novel series – T.J. Manrique Author

Emotional Engagement

Hi, and welcome back. Last week, I ran a poll on Twitter to find out what authors thought about Emotional Engagement. The most surprising response was “What? I never heard of it.” I included that option trying for humor but turned out to be an honest to goodness answer. I’ll start by illustrating the concept.Continue reading “Emotional Engagement”

Writer’s legal issues, Part 4

The legal plight of authors A five-part series of NOT legal advice by somebody who is confused Part 4 BOOK PRICING AND ROYALTIES Hi and welcome back to my blog. If it’s your first time here, I hope you enjoy the post and consider visiting every week. If you’ve hung on this long, you knowContinue reading “Writer’s legal issues, Part 4”

Writer’s legal issues, part 3

The legal plight of authors A five-part series of NOT legal advice by somebody who is confused Part 3 BECOMING A PUBLISHER Hi and welcome back to my blog. If it’s your first time here, I hope you enjoy the post and consider visiting every week. As you know by now, this is the thirdContinue reading “Writer’s legal issues, part 3”

Writer’s legal issues, part 2

The legal plight of authors A five-part series of NOT legal advice by somebody who is confused Part 2 COPYRIGHT Hi and welcome back to my blog. If it’s your first time here, I hope you enjoy the post and consider visiting every week. As you can read above, this is the second installment ofContinue reading “Writer’s legal issues, part 2”

WORD COUNT

WORD COUNT. Like that, in all capital letters. It is a very important concept to grasp in our writing journey. There are several reasons for this. I’ll start by the least sexy of them. No, it does not have to do with the genre. It does not have to do with the cost of editingContinue reading “WORD COUNT”

Getting paid by word vs. by book

No, I’m not smoking any funny stuff. I don’t smoke anymore. Anything. I used to smoke pipe (tobacco) and cigars, but not anymore for health reasons. My wife would kill me if I did, so staying alive and in good health depends on not smoking. Anyway, here I’m talking about the difference between making moneyContinue reading “Getting paid by word vs. by book”

R.O.I. on paid advertisements

Full disclosure: It was December 2020, and I wrote this post. I programed it for March 12th, 2021, but of course it went live at once. So, if you saw it then, you are not crazy and I’m not lazy, it did go out and I had to reel it back in. Hope you enjoyContinue reading “R.O.I. on paid advertisements”

Writing vs. Typing

Hello. This is one of the proverbial “do what I say, not what I do” posts. Well, almost, not really. I’m just going to comment on what happened to me. It’s not a recommendation, it’s an observation. I type when I write my novels. I use my laptop. At the end of 2020, as withContinue reading “Writing vs. Typing”

What’s the big deal with first lines?

First lines. Every book has one. They have evolved. A lot. The changing tastes of the audience and the way people look at books have made them change with time. Of course, many people (and me) blame Twitter for some of this. People are now used to short bursts of information. Limited and, by definition,Continue reading “What’s the big deal with first lines?”

What happened to stand alone SciFi novels?

Why aren’t there any stand-alone SciFi novels anymore? Last year, the first week of December, I finished the book I was reading. It was an analysis of the U.S. Constitution. I wanted to find out… I’m just weird. Let’s leave it at that. I posted on my Twitter account asking for suggestions from the #WritingCommunity.Continue reading “What happened to stand alone SciFi novels?”