The Seinfeld Method
Happy New Year to you all. I know it’s been some time since I blogged. Partly it has been the dreaded deadline doom as I finished The Fall of Macharius. Partly it has been the curse of Nurgle as yet more of his winter plagues have racked my aching body. And partly, of course, it has been pure laziness on my part. Like everybody else I made some resolutions for the New Year. I have even found a way of helping myself keep them. I am using what is commonly known as the Seinfeld method. It is associated with Jerry Read more…
The Pomodoro Technique
Over the years I’ve tried many different productivity systems—I am a sucker for them just as I’m a sucker for any piece of software that promises to increase the number of words I get done daily. Recently I have been experimenting with the Pomodoro Technique. This was originally developed by Francisco Cirillo back in the 1980’s and is essentially very simple. The basic idea behind the method is that you productivity increases if you include small breaks between your work sessions. These should be interspersed with longer breaks whenever you have done a certain number of sessions. The basic unit Read more…
Procrastination Cascades
If you’re anything like me you can always find an excuse not to sit down and write. And even when you start, you can probably find ways of stopping yourself. This has become particularly evident to me over the past few days. I normally use a program called Freedom 2 to cut myself off from the Internet for fixed periods of time. The internet is the ultimate tool for self-distraction and by cutting myself off from it and forcing myself to sit down at the computer I can usually pretty much guarantee I will get some writing done. I usually set Read more…
Upcoming Appearances And Other News
It’s going to be a busy old time for me on the travel front by the looks of things. I’ll be at Gamesday on Sunday 29th September, and hopefully will have a copy of Bane of Malekith to wave proudly at people. Next up is the Black Library Weekender 2nd and 3rd November at the Belfry in Nottingham. The last one was a total blast. Hopefully there will be no re-run of the Karaz fiasco this year and Gav and I’s multi-generational dwarf epic will finally get the respect it deserves. Because one convention in a week is simply not Read more…
Workflow 2013
I’m currently working on The Fall of Macharius and, since I am right in the middle of a new novel, now seems like a good time to talk about the tools I use and my workflow. It’s on my mind and a nice easy subject to write a blog post about and, hey, I’m all about taking the easy way out whenever possible. I am constantly trying to optimise my use of time. I’ve streamlined my working process a little since the last time I discussed it so here are my current methods. I still use Evernote to gather ideas, information, Read more…
Indie Publishing a Print Book
So, how much does it cost to independently produce the print version of a book these days? Well, Stealer of Flesh (currently available from Amazon, the Book Depository and any bookstore where you care to place an order ISBN: 978-1483969541) cost me somewhere under $125. To those of you who, like me, grew up in the world of Quark Xpress, offset printing and warehouse distribution, that number is probably jaw-dropping. Welcome to the new world of Print On Demand (POD) publishing. Let’s take a look out how the figures break down. I used CreateSpace, Amazon’s print on demand subsidiary for the Read more…
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