Today’s guest post is by Jesse Bullington, author of the novels The Sad Tales of the Brothers Grossbart and The Enterprise of Death, as well as numerous short stories. Jesse offers a surprising admission about his own writing career — and  provides some encouragement to those of us who are still trying to figure things […]
Archive > February 2012
On giving up
We’ve all been there: the hill is so steep, and we can’t even see the top. We have no idea when that first sale is coming, and even if we’ve made the first–as I well know–that does not mean the second or third will follow any time soon. There are days when we feel like […]
The Persistence of Recordkeeping
I screwed up earlier this week. I submitted a story to a pro market, and verified its status the next morning. Imagine my dismay when I saw, in the list of previously rejected stories, the same one I’d just sent them. I did what needed to be done, promptly sending a withdrawal and apology to […]
Guest post by Jake Kerr: Behind The Scenes of “The Old Equationsâ€
This week’s guest post comes from Jake Kerr, whose very first sale–the novelette “The Old Equations”–was just nominated for a Nebula award. Many thanks to Jake for giving us this peek at what was a very dramatic and grueling editing process, and congratulations on his nomination! Warning: Lots of spoilers in this. I recommend you […]
Where’s Your Head At?
Ready, set, WRITE! Right? When you sit down to your writing session, do you jump right in and start typing furiously? Or do you sit down, check emails, check Facebook, send a few tweets, visit a couple blogs, then get up to make a snack, clean your desk, then sit back down only to repeat […]
Guest post: Anatomy of a Murder, By Lee Moyer
How important is the cover of a book to it’s success? In this post Lee Moyer gives an insightful breakdown of composition, color and typography on two different book covers to reveal a possible reason for why one sold so well and the other didn’t. Originally posted to his personal blog, Lee has graciously permitted […]
Guest Post: Managing Your Schedule as a Busy Freelancer
Today successful freelance editor and author Jennifer Brozek provides practical tips and advice for effectively managing your schedule. Thanks so much, Jennifer! When it comes to being a freelance author (or freelance anything, really), managing your schedule comes down to two questions: “How do I keep up with the multiple contracts I’m doing at […]
Focus and the Distracted Writer
I just spent the last month revising two very different short stories, both aimed at markets with looming deadlines. Coming off the post-holiday distractions, I was confident that neither story would take much work (I was wrong) and a whole month seemed like plenty of time to get my work done (I was right, but […]
Better Procrastination as a Writer
Procrastinating is a skill, like writing, that you can perfect with practice and that you’ll find advice about on the Internet. In fact, the two crafts mirror and complement each other. Here’s some advice about incorporating procrastination into your writing habits–based on much real life experience! Set a goal Your first step in a writing […]
Awards Season Round-up
With the Hugo & Nebula nominations in full swing, it seemed like a good idea to dedicate a little space here on Inkpunks to our awards-eligible work from 2011. Many of us have already posted these on our own websites, but having it all in one place helps us keep it straight! We hope you’ll […]
