Balancing Art and Ambition
Can you fully unlock your imagination if your mind is obsessed with success?
Q&A: I Wrote a Screenplay ... Now What?
I’m excited for you, believe me, but hold up a second here and let’s have a little talk.
Just Say No
I spent weeks, each time making all these changes in the desperate hope that one of these “artists” he was pitching it to would buy it.
Putting the Silver in the Silver Screen
At his age, he had plenty of wisdom to draw upon and apply to the characters he was auditioning to play.
Why Is A Writing Sample So Important?! Duh, ‘Cuz You’re a Writer
The writing had to stand on its own. Nobody gave a crap if I was cool.
Everything I Know About Writing a Nonfiction Book Proposal
I thought I should get to work on the whole manuscript and maybe a query, too. Oh, my giddy cousins, was I wrong.
Big-Picture Ways to Think About Marketing Fiction: Analyzing One's Own Reading/Book Buying Habits
What I discovered was eye-opening at the curiosity level, but also valuable for my thinking and planning as a publisher, and for you as a writer or author.
Big-Picture Ways to Think About Marketing Fiction: Unexpected Places Your Readers Spend Money
... in swapping stories with fellow small publishers and indie authors, I eventually happened upon the secret of the apple orchard.
Big-Picture Ways to Think About Marketing: Vitamins, Spaghetti, and Ships
Throw them all out into the world as your time, energy, and budget allow and see what sticks—which methods, which messages, which audiences.
The Myth of Meritocracy
It’s probably too much to ask for Hollywood to ever be a real meritocracy. Nowhere in society does there exist a “real” meritocracy. All we can do is try to make things better for ourselves and for each other ...
Big-Picture Ways to Think About Marketing Fiction, Part 1
Where are these advance fans supposed to come from?
In Defense of TikTok from an Old Who's Never Had One
When I asked why novels and not screenplays, I was met with, “We’re only looking for existing IPs that have a built-in fan base. We don’t want to take the risk on an original idea.”
The Glossary of Jargon I Wish I'd Known Before I Started Querying
If I had taken the time to ask, or even search for the phrase “What does ARC mean?” on Google or Twitter, I would have found so many answers.
Welcome to Hollywood, Part 2
Some people get bit by a creative bug early in their lives that keeps an inner flame lit from within, and for those who share this quality, sometimes you just need to see how it all gets made.
