Bryan Thomas Schmidt

Cassa Fire, Space Opera, Dancing Lemur Press, 2012. Tpb/ebook $15.95/$4.99 An enjoyable read with well drawn leads that takes a while to suck you in but ultimately rises above its faults to provide a compelling and enjoyable read. I have not read book 1 in this series. So let me say some of my quibbles  [ Read More ]

Ahhhh punctuation. A gift and yet a bane for us all, isn’t it? Editors fix way too much of it. Writers get confused and abuse too much of it. And the rest of the world scratches their head and gives up with a bevy of messages which start to look like this: cumin 2c u  [ Read More ]

Well, my second contracted novel is on its way. ARCS are being prepped. E-ARCS are already going out. And copyediting and cover design will begin in earnest for our June release of The Returning, sequel to The Worker Prince. Pretty exciting stuff. A year ago, this book barely existed and now here it is. Three years ago,  [ Read More ]

One of the highest compliments anyone has paid me is to tell me “You’re a professional.” I’ve actually heard this several times the past few months. My first reaction is: “I wish I was. I don’t make any money.” But what they really mean is that I act like a professional in my timeliness and  [ Read More ]

Dear Valentine, I miss you. You’re three thousand miles away. You’re in another hemisphere, where I hear you’re going to stay.   Dear Valentine, my heart is yours, despite the troubles we’ve known. Because good memories are golden and we’ve got by far way more of those.   Dear Valentine, my heart is broken, from  [ Read More ]

This post is part of the Origins Challenge Blog Series. Almost 200 blogs participating. Click here for the list. So the challenge is to blog about how we got started writing. This is an ironic date because writing about the origins of my writing on February 13th means I’m writing about origins on the day of  [ Read More ]

Well, we’re four chapters from finalizing the editing of my novel, The Returning, sequel to my debut The Worker Prince. ARCS will go out next week, and then copyediting. As I look at this book, a book which I’m amazed even got written–written in the midst of my life completely falling apart (unemployment, mental health  [ Read More ]

by Patty Jansen Let’s presume for a moment, that there is a writer called Leon. Leon doesn’t exist, of course, and I picked the name because I don’t actually know anyone by that name. Leon, however, embodies a number of characteristics I’ve seen in workshops and on writer sites. Leon has written a novel, has  [ Read More ]

Our recent Write Tip on 9 Free Ways To Market Your Book has been popular but people have asked me how NOT to use those techniques, so I thought it appropriate to do a follow up post. First, here’s a refresher on the 9 Free Ways which are: 1 ) Author Site/Blogs  2 ) Author Profiles/Blog Interviews   [ Read More ]

This is not a lecture. It’s an observation. And it’s not a self-aggrandizing post but I do need to give some detail on my own life to make the point, so I will. Recently, I saw Wayne Koons, a former Marine, then NASA Engineer, then pilot/astronaut speak about his education, his life and his faith.  [ Read More ]

Recently my friend reviewed my book at SFSignal. I never expect anything less than an honest review from reviewers, especially friends. Anything is unhelpful because people tend to see through it anyway and because honest evaluation is the only thing a writer can rightfully expect from anyone. You hope they love the book. It’s hard  [ Read More ]

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 ]

The switch to WordPress in late May has really seen the blog grow. We have had 13205 hits since then (as of 11 pm 12/30/11 that is) and average over 2000 a month, or 70 hits a day. Thanks for that support and interest. I wanted to take a look back at the highlights of  [ Read More ]

Twice now I have explicitly told my publisher no 99 cent pricing. My book is worth more. And I don’t say it with arrogance. My book is not a self-published book. 4 editors worked on it. Two independent editors I paid before it sold at considerable cost and two at the publisher. I don’t want  [ Read More ]

It’s been a while since my last Global Warming post, so I feel like making an update for various reasons. (Mostly because it’s on my mind at the moment.) The more I look into it, the more I remain convinced that the scientific community’s dogmatic attitude is distracting them from far more important matters. There  [ Read More ]

As my Holiday gift to fellow writers, who have been so supportive of the tips offered on this blog, I’ve compiled a list and brief descriptions of 15 really top writing resources to help you move forward in your growth as a writer. Links to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble are included for those  [ Read More ]