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Research and Development

Research and Development

How does DIY publishing pay for research and development? This is the question posed by Porter Anderson over on Jane Friedman's blog this week, and I find it fascinating on many levels. The general idea of the article - and I do recommend reading it all - can be...

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The Business and the Art

The Business and the Art

I think we all know that there's two halves to making a living as an author: the business and the art. The art, of course, is the basic skill of writing; the forging of narrative out of raw inspiration, which takes years of practice to truly master. The business,...

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The Nature of a New Medium

Something quite interesting popped up on my Twitter feed today - an article from Writer Unboxed on the recent brouhaha over some Things That Were Said by a contingent of professionals connected to the traditional publishing industry. The full summary there is quite...

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What Makes a Good Blurb?

What Makes a Good Blurb?

Strange but true: it's entirely possible for an author to write a fantastic book, but when it comes to the blurb, something goes very wrong and they can't quite make it pop like it should. Is this a defect? A quirk of the art? No, something far more simple - creative...

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Indie Authors and the Problem of Piracy

Indie Authors and the Problem of Piracy

In mainstream publishing, there is a definite worry that piracy is looming problem that must be guarded against and ultimately defeated. They fear the so-called 'Napster-ization' of their industry, similar to what happened to the music industry and the movie industry...

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