M.A. Kropp: Writer, Blogger, GeekGirl. My Life. My Words. My Way.
How do you know when your story is done? That is a very good question, and I'm afraid there isn't a very good answer. Because, for the most part, it never really is. "But you have stories and books that you have published. Aren't they done?" Well, yes, they are. At least, they have a … Continue reading Wednesday on Writing: When Is It Done?
For many authors, whether traditional or independently published, pitching is a difficult part of what we do. Pitching isn't exclusive to publishing, of course, but for our purposes, I will limit this post to how it relates to authors. When you pitch your book, you are essentially selling it- to an agent, a publisher, a … Continue reading Monday Musings: Pitch That
It's the end of the year- well, almost. I have finished and overshot my reading goal for this year, so I have slowed down on that a bit, and am catching up on some things I've needed to, so book reviews are going to be a bit sparse from now until next year. What I … Continue reading Friday Review: Let’s Look at NaNoWriMo, Shall We?
You may have seen this article floating around the writer-verse lately: Amazon and ARC Reviews It seems Amazon has been cracking down on reviews of things, not only books, that are received free in exchange for a review. In one way, I understand the issue. Since Amazon has existed, the pay-for-reviews system has, as well. … Continue reading Monday Musings: Oh, Amazon, Why You Be Like This?
I'm not going to comment a lot on this year's Hugo awards, mainly because I haven't read all of the winners, and can't say if I thought they were good enough to win. I am happy, however, to see that, once again, the Puppies were shut out in most categories. And in at least one, … Continue reading Monday Musings: A Short Comment on the Hugo Awards, Writing Update, Off to Maine, and Summer Heat
This happened to an author of my acquaintance. She got an email from a "fan" and the gist of it was this: Dear Ms. Author. I really like your books. I think they are well-written and I enjoyed reading them. (So far, so good, right? Hang on.) However, I have returned them all because you … Continue reading Monday Musings: “Your Books Are So Good, I Shouldn’t Have to Pay for Them.”
We are at the start of National Novel Writing Month-or NaNoWriMo to us, that gloriously weird month in which a lot of people set out to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days, from November 1 to November 30. (If you want to know more, here is the link: NaNoWriMo) I am going … Continue reading Monday Musings: Planning a New Project (How I Do It)
If you are a writer these days, you can't help but realize that the landscape is changing. In the Old Days, you wrote a story, you submitted it to publishers, you got rejected a bunch of times, and eventually, (assuming the story was any good) someone accepted it, and you got published. There wasn't much … Continue reading Monday Musings: On Deciding to Author Publish My Stories
Benedict Cumberbatch, in a skit for Jimmy Kimmel Live, takes on a variety of names, both real and fictional, to see how well they sound if he were trying to pick up a date. Sorry, but he had me at "Hi": What's In A Name In this response to a tumblr question, Neil Gaiman gives the secret … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Cumberbatch, How To Be A Successful Writer, What Not to Wear, and Upside-Down Iceberg
Something really cool can be seen around Ann Arbor, MI: Tiny Doors Twenty things today's kids will probably never see: Vintage Things Bending light to make things invisible: Now You See It Following last week's gift ideas, if the writer you are buying for is a bit on the weird side, here are some more: … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Fairy Doors, 20 Vintage Things, Invisibility, and More Gift Ideas for Writers
And So On... 