Hiatus, Defined

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A hiatus is:

  • a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.
  • a missing part; gap or lacunaHiatus

September was a hiatus for this blog as I finished turning a novella (The Passenger) into a graphic novel for a comic book publisher who might be interested and I rewrote, for the fourth time, the first in a series of supernatural thrillers (Black Demon Orchid) and sent it off to a professional editor for her critique.

Truth be told, I don’t believe in writing a blog post without having something to say.

As we write in police procedurals, “Nothing to see here, folks. Move on.”

The Big Thrill for Thriller Fans

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Cover of The Big Thrill, September 2014

The Big Thrill, September 2014

One of the many advantages of attending ThrillerFest 2014 in July was learning about The Big Thrill, the free digital monthly zine from International Thriller Writers.

If you like to read thrillers or you like author interviews or you like inside looks at how it’s done by the best, you should sign up. It’s free.

More Than a Writer: Publishing Paths

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Could Solzhenitsyn or J.D. Salinger make it as writers in today’s writing-publishing world?

Could any recluse who only wants to write? I wonder.

In the olden days, writers wrote and publishers published.

Today, alas, it’s not so simple.4-Key-Publishing-Models-662x1024

Jane Friedman, a publisher who lives just down the road in Charlottesville, VA, came up with a very nice one-page PDF illustrating the four key paths to publishing your book.

You thought there was one ‘preferred’ way? (Yeah, me too, but that was about 18 months ago.)

Those four paths are:

  • Traditional (Good luck with that.)
  • Fully Assisted
  • Do It Yourself
  • Community

Jane describes the key characteristics of each and outlines the value for authors of each approach.

It’s a great infographic, and Jane is well worth following on her various social media feeds.

Hmm. Which path would Solzhenitsyn and Salinger choose?

I’m guessing not the Community approach.