The last few weeks I’ve been obsessed about e-pub vs. print and self publish vs. traditional houses. Over at Bark I blogged about how I learned that the term “self-published” is too filled with negativity, so the hip new term is “indie author.” I also wrote about how a writer friend emailed me Jim C. Hall’s very funny cartoon to get me to shut up about the whole thing. Well, I’m happy to report that I’m not longer obsessing. The Rose City Spring Intensive has renewed my enthusiasm for writing, given me new hope about getting published, and shown me—yet …

My last blog was ages and ages ago, sorry about that. Work took up all time last quarter because I decided to teach an overload—bad decision—of a class I’d never taught before. Then Christmas came, then my computer crashed, and the normal cycle of life happened where writing seems to take a backseat. The good news is I’m still writing and meeting with my critique group; the bad news is I still don’t have a book deal. Or is that actually bad news? I have a few writer friends who are very successful and have been churning out at least …

I’m at another conference this weekend. My second visit to the Emerald City Writers Conference (ECWC) is turning out to be even more fun than when I first visited it two years ago. Tomorrow I’m pitching to two editors and two agents and tonight I’ve fine tuned my pitch until the wee hours of the morning. Here’s my final version. Would you read this book? Twenty-six year old freelance forensic artist Molly Nyland doesn’t want anybody to know that the reason she draws such great composite sketches is because she can tell when what people say doesn’t match what they …

We so often put writing last on our priority list. We feel guilty for “stealing” writing time from our day job, our family, and our friends. Taking the time and the money to go to a writing conference seems selfish. After all, we can learn writing techniques and marketing tips from books and blogs, so why spend the money? Isn’t the time you’d spend at the conference better spent on writing? Sure, you can spend that time on you writing; slogging away at the keyword, pulling the prose out of your soul while you worry about all the other things on …

This amazing directory of book people who Twitter came through on one of my mailing list, so I have to share it. (Plus, by posting here I’ll always know where to find it.) Highspot Inc. posted A Directory of Book Trade People on Twitter back in 2008, but keeps the list current. The names are sorted into these categories: Book Publishers – Company Accounts | Book Publishers – Individual Accounts | Literary Agents | Bookstores & Booksellers – United States | Bookstores & Booksellers – Canada | Bookstores & Booksellers – Europe & Australia | Bookstores & Booksellers – Online …

There has been loads of time during my first week here that could be used for writing, but the same thing that always happens when I visit happened again. Spending my days speaking Swedish means I can’t put English worth a crap on the page. My sentences are all wrong. I reverse the noun-verb order and can’t find a synonym to save my soul. My sentence structure becomes super simple and my work read like a first graders’ “What I did this Summer” essay. This visit, I have writing deadlines for paying gigs. So to keep my brain in English …

Frank Zafiro is the author of the River City crime novels and also writes mainstream fiction under the name Frank Scalise, which is his actual name. Born and raised in Spokane, he joined the U.S. Army after high school graduation and served in Military Intelligence. He’s been a Spokane police officer since 1993 and has served as patrol officer, corporal, detective, sergeant and lieutenant. His current title is captain. Zafiro has written seriously since he was thirteen, starting out with short stories and poetry. Last week I reviewed his River City series for Bark. If you didn’t read that post, …

(Also posted on Bark) It’s summer, I don’t have to go back to full time teaching until the fall and in between the projects on my to do list for this time off (garden work that will never happen, filling out the paperwork for becoming an American citizen, brushing the dog, planning for lessons, watching bad TV) I thought I would do some writing. However, my motivation to put words on paper plummeted to the lowest low when Monday’s mail brought  two rejection letters. Scott, Shira, and Sam have already “barked” on the subject and I don’t have anything to …