The Tyrant Strategy and The Target Audience

April 24, 2012 in General Topics

Let’s talk target markets, by talking about The Tyrant Strategy. Image Credit: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When I was conceptualizing this trilogy of fiction books (Part 1 coming this fall, kids!), I realized early on that I wanted to write for people who didn’t know they liked science fiction. I wanted an accessible military sci-fi epic with an emphasis on characters.

I wanted some extraordinary characters, but also ample heapings of regular folks that were meshed inextricably, and at times unwillingly, into the process of history being made — of the world changing. And these characters came from all walks of life. What’s crazy is how readily these characters overlap with my target audience. Read the rest of this entry →

I’m an Author

April 6, 2012 in General Topics

I am an author.

And so are you. And we are different in a hundred ways, but the same in the way that counts: we’ve decided to celebrate the act of putting words before a reader. Read the rest of this entry →

Author Lessons from Star Trek: First Contact

March 30, 2012 in General Topics

I have always loved Star Trek: First Contact, and it’s on my personal list of all-time favorite science fiction films. When one examines it alongside its sister films, it’s easy to see why it worked so well. And in comparison with the other three films, it lays open a host of lessons for an author. What does Picard and company’s second outing teach us that the other three movies don’t?
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How to Kill Interest in Your Blog in One Easy Step

March 7, 2012 in General Topics

One thing drilled like an oil derrick into the head of an author — particularly someone ePublishing some or all of their work, like I will soon be — is the need to keep their blog updated on a regular basis. Of course this is part of attracting and retaining a following of regular readers, and associates in this business respect a blog providing meaningful content.

But beware the temptation to slip into a routine. Here’s how I drove away regular readers, at least until recently.
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Biting off more that I CAN chew…

February 22, 2012 in General Topics

So here’s the big long list of things I’m trying to do at the moment for self-publishing purposes:
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