Category: Staff Articles

Writing advice and insights from the staff of Indies Unlimited.

Hi, I’m Ed, and I have touched a Pulitzer

Author M. Edward McNally

Hello, all.  I’m M. Edward McNally, but typically go by “Ed” online as I am an extremely lazy typist, which is an admirable quality as a writer.  I’m the newbie on the IU staff, which means I get fed last in the mess hall.

Let’s see, a little about me.  Well, I guess I can write a sort of “writer’s bio,” which will pretty much be my regular bio, but with less police involvement.  Somewhat less.

I moved around a lot growing up, North Carolina to Chicago to California to Chicago (again) to Kansas to Iowa to Minnesota, and I always read quite a bit, as books were good friends I could take with me. Around third grade, in Kansas, a teacher sent a poem I’d written in class to the Kansas City Star, and the paper ran it. I believe it was about a garter snake.  Anyway, seeing my name in print was it for me, and a realization that there were actually people somewhere behind all those books I loved. I was hooked on the idea of being a writer early on, at least for a while. Continue reading “Hi, I’m Ed, and I have touched a Pulitzer”

Jealousy

 

Jealousy is a terrible thing.  And I was guilty of it for a long, long time.  Of course, I still have my moments, but not like before.  I have never been jealous with women.  I have never wanted someone else’s car, motorcycle, or fishing rod.  My problem was being jealous of other people’s successes.  I’m not proud to admit it.  I’ve had friends get raises, and I really wanted to be happy for them.  I’ve watched bands I played with become international superstars…I really, really wanted to just feel glad.  Too often, I didn’t.  I could care less if someone drives a better car than I do, but when someone succeeds in a professional/creative field I take pride in…man, that ugly green-eyed bastard just shows up.  I used to open my New Yorker with trepidation because I knew if anyone I knew got published, I would have to kill myself.  The green bastard was in control.  Or he used to be.  I changed things up on him.

Continue reading “Jealousy”

I’m a Slacker

It’s true. I thought I was doing pretty well until the other day when I uncovered my baby book in a box in the attic. I’d been looking for some research materials for an action-adventure novel I’m percolating in my head. Instead, I found this ancient archive of my childhood.

Brooks' Early Edition Books
K. S. Brooks’ Early Works

As I gingerly moved it out of the box, some papers fell from it. These weren’t just ANY papers. They were all cut the same size, and bound together with a plastic-coated twist-tie. They were BOOKS. On them, my mother had written lightly in pencil “5 years old.”

Not only were they books, they were books I’d made – by hand. I’d illustrated them, and they rhymed. How in hell had I managed such a thing at five years of age? Granted, there were spelling errors, but those should have been caught by my editor. And for crying out loud, I was FIVE. Continue reading “I’m a Slacker”

How to promote your work…

I wrote this as a post on Linkedin a few weeks back.  I keep getting emails about it from indie writers (indie writers disguised as people who want to sell me viagra). I thought that I would share it here.  Plus, I am sick as a dog’s butt and don’t want to write anything new.  Anyway, if you want to sell tons of books, talk to someone else.  If you want to sell as many as I do, listen to me! Continue reading “How to promote your work…”