In six months my second novel, Panhandlers will be published. I’m really proud of this one. I was really proud of Native Moments, too, but I feel I’ve grown as a writer since then and I really look forward to sharing this new story with you. I’m looking for advanced readers that will share their review of it on their blogs or on Amazon and … Continue reading Advanced Readers needed for Panhandlers
When I found out I was going to Chicago for Book Expo America, the first thing I did was google “what do writers do at book expo america” and different variations of that. I didn’t find too much out there to tell new writers what to expect. I read a really good blog post called “Don’t Pay Money for BEA Book Promotion.” After attending, I agree … Continue reading First Time at Book Expo America
The short answer to this is because all the bad asses of the literary world have: Flannery O’ Conner, Joyce Carol Oates, Hemingway, Raymond Carver and the list goes on. But why ask this question? Because I like the short story. I like writing them and I like reading them, but the problem is that they don’t really sell. Sure, don’t write because you want … Continue reading Why write short stories?
Final edits of Native Moments are finished. Besides promoting the book, there is nothing else I can do with it. Now I turn my attention to my next project. I have a novella already finished and maybe twenty short stories. Was thinking of trying to get a collection of short stories published, but I don’t know how well short stories sell. I still think, if my … Continue reading What Next?
I’m reading the entire manuscript aloud in my garage. This is my last chance to get it right before I send it back to my publisher on Sunday to leave it forever unchanged. Here is a little excerpt, a couple sentences, that I would like to share. This is the first night that Sanch is sleeping in his tent in Costa Rica, only two months … Continue reading An Excerpt from Native Moments
Native Moments is with the final editor. This is the stage I’ve been dreading. This means it is over. All the hard work I’ve put into this leads up to this moment. No more changes. My worst fear is opening the book for the first time and seeing a mistake. Or if I ever decide to read it again, thinking I should’ve had a different ending. … Continue reading Final Edits
I finished the 150 pages of edit suggestions from editor #1. I agreed with about 99% of them. Amazing what I missed. I thought I knew every word of that manuscript. I left out words, misspelled words, misused words and had some jumbled sentences that she helped me clarify. On top of her suggestions, I had some really great and brutally honest feedback from a respected … Continue reading First Round of Edits are Finished.
I’ve been doing a lot of starting and stopping when it comes to reading lately. Can’t seem to get fully invested into a book the last few weeks. A buddy of mine has been telling for a while now that I must read Stoner (New York Review Books Classics) by John Williams. It arrived in the mail yesterday. I skipped the introduction because I felt it … Continue reading Stoner, Preorder Contest and The End
At some point, the satisfaction I felt from reading a well written story crossed over to wanting to be able to write a well written story. I wanted to learn the craft of storytelling to see if I could tell a compelling story, one that stuck with the readers after they finished it. I wrote a story that I thought would be fun to read. … Continue reading Overcoming self doubt and criticism
It’s a good feeling to see Native Moments rise in the ranks with the presale orders. Yesterday it climbed to #17 in the surfing category. Today is back down to #61. But it is staying at #2 so far on the Hottest New Releases list. Thank you to all who have already placed orders. Can’t wait until you actually get to read it. Eight months … Continue reading Amazon Rankings, BEA and Writing a Synopsis
Nic Schuck 