We’ve reached the point in the cycle where the Rules for Authors return to the beginning. I repost the Rules instead of pointing to the prior iteration because the Rules are in a constant state of flux, just like the entertainment industry itself. So, here we go again! Number One Money Flows TO The Author …
Category: Rules For Authors
Rules For Authors
Jul 03
Melodee’s Rules for Authors — Number Thirty-Eight
Number Thirty-Eight Read A Few Books OK, more correctly, read a LOT of books. This all ties back to other Rules where we’ve talked about writing what will sell and keeping your books on the book seller’s hot lists. Yes, as I’ve said, a representative or (sometimes) agent will help you here, and a personal …
Jun 26
Melodee’s Rules for Authors — Number Thirty-Seven
Number Thirty-Seven Don’t Pass Up Free Promotion In this post, I’m going to pick on Twitter only for the sake of simplicity and clarity. The same concepts apply to other social media sites and to promotion in general, so try to expand your awareness to those other areas as well. Promotion of your books is, …
Jun 19
Melodee’s Rules for Authors — Number Thirty-Six
Number Thirty-Six Advertising Bang versus Bucks Many people think of promotion and promoting their books. In more general terms, promotion is just a subset of advertising. But no matter what you call it, you need to get the most bang for the buck when you are trying to sell your books. Now, if you’re really …
Jun 12
Melodee’s Rules for Authors — Number Thirty-Five
Number Thirty-Five Ignore the Critics As a group, critics are pompous morons. Sorry, but I call ‘em like I see ‘em. Anyone remember Phil Collins? How many of his albums did you buy? Want to know what the critics thought of people who bought Phil Collins albums? Try https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Collins#Criticism on for size. And critics today …
Jun 05
Melodee’s Rules for Authors — Number Thirty-Four
Number Thirty-Four Don’t Give Away the Store Let me start off saying that I do enjoy a little gambling now and then. I’ll buy lottery tickets from time to time. I’ll drop a few dollars in the one-armed bandits as well. I like to play penny-ante poker (real poker, not the assorted nonsense popular in …
May 29
Melodee’s Rules for Authors — Number Thirty-Three
Number Thirty-Three To Thine Own Self Be True And for God’s sake let others do it, too! I can’t tell you how often I see comments in mailing lists, blogs, seminars, and any number of other venues where someone who fancies themselves to be a successful author is telling everyone how they should all do …
May 22
Melodee’s Rules for Authors — Number Thirty-Two
Number Thirty-Two Pick a P-Word That Works for You Some people in the industry are into buzz words. Really into buzz words. They can sound like a cliché festival run amok sometimes. As for me, I hate buzz words, corporate-speak, and pretty much anything politically correct. I’m the CEO and board chair of a reasonable …
May 15
Melodee’s Rules for Authors — Number Thirty-One
Number Thirty-One Size Matters And it matters in more than one way, too. People tend to make up their own definitions, but let me give you the industry-standard ones right up front… Flash – Less than 1,000 wordsShort Story – 1,001 to 7,499 wordsNovelette – 7,500 to 17,499 wordsNovella – 17,500 to 39,999 wordsNovel – …
May 08
Melodee’s Rules for Authors — Number Thirty
Number Thirty Thou Shalt Not Snark (This Rule was triggered by a production meeting I attended in Los Angeles where the other two writers on a project were nipping at each other like a pair of chihuahuas.) Isaac Asimov said in The Foundation Trilogy: “Violence…is the last resort of the incompetent.” I believe this applies …
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