO NOT--I repeat do not succumb to the temptation to go back and fix something.
Everybody thinks their work is crap. Usually the first time through it is.
To move writers' careers along is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Writing the Novel First
To get a novel published you normally have to write a your novel first. Books have been getting shorter. Paper is more expensive. People's attention span is shortening. Still, a long book will sell if it's good.
Most agents want a book about 70,000 words or so. That equates to about 350-400 manuscript pages, which will end up about 300 published pages. Sometimes you can put two short novellas together into a longer one.
But don't worry about that at this point. Write the story you want to write. The important thing for us as writers is to write. Nothing can happen if you don't write.
To move writers' careers along is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Most agents want a book about 70,000 words or so. That equates to about 350-400 manuscript pages, which will end up about 300 published pages. Sometimes you can put two short novellas together into a longer one.
But don't worry about that at this point. Write the story you want to write. The important thing for us as writers is to write. Nothing can happen if you don't write.
To move writers' careers along is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Getting a Novel Published--Write The Book First
To get a novel published you normally have to write a your novel first. If you're famous or dead you can maybe get a ghost writer write it. But that's no fun. To write you have to actually write. Not just plan your novel or think about it or put it off.
To be a writer you have to write.
This is not as simple as it sounds for many people. They have trouble getting ideas. Or they feel intimidated by the blank page or virgin computer screen. Or they find it excruciatingly difficult. If you fall into this group you should consider a different set of activities.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To be a writer you have to write.
This is not as simple as it sounds for many people. They have trouble getting ideas. Or they feel intimidated by the blank page or virgin computer screen. Or they find it excruciatingly difficult. If you fall into this group you should consider a different set of activities.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Getting published in the traditional way, part 1.
If you're a fiction writer you normally have to write a your novel first. This is not always the case. If you are famous otherwise or an established author you can get a book contract with a proposal or a discussion over coffee.
But if you're like > 99% of first-time writers, you have to write the novel first. This is a daunting task. You are a creator of a product and before you can get published you have to have something to publish.
If you're writing non-fiction it's different. To be continued.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
But if you're like > 99% of first-time writers, you have to write the novel first. This is a daunting task. You are a creator of a product and before you can get published you have to have something to publish.
If you're writing non-fiction it's different. To be continued.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Option 1: Get Published the Traditional Way
Your first option of getting published is to go the traditional route. Here is the sequence of events that has to happen before your book becomes a big seller:
Step 1: Write a book.
Step 2: Interest an agent.
Step 3: Get the agent to sell your book to a publisher.
Step 4: Get the publisher to get it into a bookstore.
Step 5: Have lots of people buy it.
This is the publishing system of Dan Brown, Stephen King, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, etc. This industry John Steinbeck said made horse racing look like a stable business. This industry I have dubbed the Literary-Industrial Complex.
I'll talk more about what you have to do to make this sequence of events come to pass.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Step 1: Write a book.
Step 2: Interest an agent.
Step 3: Get the agent to sell your book to a publisher.
Step 4: Get the publisher to get it into a bookstore.
Step 5: Have lots of people buy it.
This is the publishing system of Dan Brown, Stephen King, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, etc. This industry John Steinbeck said made horse racing look like a stable business. This industry I have dubbed the Literary-Industrial Complex.
I'll talk more about what you have to do to make this sequence of events come to pass.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
If you want to become an author, you have three choices
If you have written a book and wish to get it published you have three options.
Option 1: Go the traditional route, i.e. find an agent, have the agent find a publisher, have the publisher put it in a book store, sell the book to the public.
Option 2: Publish the book yourself. There are lots of choices right now.
Option 3: Have a literary broker help you get published.
I'll talk about each option in the coming months.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Option 1: Go the traditional route, i.e. find an agent, have the agent find a publisher, have the publisher put it in a book store, sell the book to the public.
Option 2: Publish the book yourself. There are lots of choices right now.
Option 3: Have a literary broker help you get published.
I'll talk about each option in the coming months.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Moving Toward a New World of Publishing
We are currently in the middle of a revolution in the way information is created, delivered, and defined. Who decides what art is, what role consumers of art should play in its creation, and how everything gets done are in the middle of a vast and deep transformation.
The literary-industrial complex is losing some of its way. It won't go away altogether because it is sometimes useful. But we are seeing a smushing together of creators of art and consumers of art.
How this is going to sort itself out is anybody's guess. However, the ability of us writers to determine our own fate and define art as we see it is growing rapidly. We no longer have to rely on the way others see art and fit ourselves to it and beg for their recognition of our art.
More on this next time.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
The literary-industrial complex is losing some of its way. It won't go away altogether because it is sometimes useful. But we are seeing a smushing together of creators of art and consumers of art.
How this is going to sort itself out is anybody's guess. However, the ability of us writers to determine our own fate and define art as we see it is growing rapidly. We no longer have to rely on the way others see art and fit ourselves to it and beg for their recognition of our art.
