Writers' Tricks of the Trade: Research before you get too starry eyed

Hi folks,

With all of the hype about the self-pubbed authors who are making zillions with self-published Ebooks and Kindle books, I felt I had to write this column yesterday. Sure, there are definitely people who have cracked the code for one reason or another, but they are the minority. No matter how you look at it, unless the average author is extraordinarily lucky, it is still lots of hard work and money to get your work out there, and even then it is lots of hard work and money. I didn't get comments directly on the column but I did receive emails from those who have been there, done that. They thanked me for writing about the reality and they agree. Read on...

 Las Vegas Writing Examiner

January 5, 2012 - Like this? Subscribe to get instant updates.

 Before you get sucked into all of the hype about the big money being made by authors who took the leap into self-publishing Kindles and eBooks and now have tons of money and offers rolling in from all over the world, a word of caution.
In many cases this is true. There are authors who have done amazingly well and others who manage to squeak by. Unfortunately, the “squeakers” are the majority. It is definitely not as easy as it sounds.
E-publishing millionaire Amanda Hocking summed it up: --READ FULL ARTICLE

Thank you to the participants in the Savvy Authors Chat

I would like to thank Melinda Pierce at www.savvyauthors.com for inviting me to host today's Writing Tight chat. There were many participants and I also want to thank them for attending. We had a good chat about this particular writing technique and I look forward to more sessions and to presenting workshops at the Savvy Authors site.

Groups like this are very valuable to both published and aspiring authors. Writing can be a solitary pursuit and interaction with people with similar goals and interests, whether on the internet or at group gatherings, is always stimulating.

OTHER NEWS: Today the Kindle edition of Writers Tricks of the Trade: 39 Things You Need to Know About the ABCs of Writing became available on Amazon. EBooks and paperback to follow soon.