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Tag Archives: Writing

Title-storming, part two

[see part one below] More choices: …Sheets, Scandal Sheets, Press, News … Press Relations Miss Delancey and the Publisher, The Persistent Publisher, The Lady and the Publisher Passion’s Secret, Passion’s Truth Melody of Desire, Desire’s Melody Scales of Scandal Truth, Justice, and the Lady Truth, Justice—or the Lady The Lady and the Scribbler, Scribbling and [...]

Posted 27 April 2009 † nickyp § Marketing § Writing ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: , , ,

Dose of publishing reality

Over on the GenReality blog this week, multipublished author Lynn Viehl breaks down her first royalty statement for her book TWILIGHT FALL, which hit NYT’s mass-market best-seller list last July. It’s quite the eye-opener, starting with the fact that one doesn’t see the first royalty check until more than 9 months after the book is [...]

Posted 24 April 2009 † nickyp § Marketing § Writing ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: ,

Title-storming

Both agents I talked with this past weekend said I needed a better title than MUSICAL TIES. One said something with more sensuality, the other something witty. The story is of a high-born lady musician who lies to get her compositions published by a “truth-or-nothing” publisher at the end of the Napoleonic wars. Here goes: [...]

Posted 21 April 2009 † nickyp § Writing ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: , ,

Pack, fret, arrive, enjoy

Heading to a romance-writers’ retreat in Virginia this weekend (not a writing-retreat, more an info- and inspiration-retreat). I am of at least two minds on these things; it’s so great to talk with other crazy writers about the details of what we do (really, who else cares about “compared with” v. “compared to”?) and to [...]

Posted 17 April 2009 † nickyp § Learning § Writing ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

First chapter ready for readers

Part of my revision process is to make up sample copy for the back cover of the book; it keeps me on track as I cut and paste as well as showing if I’ve come up with a marketable story. Here is the current version: What’s the harm in a little white lie? Especially when [...]

Posted 12 April 2009 † nickyp § Reading § Writing ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:

Needs editing

This week, I posted three sets of things important to me: An online piece on cutting-edge neuroscience research, e-mails to corporate people of importance and a snail-mail letter to my grandma. Only one of the three had the benefit of editing—and the other two show it. Rereading some of the e-mails I’ve sent, I find [...]

Posted 04 April 2009 † nickyp § Brain science § Learning § Writing ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Finalist

One of my historicals, “Musical Ties,” has made the final cut in the Washington Romance Writers annual writing contest (based on the first 3 chapters and synopsis). It’s the story of a high-born lady musician who lies to get her compositions published by a “truth-or-nothing” publisher at the end of the Napoleonic wars. WRW is [...]

Posted 09 March 2009 † nickyp § Writing ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: , ,

Old and bitter

I love the audio and video courses I get from the Teaching Company; they distract me when I’m exercising and often challenge my preconceptions about history, science and music. But my first one on writing, Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer’s Craft, also brought up some decades-old and nearly-forgotten anger and resentment. Turns out there [...]

Posted 04 February 2009 † nickyp § Learning § Thinking § Writing ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: ,

Week five

Spent about 12 hours re-plotting, need to make my characters goals conflict with one another, not just fighting the ‘machine.’ Itching to start writing, and this work-project is just about done!

Posted 04 February 2009 † nickyp § Writing ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

No depth, no foul?

Two comments on Saturday struck me. One, at a workshop for apprentice and master fiction writers, from a multi-published writer: Jane Austen is fun to read, and to read in many ways, and to re-read.. but we don’t need to hold ourselves up that high. She aims for a level that would be fun to [...]

Posted 26 January 2009 † nickyp § Reading § Thinking § Writing ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: , ,