Muse Wrangling 101

Good morning Minions. The Evil Mastermind asked me to speak to you today on a subject that is close to his heart – productivity prose.

Now I know the P-word can strike fear into the hearts of the bravest of you, but it is a subject that must be addressed. We are all writers. Writing is how we produce prose, and prose is how we earn our daily gruel.

But what happens when our Muse refuses to co-operate? What happens when that gender-neutral beast sits in its cage, sulking and refusing to come out?

We get no gruel, that’s what.

I can see by your faces that most of you know what it’s like to own a stubborn Muse, the kind that forces you to stare at a blank screen for hours on end, or goes on strike mid-way through a piece, leaving you to face a deadline on your own.

It is well documented that such Muses can play havoc with a writer’s life. But what, if anything, can we do about it? Continue reading “Muse Wrangling 101”

Does This Book Have a Sell-By Date?

do-books-have-expiration-dates-copyright-ks-brooksThe other day an indie author asked for my opinion with this series of questions: “How long is it reasonable for an indie author to keep marketing the same title and expect results? Is there an expiration time for titles in general… even trad published ones? What’s the data?”

As often happens, my first inclination was to respond, of course not, don’t be silly. As Konrath points out, an eBook is forever. There are millions, billions, or trillions of people in the world (I’m not going to look it up, but it’s a bunch, and this is the only data I’m going to provide.) No matter how many copies of a book have been sold, it is only to a miniscule portion of your target audience. Even if we exclude those who don’t or can’t read, don’t understand English, or are readers who never touch your genre, by the time an author runs out of potential customers they’ll have made enough to buy Mitt Romney or maybe even Bill Gates several times over. Continue reading “Does This Book Have a Sell-By Date?”

LynneQuisition with Joel Friedlander

This week, we’re beginning a new feature called LynneQuisition. Once a month or so, I’ll be grilling – er, asking questions of – some of the big names in our nascent industry.

My first guest is Joel Friedlander, a.k.a. the Book Designer – a great site with tons of terrific info for indies. (The fact that he picked up my IU post about formatting books for CreateSpace has in no way influenced my opinion of his expertise.) Continue reading “LynneQuisition with Joel Friedlander”

Formula for a Bestselling Horror Novel

Of course, yes, I know you’ve been waiting for this. Who hasn’t been? I’ve already shared with you the formula for writing a blockbuster action/adventure bestseller, a knock-em dead romance bestseller, a spine- and pants-tingling romantic thriller, and a Young Adult Paranormal Romance. I know – that’s really benevolent of me, right? Despite that, you thought I left out a market with huge potential: horror. Well please, patience! I can only turn out one of these labor-intensive formulas each month. They’re quite draining, you know.

Speaking of draining, this book’s got it all: vampires, werewolves, zombies – a story destined to be a bestseller once you add your personal touch to it. How can you go wrong?

Follow my advice below, and you’ll be fighting off a legion of dedicated, zombie-like fans!

Formula for a best-selling horror novel: Continue reading “Formula for a Bestselling Horror Novel”