Under Cover

W ord count is the almighty criteria by which any book will be deemed finished or worthy of publishing by an agent or book company. At least that’s what a lot of writers think. The word count criteria is important, but it’s not a strict defined limit as either too few or too many words as many seem to understand it. Word count is a bit more critical for a first-time author to a publishing company than the cagy veteran since word count is the quickest way of gauging the understanding of the writing process and coming within a range shows that your manuscript may have the right ingredients to bake a nice soft batch of cookies. Now I’m hungry. What if I’m going to self-publish? If you self-publish you don’t have to live under the fear of rejection due to a book that is too short or long. However, be mindful that word count guidelines exist for a reason. Readers have an expectation of length based on the genre of book they are interested in. Word count guidelines have come through ge...

L i fe has been busy and while I had big plans for this blog it was one of many things that I have put on the back burner. My goal was to write a weekly blog post on how to become a better writer and in true writer form I became distracted and eventually abandoned this project. However, I've returned and still have several pieces for this blog in various stages of development to share. I started out by looking at some basic questions I have been asked through the years when it comes to writing. I have plenty more in the oven but also some more complicated ones and some that cover aspects of just being an author. I enjoy writing these posts as it gives me some time to reflect but also share my thoughts with the world without feeling like I am giving anyone unsolicited advice. My thoughts shared here are merely my opinion (with some facts sprinkled in) and things may work out for you in other ways. What have I been up to since July of last year? Early in 2024 I was excited about the ...

 M y seventh self-published book (and eighth overall) is just about to go into global distribution and marks my first published novel. My first six books were non-fiction, and I was fortunate to be a part of an anthology with a short story published in the fall of 2023 by a small publishing company. My latest effort was marketed to literary agents as well as to a few small publishing houses with a little interest but not enough to push the book into the traditional route of publishing. My patience diminished and having the knowledge of the self-publishing route led me back to Lulu Press which is where I had published all my non-fiction works. Having already weighed many options I’ll share my thoughts about the pros and cons of self-publishing versus the traditional method. Every author dreams of having their book published by the big five, doing interviews on podcasts, book signings at bookstores and libraries, and of course collecting royalties on book sales and that Netflix serie...

 A book is nothing more than just a bunch of words on a few hundred pages. It can’t be that hard to write one, right? Most people don’t like doing taxes since it takes hours to complete. Imagine if your taxes took you a minimum of six months to file. Writing a book is a long laborious process that isn’t just writing out a story, it involves rewriting and editing and many times you never feel like it’s ever complete. Image by nensuria on Freepik Many people dream of writing a book someday. In the United States about 15% of the population has started writing a book. Of those only about 6% make it halfway through. Those who keep pushing might become published and about .15% of people in the U.S. are self-published. About 0.001367% of the U.S. population are published traditionally. If you make it to the point of holding your book in your hand no matter who publishes it, you are in small company. It might not feel that way when you see just how many books are published weekly and year...

 W elcome to the new blog! I enjoy writing and have been fortunate to have created several works that have been published or that I have self-published . You might have come here through my website or possibly through a search of some sort. If you aren't aware of who I am let me give you a brief synopsis of my writing and personal background. Yeah, brief, just don’t start scrolling yet or you’ll get carpal tunnel.   Books aren't written - they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't quite done it. – Michael Crichton It started on a rainy fall Saturday afternoon in... oh, let's skip my first couple of decades of my existence. When I was in high school, I was a decent artist. I also loved to write short stories, many of which were based on books or movies I had seen. I loved to create things and became absorbed in the time slip when creativity took over my body and the world carried on w...