• On Writing,  publishing

    The New World of Publishing: How to Keep Your Writing Going for All of 2014

    This an almost complete update of a post I had here in late 2012. I figured it was worth my time and energy to get this updated and out again, especially since so many of you have been watching me with my “Writing in Public” posts and some of you are even subscribing to Smith’s Monthly to read what I actually write. Thank you, everyone, for that support over the last year. It’s made this all great fun. Some basics to start: Any business and production plan you decide to set up for yourself is made up of goals that can be attained with work. The focus of the goals…

  • On Writing,  publishing

    The New World of Publishing: How to Get Started Selling in 2014

    In the old days, meaning more than four years ago, the path to becoming a professional fiction writer was pretty simple to understand. You wrote stories and novels and mailed them to traditional publishers directly. When the story was rejected, you kept the story (or novel) in the mail until someone bought it.  Well, not so much anymore. Fiction writers now have that dreaded word: Choice. And so, the path to being a successful fiction writer isn’t so clear anymore. In fact, I would call it downright muddy. So I’m going to update this article that I did last year because there are so many people coming to this place…

  • On Writing,  publishing

    The New World of Publishing: Some Perspective on 2013

    Interestingly enough, 2013 was the second seemingly stable year in the new normal we are all living in the publishing industry.  Does that mean that nothing changed? Of course not. Some things changed, but not like 2009-2011. And some things will continue to change. But when you step back and look at the business in general, the changes in 2013 were pretty minor and predictable and normal. So I figured, as I did last year, to try to give a little perspective on the past year from the advantage of watching and living inside of publishing for thirty-five years now. Traditional Publishing In 2013, traditional publishers were in a normal…

  • Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing,  On Writing,  publishing

    Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing: #9… Writing is Hard

    Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing will be out later this winter with an introduction. And then it will be followed by a book called Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Indie Publishing. But first I wanted to put each myth or “Sacred Cow” up here again as I promised. The Myth: “To be Good, Writing Must Be Hard.” —- This myth comes in many forms and has many faces, but let me put it as plainly as I can to start. Myth: To be Good, Fiction Writing Must Be Hard. (And it can’t be fun.) Total hogwash, of course, yet it is stunning how many new…

  • Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing,  On Writing,  publishing

    Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing: #8… You Can’t Make a Living with Your Fiction

    Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing will be out later this winter with an introduction. And then it will be followed by a book called Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Indie Publishing. But first I wanted to put each myth or “Sacred Cow” up here again as I promised. The Myth: “You Can’t Make a Living With Your Fiction.” (Note: This post introduces the Magic Bakery idea and it caused a lot of stir when it was first posted.) — This myth “You can’t make a living writing fiction” is so clearly hogwash, I shouldn’t have to include it as a chapter in this book. All anyone has…

  • On Writing,  publishing

    Think Like a Publisher: 2014. Chapter Three: Projected Income

    As traditional publishers grab for more rights and become even more difficult to work with, more and more writers are moving to indie publishing. As they make the jump, they ask basic questions on how to do it, how to be treated with respect as a publisher, and even how to do simple things like setting up a publishing business. And questions such as how they get their books into bookstores. You can do that. Honest. I’ll talk all about it in coming chapters. But the key on almost everything these days is that you, the author, are starting a publishing company. An indie publisher is still a publisher, the…

  • On Writing,  publishing

    Think Like a Publisher 2014. Chapter Two: Expected Costs

    Here we go again. It’s been over three years since I wrote the first version of Think Like a Publisher. And a year since I updated it into a 2013 edition. Stunning how time goes by. Since those first words all those years ago, the indie publishing world has gotten by the early years of the “gold rush” thinking and has now settled into a new normal that should last for years, if not decades. 2013 was the first year of that new normal. Also, the publishing company I helped start, WMG Publishing Inc. now has three full-time employees and three part-time employees and has published about 400 different book titles, with…

  • On Writing,  publishing

    Think Like a Publisher 2014: Chapter One…The Early Decisions

    Here we go again. It’s been over three years since I wrote the first version of Think Like a Publisher. And a year since I updated it into a 2013 edition. Stunning how time goes by. Since those first words all those years ago, the indie publishing world has gotten by the early years of the “gold rush” thinking and has now settled into a new normal that should last for years, if not decades. 2013 was the first year of that new normal. Also, the publishing company I helped start, WMG Publishing Inc. now has three full-time employees and three part-time employees and has published about 400 different book titles,…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  Writing in Public

    Writing in Public: Month 4 Summary… November

    Month #4 Summary of this Writing in Public challenge. November, 2013 I’m stunned that this fourth month got finished. And even more stunned I’m going after month #5. November was not a great month of writing. I just sort of dinged along with the Monumental Summit novel, then started the redo of the Sector Justice novel that didn’t have many new words with it. Plus I just didn’t push this month. This is the kind of writing month I have when I don’t pay much attention. I have the monthly word counts below. And as I have said every month, even though I knew I was going to give a general…