Bryan Thomas Schmidt

Ottawa, KS, January 31, 2012–Author Bryan Thomas Schmidt today announced there would be no revealing of his or other nipples at his book signing at Hastings Books in Lawrence, Kansas this coming Saturday or any other public appearances on his agenda. “I just wanted to join Madonna right now in refuting any accusations of public  [ Read More ]

Okay, it’s an old topic, I know, but discipline is so vital to your writing success. And if I’ve learned anything about discipline over the years, it’s that to be disciplined in any area of life, you need good discipline in all areas of life. There’s nothing that bleeds from one area of life into  [ Read More ]

I like to post things which are interesting on my Twitter, Facebook, GooglePlus, etc. I do it because they made me think and perhaps others will think, too. I hang with a lot of writers and smart people who like to think, so my assumption is, maybe they’ll find this interesting. Just because I post  [ Read More ]

I know it’s not obvious but I’m not a patient person. I hate waiting. I hate lines. The only form of delay I enjoy is procrastination. I’m awesome with that one. But because of this problems have developed from time to time. I always heard people talk about how important it was to get distance  [ Read More ]

By now most writers are realizing that in the face of the changes in the publishing business, marketing is an area which falls more and more on their shoulders. For newer writers with untested track records, this is especially true. I’ve had writers tell me they don’t believe in self-promotion. Not only is this foolish  [ Read More ]

Well, it’s award season, so it’s obligatory to let you know that The Worker Prince is eligible for Hugo nominations. I suppose I’m also eligible for the Best New Writer Award.  But far more important, if you ask me, SFFWRTCHT and the column interviews are eligible for Hugos in Best Fan Writer. Please keep this in  [ Read More ]

This post originally ran as part of the blog tour for my debut novel, The Worker Prince,  at the blog of Patty Jansen. Social Media has taken over the world, or at least parts of it. Its rise in popularity has been stunning. It’s literally changed the way most of us use the web forever.  [ Read More ]

Supervolcano: Eruption by Turtledove, Harry Pathfinder Tales: Death’s Heretic by Sutter, James L. Firebird (Alex Benedict, #6) by McDevitt, Jack Anniversary Day ( A Retrieval Artist Novel, #8) by Rusch, Kristine Katherine Owl Dance by Summers, David Lee * Blood and Other Cravings ed. Datlow, Ellen Downpour (Greywalker, #6) by Richardson, Kat Greywalker by Richardson, Kat The Flying Machine  [ Read More ]

In our previous Write Tips post, we talked about Why Your Book Needs A Sell Sheet How To Make One. This time, let’s focus on how to use the Sell Sheets once you have one. Right off the bat, here are some ways you can put Sell Sheets to work: 1) Market To Bookstores – When given  [ Read More ]

Okay, this is ridiculous. Folks, come on. I get livid when people complain about the Boy Scout’s moral policies because the Boy Scouts were founded as a religious organization and they have a right, as do churches, to set moral standards for their members. The fact that they are the “only act in town” doesn’t  [ Read More ]

Book sell sheets are a key component of publicity for books in traditional publishing. Having a professional sell sheet can help distinguish your book from thousands of others and really help it get noticed. It’s important that it stand out from the crowd, because a mid-size bookstore can receive a hundred or more sell sheets a year. For  [ Read More ]

Revising a novel or story is something everybody goes about in their own way. Each of us have strengths and weaknesses, for example, so what needs work varies on an individual and even per project basis. As I prepare to revise my second contracted novel for publication, the fourth novel I’ve revised ever, I wanted  [ Read More ]

There are many decisions one makes when writing fiction. One of the most important is the choice of POV character and whether it’s first person or third. Often, when dealing with multiple POV characters, the choice is based on who has the most to lose or gain in a particular scene. But sometimes other factors  [ Read More ]

Okay, it’s Write Tips day, I know. Mondays I always post them. But this week I don’t have one ready, and part of the reason is that I just can’t get suicide off my mind. I got news yesterday that takes me back to a dark time in my own life. When I was in  [ Read More ]

Well, 2011 is gone and I am as glad as anyone it will never return. I thought 2010 was a bad year but 2011 was so much worse. In may 2010, I lost my full time job. By the end of the year, my part time one also went away due to my out of  [ Read More ]