Point of View

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Point of View: From the Top

by
writer and notebook - deposit photos

Maybe you were a writing whiz in high school, and finished your first novel before you were eighteen. Or maybe you’re in your fifties (or seventies) and just discovered your great desire to pen fascinating stories that everyone will want to read. No matter when and where you start, you’ll need to learn the basics before your writing can soar. There Are (Weird, Contradictory) Rules The history of writing goes back almost as far as humankind, with ancient civilizations employing cuneiform and hieroglyphs to tell stories and communicate information verbally. And since you’re not (I’m guessing) Mesopotamian, you probably share … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Point of View: Plantsing

by
plant growing out of a book - deposit photos

It’s an age-old debate. Plotter or pantser? Is one better than the other? Which one are you? A plotter is someone who plans out their entire story in advance. Plotters are known for making extensive outlines, doing deep dives into internet searches to pull together all the materials they will need, and making sure all their i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed before writing a word of the actual story. They are perfectionists, lovers of story arcs marked with specific “beats” that they plan to hit at exact points of the narrative to ensure their characters and plots reach … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Point of View: Sense & Sensitivity

by
man reading book, surprised - deposit photos

As a writer, it’s important to stretch yourself—to write about things (and people) who are unfamiliar to you. It’s one thing to create a race of aliens that has nothing to do with the human race—then you can pretty much go hog wild with however you want to portray them (unless you unwittingly tap into some negative human stereotypes Jar Jar Binks, I’m looking at you). But what about when you’re writing about an existing human culture? I’m a gay man. I can write gay characters pretty much with impunity, because they’re not just what I know, but what I … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Point of View: Boys Who Like Boys

by
Boys Holding Hands - Deposit Photos

Somewhere along the way, I lost the thread. I let the other side frame the debate, making my identity all about sex. I forgot that my identity as a gay man didn’t rest on sex, or sexuality, and it took a beautiful song to remind me. I was scanning through my Mastodon feed and ran across a video from 2021, made during the heart of the pandemic – a song called Boys Who Like Boys by an openly gay singer named Eli Lieb. Intrigued, I clicked on the link. I’d never heard of Eli Lieb before this. As I watched … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Point of View: (Re)writing the Story

by
Reset - Red Button - deposit photos

Thirty years ago, I wrote a book called “On a Shoreless Sea.” It was a fantastic novel, or so I thought at the time – a clever blending of sci-fi and fantasy set on a generation ship. This was the one that would launch me to sci-fi writer fame and fortune. I printed out ten copies (yes, those were the days of the paper submission – so sorry for the grove of “copier paper” trees I slaughtered) and UPS’d them to the largest publishers in the biz. Then I waited. One by one, they came back, the last one arriving … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Point of View: Gardening is Writing II

by
Scott Garden

Back in the before world, in 2019, I wrote a column for this space called “Gardening is Writing.” My premise was simple. Many of the same skills to grow a successful vegetable garden could be applied to writing as well. Then yesterday, I ran across a framed image at a Starbucks, of all places, that reminded me of the art I used to draw when I was in high school. I sent it to one of my high school art teachers, Laura Brouse (check out her current art – it’s amazing), who still has a bit of my art after … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Point of View: What I’m Working On

by
writer - deposit photos

We’re just back from BayCon last week and my brain is still buzzing and not up for generating any BIG IDEAS for this week’s column, so I thought I’d do something I haven’t done in a bit, and share what I’m working on (personally and via Other Worlds Ink, our small press). The Great North First off is the rerelease of The Great North. It’s a future post-apocalyptic sci-fantasy loosely based on the Welsh “Valentine’s Day” legend of Dwynwen, but with a decidedly gay twist. The wonderful folks at Mischief Corner Books first published this in 2017, and I’m excited … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Point of View: Am I Narrow or Wide?

by
arms wide - deposit photos

In indie publishing, we use the words “narrow” or “wide” to differentiate between two vastly different strategies. Selling narrow means utilizing only one vendor—typically Amazon—and essentially putting all of your eggs in one basket. It can have its own rewards, as with the ranking thing, but you are also subjecting yourself to the whims of one vendor. And if they ever decide to shut you down, which Amazon has done before, you are entirely at their mercy. If instead you decide to go “wide,” it means you are selling your books through multiple different vendors. I started out my indie … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Point of View: Running a Group Sales Table, Part One

by
Davis Pride

This week I thought I’d do a practical advice column for my writer friends. It’s been a while since I did one of these, and being fresh off of not one but two Pride events, with a third to come next weekend, it seemed like a great time to offer a primer on how to set up and run a group sales table. Choosing an Event Big city Prides can be quite expensive. Our local Sacramento Pride festival is now $750 for a booth for two days, and SF Pride is $1600 for a booth, canopy, table and chairs for … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Point of View: Am I Doing Enough?

by
man shrugging - deposit photos

I’m not doing it right. I mean, that must be what it is. I’ve been at this writing thing in a serious way for almost ten years. Along the way, I’ve had some successes – a few Rainbow Awards, some high-flying (of short-lived) rankings on Amazon, and I have a couple bookshelves full of copies of my published works. So why does it feel like I’m starting over at square one, every single day? Once a month, the Independent Book Publishers’ Association magazine arrives with new tips: I need to be launching a TikTok video channel. I should be courting … Read more