More on this next time.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
So What's So Bad About the Literary-Industrial Complex?
Nothing inherently. But when the thing gets to the point where new writers are stifled for reasons not related to the quality of their witting things get dicey. Hemingway was about to give up when he caught a lucky break. Where would we be now without Hemingway?
The literary-industrial complex tells you that if you don't published, your work is S#!T. Why do we care about this? Well for a lot of reasons.
When it pretends it's working for you, takes your money, then tells you you're work is crap it's bad.
When it solicits your work then tells you it hasn't had time to read it because it gets so many query letter it's bad.
When your attempts to publish yourself is called going to a vanity press--as if published authors aren't vain--it's bad.
When it calls you names it's bad. When it dominates the very choices you make it's bad.
When it affects the language you use and the way you think it's bad.
Nothing's inherantly bad about the Military-Industrial Complex either. But when it militarizes the society which feeds it and constricts choice it's bad.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
The literary-industrial complex tells you that if you don't published, your work is S#!T. Why do we care about this? Well for a lot of reasons.
When it pretends it's working for you, takes your money, then tells you you're work is crap it's bad.
When it solicits your work then tells you it hasn't had time to read it because it gets so many query letter it's bad.
When your attempts to publish yourself is called going to a vanity press--as if published authors aren't vain--it's bad.
When it calls you names it's bad. When it dominates the very choices you make it's bad.
When it affects the language you use and the way you think it's bad.
Nothing's inherantly bad about the Military-Industrial Complex either. But when it militarizes the society which feeds it and constricts choice it's bad.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
On Commas
Having come away from reading Cormac McCarthy, who believes in no punctuation except periods at the end of sentences, to Scott Smith, author of A Simple Plan, a great title by the way, who uses every punctuation known to man or woman including semicolons, I've decided that less is more.
I don't go as far as McCarthy, because the reader has to follow the book, but get rid of as many commas as you can. They slow the reader down and mitigate mood.
Never mitigate mood.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
I don't go as far as McCarthy, because the reader has to follow the book, but get rid of as many commas as you can. They slow the reader down and mitigate mood.
Never mitigate mood.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
More on the Literary-Industrial Complex
Why do we care about this? Well for a lot of reasons.
First, the thing has produced a lot of great work. Look at the movies we get to see. The books we read. The poetry we hear. There are a lot of wonderful authors out there who have given us all millions of hours of absolute ecstasy.
We've learned a lot about the world we wouldn't have known. He met some characters we wouldn't have met otherwise. We were, and continue to be, moved in ways we would not have been otherwise.
When Carl Sandburg calls Chicago the city of broad shoulders, hog butcher to the world, these are images that stay with us and shape the way we think.
So is this bad? Not in itself, no.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
First, the thing has produced a lot of great work. Look at the movies we get to see. The books we read. The poetry we hear. There are a lot of wonderful authors out there who have given us all millions of hours of absolute ecstasy.
We've learned a lot about the world we wouldn't have known. He met some characters we wouldn't have met otherwise. We were, and continue to be, moved in ways we would not have been otherwise.
When Carl Sandburg calls Chicago the city of broad shoulders, hog butcher to the world, these are images that stay with us and shape the way we think.
So is this bad? Not in itself, no.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
What is the Literary-Industrial Complex?
The literary-industrial complex is that cluster of institutions, organizations, and individuals that determines who gets published and who doesn't. It's been called the the literary establishment. One writer called it "the machine."
The existence of a literary-industrial establishment affects our ability to feel empowerment, to touch others, to make a difference in our writing in other people's lives.
How this relates to the military-industrial complex, we'll examine subsequently.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
The existence of a literary-industrial establishment affects our ability to feel empowerment, to touch others, to make a difference in our writing in other people's lives.
How this relates to the military-industrial complex, we'll examine subsequently.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Literary-Industrial Complex and Military Industrial Complex
Here's more on the literary-industrial complex. It plays off of President Dwight David Eisenhower's warning embedded in his January 17, 1961, farewell address. The quote is from Wikepedia, the free, on-line encyclopedia:
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.I'll draw in its relevance to the situation of writers next time.
To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?
To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The Literary-Industrial Complex
Dwight Eisenhower, in his farewell address, on January 17, 1961, posited the existence of a "military-industrial complex," a cluster of military and industrial companies, people, and institutions, that promote the growth of a strong military in society.
Eisenhower should know--he was a life-long military man, two-term president, and establishment figure par excellence.
We have in this country a literary-industrial complex as well. I'll talk about the more later.
I want to help move writers' careers along. Is what I am saying helpful?
To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Eisenhower should know--he was a life-long military man, two-term president, and establishment figure par excellence.
We have in this country a literary-industrial complex as well. I'll talk about the more later.
I want to help move writers' careers along. Is what I am saying helpful?
To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
