Ha! That’s a great review, being compared to Crime & Punishment – congrats!
That reviewer just made himself look stupid.

Henry, I like what you’re saying here about Konrath’s limited point of view; it matches my experience as an author of the least commercial type of book anywhere: literary short stories. But I’d like you to say more about the source of your optimism. Why do you think “the time will come” for literary fiction’s [...]

Right on, Mark!

Eric, thank you — this is the most important message for self-publishers right now. Even the need for “great writing” is secondary to the need for editing because writing quality is so subjective. The level of professionalism you’re asking for should be the bottom line — absolutely expected. So that’s the unfortunate side to tossing [...]

Eric, I appreciate your suggestion of a philosophical shift based on a bedrock truth that lies deep under all this surface TP/SP business: That to which you give your attention will grow. You’re creating your own reality every day. Let “them” do what they will; give your attention to your own path. This is the [...]

I’ve always hated Keillor’s condescending nostalgic folksy crap.

Brent Robison commented on the blog post The Pain of Promotion

This is precisely why it took me over a year to decide to self-publish — I wanted a 3rd party to make those claims (it’s a good book, honest!) so I wouldn’t feel like a huckster. But then the pain of the submission/rejection treadmill peaked: I got a publishing contract from a small press [...]

  1 year, 10 months ago · View

Brent Robison commented on the blog post Happy Read an E-Book Week

My collection of stories, The Principle of Ultimate Indivisibility, is on Smashwords, set your own price: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/6992

  1 year, 11 months ago · View

Brent Robison commented on the blog post Publishing as a Business Decision

Rather than “business” or “emotional,” I prefer to call the decision “philosophical.” One personal philosophy at work here is that artistic ownership and integrity are more important than sales numbers. I don’t want an agent or even a commercial-minded editor turning my stories into something I never intended.
Another philosophy is that, for me, [...]

  2 years, 1 month ago · View

Brent Robison commented on the blog post Deconstructing Bembo: Typographic Beauty and Bloody Murder

Lovely essay about obscure stuff, just what I like! I set my book in Garamond except for story titles; I’m glad to be introduced to its ancestor. All the richness of typography and design that is lost in the current e-book world is one of the reasons I procrastinated putting my book on [...]

  2 years, 1 month ago · View