Fun Stuff for Writers
As some of you may have gathered, I write a lot more than just this column. One of those things just got included in a major e-book bundle featuring some of the more successful authors in the indie world. The bundle is called The Write Stuff and is being hosted over at storybundle.com. It’s aimed at writers and aspiring writers, and contains books on everything from story structure and creativity to time management to handling your business as a writer and/or publisher—including one of the best business books I've ever read.
Books in the bundle:
Playing the Short Game by Douglas Smith — this is the aforementioned amazing business book. It’s a comprehensive guide to making a living with short fiction, including especially how to identify and target markets that nobody else has noticed yet, finding overseas markets, cultivating good relationships with editors, etc.
Becoming an Every Day Novelist, by J. Daniel Sawyer. In this book I walk through the process of writing a novel in a month, including managing energy and creativity, story structure, ergonomics, dealing with family, bringing your A game, how/whether/when to use outlines vs. flying by the seat of your pants, how to stay fresh and avoid burnout, etc.
Researching History for Fantasy Writers by Dayle A. Dermatis — Written by a bestselling writer of historically-informed fantasy (among other things), this book gives a raft of tips and tricks on how to use the events and social arrangements and technology of history to inform your fantasy worldbuilding, so you can weave a more convincing illusion for your readers. Also lots of good stuff on how to find the right bits of history to help you out
Life Along the Way by B.A. Paul — a humorous and touching quasi-memoir about surviving life as a creative, and ensuring your creativity survive the vicissitudes of life.
Make Me Read! by Dean Wesley Smith — a guide to the kinds of things that editors long for when editing magazines and anthologies, and how to figure out what things are likely to make them throw the book against the wall. Dean’s video lecture Fear of Success is also in this bundle, and hits a seldom-credited reason that writers self-sabotage.
Kickstarter for Authors by Anthea Sharp — one of the world’s best-selling urban fantasy writers shows how she structures her kickstarters both for maximum profit and to boost visibility among fans and potential fans.
The Productive Indie Fiction Writer by Tracy Cooper-Posey — Tracey’s 200+ books put my mere 30+ to shame. In this book she shares her secrets for maintaining quality and productivity over the long term.
A Book In The Hand by Mark Leslie Lefarve — Mark has been in publishing for thirty years, including as one of the people who got the Kobo book store going. He‘s a hell of an after-dinner raconteur, an anthology editor who’s bought my stories (thus securing an everlasting place in my heart), and a nifty horror author in his own right. In this book he tells all he knows about making paperbacks and hardbacks (still the biggest sub-market in the publishing world) a profitable cornerstone of your publishing strategy—an important book, considering the way that ebook markets change their content guidelines with every moral panic that comes along.
A Freelancer’s Guide to Maximizing Your Success by Kristine Kathryn Rusch — Rusch has been a freelancer for over thirty years and made her bones in several parts of the writing industry during that time. This book pools her accumulated wisdom on how to spot your competence and steer your business to be the best it can along whatever axis you consider the most important (notoriety, income, influence, etc.).
That’s the bundle, and it’s a “Pay what you want” deal. It’s a limited-time thing—don't miss it!