• Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  Smiths Monthly

    Putting Together Issue #50…

    … Of Smith’s Monthly Just did part of the introduction tonight and will have all the story introductions done tomorrow and the entire project turned into WMG for copyediting. I will get it back toward the end of the month for me to lay-out in InDesign. Then it will come out in electronic and paper in the middle of June. I did 44 issues without missing a month, then when Kris got sick and we had to do the sudden move down here to Vegas, I put the magazine on hiatus. Then, after a couple “I want to start…” and the world saying “Nope,” I finally started it again in…

  • Cave Creek,  Challenge,  Smiths Monthly

    Smith’s Monthly #48…

    Now Published… This one has the short novel in it, CARD SHARP SILVER: A Cave Creek Novel. Here is the blurb… ———– More than fifty-five thousand words of original fiction from USA Today bestselling writer Dean Wesley Smith. Introducing Card Sharp Silver, a novel in the new Cave Creek series, a shared world “Where the Unexpected Meets the Real World.” Also included are five new short stories in some of Smith’s most popular series: “Whistle for Help: A Marble Grant Story”, “Half a Clue: A Cold Poker Gang Short Story”, “Remembering the Last Laughter: A Bryant Street Story”, “Cat in a Hole: A Pakhet Jones Story”, and “Pleasing Pearl: A Sky…

  • Challenge,  publishing,  Smiths Monthly

    Proud of Smith’s Monthly Restart

    I Got the First Three in Paper… January, February, and March issues of Smith’s Monthly Magazine are in my hands in paper. April issue will ship near the middle of the month. So thought I would goof around for a minute, take a few pictures, and post them here of the first three issues from this year. I do all the layout for the paper editions. Including a ton of ads all the way through. It is a two-column format and takes me about ten hours a month total to lay them out, do the covers for the short stories and the wrap cover for the magazine, and put in…

  • Challenge,  Smiths Monthly

    Trying To Decide About #50

    A Very Fun Problem… Now that I have relaunched Smith’s Monthly and have three issues out so far, I am starting to face a problem that when I started this crazy magazine seemed very far off. What am I going to do with Issue #50? Something special or nothing at all? That’s right, with the June 2021 issue, I will have published 50 issues of Smith’s Monthly. All with my own work completely in it. A magazine between 50,000 and 70,000 words per month. It will have held 50 novels, over 220 short stories, and a ton of other nonfiction stuff. As I said, a very fun problem. Part of…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  Smiths Monthly

    Smith’s Monthly #46 Out Tomorrow

    In Theory…  That means that I will have gotten two months out in a row, and already working on Smith’s Monthly #47 layout (March issue) and putting #48 together (April issue). As I do covers for short stories, I’ll post them here. But I have a desire to do a novel quickly, so I may do one of those books that I talk about the writing moment-by-moment each day for 10 days. The reason I got onto this idea was way back (years and years ago) I did that here, put all the blogs together into a book called Writing a Novel in Ten Days. Well, that book is in…

  • Challenge,  Smiths Monthly

    Smith’s Monthly Is Back!!!

    Got My Paper Copy of #45… I can’t begin to explain how much went into having this copy of  Smith’s Monthly #45 in my hand. Over three-and-a-half years between issues. For 44 months I did an issue every month, then for just about 44 months, no issues. But every one of those lost months the thought of bringing  back the magazine was on my mind. For those who do not know, Smith’s Monthly Magazine is a magazine I fill totally with my own work. I took the idea from Mike Shayne Magazine or Asimov’s Magazine or Ellery Queen’s Magazine. But none of those are filled by the title author. I…

  • Challenge,  Cover Fun,  Smiths Monthly

    Short Story Covers In #46

    Laying Out the February Issue of Smith’s Monthly And I need short story covers. There are five short stories in Smith’s Monthly #46, so I started about 11:30 tonight after Allyson saved me earlier in the evening from my own stupidity with DepositPhotos. So from 11:30 until 1 am, I did five short story covers. Four are in my Smith’s Stories branding look, and Poker Boy stories have their own branding. But I had templates for both, so the longest time it took was for me to find the art that would fit the story. And in the Poker Boy story, the branding. The hardest story was the story titled…

  • Challenge,  publishing,  Smiths Monthly

    Smith’s Monthly Is Back!!!

    After Three-Plus Years!! Finally, Smith’s Monthly is back!! Yes, I haven’t really been gone for over three years. Just the magazine has. The date on Issue #44 of Smith’s Monthly is May 2017. The date on this new issue #45 is January 2021. So over three years. For almost four years before that, I did an issue per month and didn’t miss. One new novel, four or five short stories, and part of a nonfiction book. Or earlier on, a serialized novel. Every month. And I enjoyed it. All those issues are listed in posts on Smith’s Monthly web site, one at a time, with contents and cover. (Many of…

  • Challenge,  publishing,  Smiths Monthly

    That’s Annoying

    Just One of Those Things… As last night, another annoyance caused by epic disorganization. And I do mean epic. Fixable, but annoying. This today comes from my inability to get organized in a meaningful and long-term fashion with my writing and publishing. And this concerns Smith’s Monthly. Today, I really dug into the layout of Smith’s Monthly Issue #45. Now understand, Issue #44 came out in the summer of 2017. I have a ton of ads and promotions about a lot of my books in each issue. You know… filler. Since the magazine is all mine, might as well promote some of the other stories and series and such I…

  • Challenge,  publishing,  Smiths Monthly

    Why I Do Smith’s Monthly?

    Bringing Smith’s Monthly Back with Issue #45… What is Smith’s Monthly? Simple. It is a regular 70,000 word magazine with only my work in it. It has a novel, four or five short stories, and often part of a non-fiction book or a serial of another novel. Monthly. I did 44 straight months of the magazine (three and a half years) before life rolls got in the way, things like Kris getting sick and moves to Vegas and so on. I put the magazine on pause, knowing the time would come when I would be back doing it. And this is that time, finally. So with Issue #45, January 2021,…