Tag Archives: Essays
November’s Novel: Perfectly Dead

November’s Novel: Perfectly Dead

I’d fully intended, during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) to blog on a daily basis about the novel I’m working on for the month. The goal of NaNoWriMo, of course, is to kick out a 50,000 word novel, and that’s the length I’ve been targeting for my Homeland Security Services novels. Writing the second one […]

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The New Midlist Writers

The New Midlist Writers

At the World Fantasy Convention in San Diego I had someone say to me, “Look, no offense intended, but you’re a midlist author, and you’ve made that work for you.” The remark was made in the context of a discussion of digital publishing. The speaker’s point was that midlist authors, if they are going to […]

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Perfectly Invisible: Why The Missing Deluxe Edition Is Missing

Perfectly Invisible: Why The Missing Deluxe Edition Is Missing

In the comments section of Chapter One of Perfectly Invisible, Russell Davis asked where the deluxe edition of Perfectly Invisible was. A year ago I released In Hero Years… I’m Dead in both a basic and deluxe edition. The deluxe edition included the full text of the novel and a long essay talking about how […]

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Is Amazon the Sauron of Publishing?

Is Amazon the Sauron of Publishing?

Amazon’s announcement of their new Science Fiction and Fantasy imprint, 47North, has got me looking toward the publishing future. There are certainly plenty of folks, most in traditional publishing and book retailing, who would agree that Amazon is Sauron, and that the Kindle is the One Ring, and that their goal is to completely vertically […]

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Second Life Office Hours for 28 September 2011

Second Life Office Hours for 28 September 2011

Tonight, as I do every Wednesday evening, at 6 PM Pacific time, I’ll host office hours in Second Life. Readers and writers are cordially invited to attend. I’ll be in voice chat, answering questions and talking about issues of the day. The event usually goes on for about 1.5 hours, but I’ve been known to […]

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Morass no more

Morass no more

The most commonly asked question I have put to me by authors and readers alike is this: “In the world of digital publishing, how does an author prevent their work from sinking into the morass of stuff out there?” I’ve heard it on planes, at conventions, online, in email and at talks. Everyone is afraid […]

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My Conan Adventure: Part Four

My Conan Adventure: Part Four

In the theatre lobby it’s pretty easy to spot the actors and then folks you think are actors. You see faces you recognize but can’t place as being part of your life. Then it slowly dawns on you that you’ve seen them on TV or in movies. It felt like trying to reconcile vague memories […]

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