…who hadn’t released a new novel in seven years… and then as of December 13th of this year, will have released his third novel in twelve months? Each with a different ghostwriter? The answer, with some possible excuses for his behavior, can be found in this old post of mine from June of last year.
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It’s been an interesting experience getting The Mushroom Shift ready for publication. I mean, here is a novel I wrote almost 25 years ago, and as I’m reading it, and as I’m having my Kindle read it to me as part of the proofreading process, I’m discovering something about it that I hadn’t expected. It’s [...]
Filed under: ...and that's the end of the news, A Death of Honor, Angels Luck Series, Boddekker's Demons, Creative Process, Desperate Measures, Ferman's Devils, Other People's Books, Other Writers, Pembroke Hall Series, The Company Man, The Mushroom Shift, Write-O-Rama, Writer's Aspirations, Writing, Writing Business, Writing Process | Tagged: Write-O-Rama, Writer's Life, Writers, Writing | 3 Comments »
After thirty years of my wife insisting, I am now reading Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel. And it’s a wondrous thing. For a first novel, Auel created a rich world based on sound (at the time) scientific speculation, bent the rules within acceptable parameters, expertly manipulated plot twists and turns for maximum [...]
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More great advice from Nancy Curteman that actually applies to any novel. And as always, she says it in a lot less words than I would have. When you submit your mystery novel to an agent or publisher you hope to some day see it on a bookstore shelf. Then why do so many excellent [...]
Filed under: Other Writers, Writer's Guidelines, Writer's Problems | Tagged: Writers, Writing | 1 Comment »
Okay, it’s pushing past 4am. The Benadryl I took to settle my allergy has long since kicked in, but the email I decided to write to pass a few minutes turned into a monster, and so I’m going to recycle it here. A friend writes: I wanted to see if you thought that a prospective [...]
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Frequent readers of this blog will know that I often invoke “show, don’t tell” as one of the early steps to take in becoming a good writer. Now mystery writer Nancy Curteman has taken all of the, um, mystery out of doing this, explaining it in a much more concise way than I could. Hat [...]
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Coming off of a trilogy about Ghostwriting, it’s only appropriate that I address the issue of franchises. After all writing for a franchise is a lot like ghosting – there’s more money involved than the average writer bags for his/er own work, and while your name is on the cover, it’s somebody else’s sandbox you’re [...]
Filed under: Commercial Considerations, Desperate Measures, Ghostwriting, Other People's Books, Other Writers, Write-O-Rama, Writer's Ego, Writer's Quirks, Writing Business, Writing Life | Tagged: Write-O-Rama, Writer's Life, Writers, Writing | Leave a Comment »
Browsing the web this morning, I see that radio talker Glenn Beck has a new book out – this one a novel. And of course, the first thing I think about is whether or not he had a ghostwriter help him out with the process. Just because. You know. Which brings me to my second [...]
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So if you’re often deprived of glory on the cover of a book, why ghostwrite at all? I think that’s all explained in this excellent article on NPR. But I can see from the look on your face that you won’t click the link and read the article. You want me to tell about my [...]
Filed under: Commercial Considerations, Creative Process, Editorial Changes, Ghostwriting, Write-O-Rama, Writer's Problems, Writer's Voice, Writing Business, Writing Life | Tagged: The Novel, Write-O-Rama, Writer's Life, Writers, Writing | 2 Comments »
So in a stray moment today, Tom Clancy came to mind. It has been years since his last novel, and in the light of Jean Auel emerging with the lastest in her Earth’s Children series, I wondered if Clancy might be up to something. Turns out, he is. A couple minutes of Googling came up [...]
Filed under: Commercial Considerations, Ghostwriting, Other People's Books, Other Writers, Other Writing, Write-O-Rama, Writing Life | Tagged: Write-O-Rama, Writers | Leave a Comment »
