Online reviews are EVERYTHING for the sale of indie books. I focused almost exclusively on reviews as a marketing strategy when my first novel, Saving Grace, was published. Three and a half years later, it has more reviews (2300+ with 4.3-stars) on Amazon than Janet Evanovich’s One for the Money (the book it’s most often […]
Tag: writing
Creating Drama, Without Being Overly Dramatic
Caveat: this may not be what you learned in your MFA program or from your writing instructor, but writing is about looking at a variety of methods and finding what fits your style. My approach is one to consider, and one that has worked for me in writing the romantic mysteries that enabled me to […]
Voices in My Head: Thoughts on Craft and Characters from Ken Oder
I hear voices. My characters talk to me – Billy, Eva, and Jolene in Old Wounds to the Heart, Nate and Christine in The Closing, and a host of characters you will never meet because they’re confined in the jail cells of my aborted novels. They all spoke to me. In their own voices. In Old Wounds, Eva Gitlow […]
Stealing Magic From the Sky: What Inspires Your Best Writing?
SkipJack congratulates Pamela Fagan Hutchins for winning the 2017 Silver Falchion for Best Adult Mystery with her heartfelt and suspenseful Fighting for Anna. We hope you enjoy this inspirational post from Pamela. Writers often get asked where they write and what inspires them. My answer has always been that I like to write outside. Pedantic, though true […]
Maximizing Author Revenue With Online Offerings
In the last year, SkipJack has broadened its scope to offer live webinars and online training. It took us about six months to put our first twenty classes together, fitting this new initiative into our normal operations. During that time of “soft launch”—other than investment of sweat equity/time—we’ve managed to break even on the project, leading […]
SkipJack’s Vision: Suspense Laced With Faith, Whatever That Faith May Be
Recently our author Pamela Fagan Hutchins received this e-mail: I enjoyed the books I read in this series (5,6,7) but was somewhat perplexed by some of the characters in the book, Emily’s character in particular. I was struggling with the concept of church going, prayers to God for direction, protection, etc. while still having a […]
Tis’ the Season to “Write Your Own Story”. Merry Christmas !
Merry Christmas from SkipJack Publishing. The following is a repost from Pamela Fagan Hutchins on putting yourself out there. It’s timely and really, it’s not just about writing; it’s abo ut living your best life. LOVE your life, every line of it. Write your own Story this holiday season. Practice makes perfect, get a […]
Revise or Die Trying: Tips and Techniques
Revising Your Drafts As Presented at Comicpalooza 2014, Houston, Texas Thoughts from Moderator Author Pamela Fagan Hutchins Draft v. Rewrite v. Revision v. Editing (Pamela’s working definitions) Draft: Your original work from once upon a time to the end. Rewrite: Your first draft was so bad that you have to redo major elements of […]
Fulfill Your Dream: Writing, Publishing, and Promotion
Fulfill Your Dream: Writing, Publishing, and Promotion INSTRUCTOR: PAMELA FAGAN HUTCHINS / DATE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1-4 PM WriteSpace Houston, Silver Street Studios #212, 2000A Edwards Street, Houston, Texas, 77007 You’ve dreamed of writing a book for a long time now. Maybe you’ve even started a draft, or written two or three drafts and come to the point […]
Open to ALL Writers: 2014 HWG Writing Contest