Boudica, I agree with you on the usefulness of OneNote. I just recently got a smartphone and am learning how to use OneNote on it and Microsoft Skydrive to sync my files while I’m away from the computer, which […]

David, I enjoyed reading your post. I’ve never used Microsoft OneNote, but I probably should and will. I’m one of those persons who revises and edits at great length. I know all of my characters — how they look […]

Brendan, I think you’re right. This is a process that readers will figure out. As a reader perusing reviews, I don’t pay much attention to the one-sentence reviews: “Best book I’ve ever read!” “Utter trash from […]

I’m not at all surprised someone would suggest authors should create fake profiles and write 5-star “reader” reviews of their own books — since so many authors are already doing it. Can anybody explain why Amazon […]

I go with the patience. I’d also refuse to change my first books enough to cause their almost universally favorable reviews — and in some cases, superlative — to be “lost to the ether,” a decision not bordering […]

Thanks, Lianne. I’ve deliberately chosen simplicity for my covers, and GIMP is perfect — and free!

As they say, Arturo, you are entitled to your opinion. (I don’t see how the joke applies, but maybe that’s just me.) I’ve paid for and received detailed and intelligently written reviews of my two books that […]

Rape and sex with children are crucial issues that need to be discussed in any civilized society. I, like Henry, though, find rape and sex with children, when used to titillate, totally disgusting, and I don’t […]

You said it, Henry: “It’s just hard to sell books.” Despite that “Trough of Disillusionment,” though, this independent author isn’t giving up.

James, I’m surprised Amazon hasn’t offered to hire you or pay you for consulting. You seem to know their business better than they do. I agree with your remarks on “self-entered” (or “reader”) and professional (or […]

Henry, I hope you’ve got the problem solved. It seemed as if something was wrong with the site. I’m sorry you had to go to so much trouble fixing it.

I can’t add anything to this discussion, but I do want the contributors to it to know how much I appreciate their sharing their knowledge of these matters with someone who very much needs it.

That was amusing. Nice scream.

Let me add: the idea needs to be nothing more than a well-written sentence.

I agree, Boudica, the problem is “re-reading someone’s work to try to make sense of it….” It isn’t the minor issues like “it’s” for “its,” or even “that” for “who,” when the very core of myself as a human being tells me only “who” will do. If I can easily understand what the writer is [...]

Boudica, you have taken the words out of my mouth. And nowadays when we say them, someone will inevitably accuse us of pedantry. But it’s a matter of not wanting to confuse the person who is most important to a writer: the reader. As a reader, I intensely dislike having to go through a sentence [...]

E. Marx, I hope they at least returned your money!

Me, too.