Pen to Published

Original photo by Anonymous

A Series of Blogs on the Process

Here is the stairway, the marked hiking trail, the highway to the skyway from Pen to Published. Step by step, in an order proven to work (because I did it), everything I know about what to do and how to do it and, most importantly, why.

Most posts conclude with a detailed checklist of goals to accomplish. Some you will find working into your weekly routine. Others only need to be done once. Either way, remember: You could be the person who makes bank on this story- the one you're writing right now- but your odds improve with every project you mark complete.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

Note: Many of these posts first debuted on my author blog, so many still link there. As posts are updated and re-released here, the links will be updated.

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Get It Written

• Brainstorming
  • Plots vs. Premise
  • A Recipe in Three Parts
  • Outlining
  • Mind Maps
  • Cyclical Writing
  • Audience of One
• Drafting
  • Beginnings
  • Middles
  • Endings: 3 things every great ending needs
  • NaNoWriMo
  • Assistants: Scrivener, Write or Die, Written? Kitten!
  • The Art of Show, Don't Tell 101
• Editing
  • Critique Circle
  • The Art of Critique 101
  • Beta Readers
  • Edit Yourself Backwards
  • My war against Had and Was

Get It Talking

• Social Media
  • Your Platform
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Website/Blog
  • Goodreads
  • Reaching Out vs. Yelling into the Abyss
• Traditional Publishing
  • Key Words
  • Small Presses
  • Contracts, Lawyers, and Big Presses
• Indy/Self Publishing
  • Pro/Con and the hybrid model
  • Artists, Editors, Formatters
  • Success Stories
  • This Path Is A Hard One

Get It Out There

• Publicity
  • Advanced Reader Copies and Reviews
  • Giveaways
  • Supporting Content
  • Self-Pub Where?
  • Release Day is Upon Us!
• Now What?
  • The Waiting Game
  • You're A Small Business (and small businesses do taxes)
  • How Long is This Going To Take?