David Bowles has received a number of excellent reviews for his book Spring House: Book 1 in the Westward Sagas that I edited. You can find excerpts from the reviews on the Web site. Here’s a snippet from the latest: “A compelling story of love, family, community, war, struggle and history, ‘Spring House’ is much … Read more
One of the things I like best about being a freelance writer is the variety of projects that come across my desk (or more accurately … across my computer screen). These are a few of the assignments I’m working on now or have completed recently: – compiling a book that will be part autobiography and part … Read more
Project Gutenberg is a nonprofit organization that has provided free e-books on the Internet since 1971. This month, Project Gutenberg is sponsoring the World eBook Fair, bringing together several other e-book collections in addition to its own 20,000 titles. During the fair, more than 300,000 e-books are available in one place for free download. More than a … Read more
Writers are first of all readers. I ran across a blog post on Jolly Blogger – not sure how I got there … maybe from an e-mail or following links from another site. The post contains the text of C. S. Lewis’s introduction to Athanasius on the Incarnation, which makes an excellent case for reading older … Read more
Here’s your chance to write a few words that make a difference in someone’s life … and all writers want to do that! Let’s Say Thanks will print and mail a postcard to a deployed soldier to thank them for their service. There is a choice of several patriotic designs, all created by children. Choose … Read more
Professional — and aspiring — writers often hear the advice, “Write what you know.” After all, an avid mystery reader is more likely to write a believable mystery novel than someone who reads only science-fiction, the resident of a small town in a Southern state will probably describe the lifestyle of Small Town, Southern US … Read more
There is a lot of controversy about the Search Inside the Book programs by Amazon.com and Google.com. Some publishers and authors are concerned that too much of the book’s content will be revealed to the public and cut into sales. I realize there are some kinds of books that probably aren’t well-suited to the book … Read more
When I mentioned Lary Crews in a recent post, I decided to see if he was still around. It has been several years since I took the online novel writing class from him. So I did an Internet search and found his Web site and blog. I posted a comment on his blog and we’ve exchanged … Read more
In an earlier post, I talked about writing the first draft … and expecting it to be “pure green dreck.” No two writers will write exactly the same way. But many writers find it most effective to write the first draft from beginning to end without spending time editing. Changing from creation to polishing can interfere with the … Read more
I received an e-mail from a writer who found my Web site in her search for a publisher. She wrote, “I am seeking a Publisher for my {genre} manuscript. Can you tell me approximately how much it would cost, or do the Publishers pay you?” Well, the answer is, “It depends …” Whether you pay … Read more