Tis the holiday season, when the days grow shorter and many of us are compelled to curl up under a heavy blanket and sleep until mid-January when the light returns. I blame Darwin. Through a bizarre and serendipitous series of events, I’ll be starting a new day job next week (yes, yes, I still have …
It’s easy to be hard on myself here at the end of 2020. I confidently predicted I’d have another book finished well ahead of my deadline in September. I resolved to spend more time building up the Patreon so I could begin to plan for another attempt at full time writing in the next couple …
I am exceptionally proud and humbled that The Light Brigade made the Hugo shortlist! 2019 was an amazing year for books. I know it must have been difficult for voters to narrow down their list of favorites. I couldn’t keep up with everything I wanted to read (it’s been a rough timeline!). I do want …
The Light Brigade is a Hugo Finalist! Thank You! Read More »
The GET TO WORK HURLEY podcast is a monthly rant about the hustle of making a living as a writer of All of the Things. You can support this podcast each month as a Patron or make a one-time donation. EPISODE THIRTEEN In this episode we discuss how to take notes, long-term career planning, and why it is books seem to get …
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A recent conversation on Twitter inspired a tweet storm from me at like 2 am. One author asked other writers what was the one piece of advice they would give to debut novelists. The responses were interesting and mostly upbeat, except when they… weren’t. You could pretty much guess how somebody’s first novel experience went …
Why Do So Many Artists Suck at Business? Because Businesses Like It That Way Read More »
Despite a lot of deliberate work, I’m running behind on writing THE LIGHT BRIGADE. Much of this, I’ve found, has been me second-guessing myself about… well, everything. Much of this is simply a mental block, I know. My self-esteem took a hit with BROKEN HEAVENS. I don’t want to turn in another partial/very rough draft. …
Once More Into the Breach: We Ride, We Ride, We Ride Read More »
In my continuing series related to what I actually make writing fiction every year (see 2016 here, 2014 here, 2012 here, and I know there are more, but can’t find them). Book payments, royalties, foreign sales, film 16000 Self pub royalties 167 Short story reprint sales 1750 Patreon 29179 TOTAL $47,096 Here’s what that looks …
For over a year now, I haven’t wanted to feel anything. Not joy. Not sorrow. Just… nothing. I wanted to feel nothing. Certainly, there’s an element of depression, there. My doctor kept upping my meds. They would work for awhile, and then I’d just sink into the Nothing again. I didn’t feel depressed, because I …
When I was a wide-eyed baby author, I scoffed at what was known in the business as “the bitter midlister.” The bitter midlister was an established author who had written three or more books but who either wasn’t making a living as a writer, or wasn’t making a very good living, or had seen some …
I’ve been working on getting better at building good habits and cultivating greater discipline. It’s been far too easy to fall into lazy habits recently. While my doctor did up some meds, and that will surely help me stay on task, I’ve realized that my lack of purposeful habit has a lot to do with …