Writing news n’ stuff

Hi, folks–

Some cool stuff I ran across. For those who are not in the know, there’s a new professional organization out there for indie authors. The Alliance of Independent Authors can be checked out HERE.

Jane Friedman, guru of many things publishing, is one of the advisors, as is Mark Coker of Smashwords, Joanna Penn of Creative Penn, and Victoria Strauss of Science Fiction Writers of America.

Jane offers a video discussion about publishing, self-publishing, marketing, and groovy things like that at this link.

I’m a fan of professional organizations, because they offer networking venues, workshops, advice, and other benefits (some writers’ organizations can offer health insurance). So if you’re an indie author who’s looking to benefit professionally, the Alliance of Independent Authors might be for you.

Having trouble keeping with the writing? There’s an app for that. Write or Die is designed to encourage you to keep writing. Download the app and start typing in the box provided. There are 3 settings. The gentle mode provides a kind reminder to keep writing if you’ve stopped and haven’t written after a few seconds. It’s a pop-up box. The second, or “normal” mode, emits an icky sound if you’ve stopped writing that doesn’t stop until you start tapping away again. And the “kamikaze” mode starts erasing what you’ve typed after a few seconds. Whichever mode you choose, the app will dole out “prods” until you’ve met your word count and/or time goal.

Whew. Scary. Anyhoo, I’ve also posted a teaser from book 3 in my space opera series, the Far Seek Chronicles. You can check that out RIGHT HERE.

All rightie. Hope everybody’s having a great week!

Happy writing, happy reading!