Some things I've said, and things I've read.

Here’s what’s been going on!

At the Editor’s Desk

This week has seen the trial of a new blog posting format — a shorter, more coffee-break friendly posting format. Or that’s what I’m hoping, anyway.

I also went out on a limb and called out a dying industry for what it is. I wouldn’t be surprised if that comes back to bite me!

Oh, I posted some new profile pictures too, thanks to the amazing Julie V. Photography (now proudly featured on our About page). If you want to see the full set, look me up on Facebook.

The Girl Who Stayed the Same (Working Title)

Shane over at the Creative Copy Challenge decided to start stitching things together by hand this week, so I’ve now got my very own series page. That will save me some effort digging up links for the Week in Words, and free up a project section so I can keep you posted on other ongoings. Quite cool.

If you want to get caught up, check out The Girl Who Stayed the Same, by Aaron Pogue. Go ahead and bookmark it for future reference. Expect updates every Monday and Thursday.

The Consortium, OKC

I’m going to upset a someone or two, but I’ve gotten good advice from several people who should know, suggesting that I not reveal my ingenious, visionary business plan to the world at large (and, specifically, other participants in the market I wish to dominate), years and years and years before I’m ready to actually execute on that plan.

I suppose I can see the logic in that.

Still, I’m working on it. If you’re close enough to me to ask, I’ll be happy to get you all caught up to speed. In fact, I’ve got a business meeting scheduled with a business-savvy friend for Sunday afternoon, so I might even have something interesting to say if you ask me after then.

In the meantime, I’ll hang onto my domain name, and tease you all with snippets and rumors without ever providing any real context. Sorry, that’s how the game’s played when you’re busy changing the world for future generations.

On Unstressed Syllables

Oh, and then there’s this site. As I said at the top, we changed some things up this week.

Monday’s Technical Writing exercise (old format) asked you to imagine the e-Book you’d like to sell, and prepare the promotional descriptions for it. It’s a clever sort of prewriting, and one that has served me well.

Tuesday’s Technical Writing article (old format) served as an introduction to Google Docs, including a primer on its purpose and fancy step-by-step instructions for setting up your account.

On Wednesday, Courtney talked about Yann Martel and The Life of Pi, and got some pretty impressive Retweet action out of it. But she’ll never know, because she doesn’t have a Twitter account. Shame her for me in the comments, and maybe we’ll get that rectified. (Ooh, or ply her with cookies! That might work just as well.)

Thursday’s Creative Writing introduction (new format) highlighted my confusion as a child, when I thought I’d enjoy living life like an engineer, and I honestly believed it was reasonable to try riding a bike in cowboy boots. I probably even thought it was cool! I also briefly introduced the week’s Creative Writing topic: the career path of the professional storyteller.

Friday’s Creative Writing background and information (new format) delved deeply into the topic, examining the changing face of publishing, the machinery of the new market, and the relevance of traditional publishing houses.

Saturday’s Creative Writing application and assignment (new format) considered whether an aspiring writer should still try to land an agent and traditional publisher. The answer, of course, depends on the aspiring writer in question, but I’m preparing my own venture into self-publishing and I’m doing everything I can to make sure it’s a successful one.

That finishes off our week here, and gives you a good idea of the new model. Instead of a long article and a short exercise, I’d like to do a short introduction/story, a slightly-longer post providing background information on the topic, and then another short post drawing applications and providing a writing exercise where appropriate.

How did that work for you this week? Did it make sense? Did you lose track of the thread of the discussion, or was it easier to stay engaged with the shorter pieces? Let me know, or I’ll just keep messing with things.

Across the Web

I do have a few links I’d like to share with you this week. But first you should leave me a comment. Seriously. Then you can come back and travel away to fairer lands. I promise.

• From Writer’s Digest (via Facebook) – Some thoughts on writing advice (and writer’s groups, and the value of the workshop format).
• From Writer’s Digest (via Facebook) – Can traditional editors serve as the new gatekeepers? (I’m hoping that the answer is yes. In fact, I’m staking some big dreams on it. We’ll see.)
• Hmm. Google’s going to launch an e-Book store this summer, but maybe you already heard that.
• Oh, and I thought this was interesting — even with Apple’s big announcement about the massive first-month sales numbers, the publishing industry isn’t seeing nearly the digital sales it expected on iPads. That took me by surprise, because (from what I’ve seen of friends’), the device makes for an amazing e-Book reader.

And that’s the Week in Words.

Photo credit Julie V. Photography.