Author | Joseph L. Selby

Category: Uncategorized

  • Trading at $1,365.00 an ounce

    A good beta reader is worth his or her weight in gold. As of closing October 13, 2010, gold traded at $1,365 an ounce. An ounce is equal to 1/16 of a pound. (2.2 pounds equals 1 kilogram for you metric folks.) Assuming Elizabeth Poole weighs about 110 pounds (when she’s soaking wet maybe), that…

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  • Stuff Stolen from Other People

    Eric at Pimp My Novel retweeted this blog post that has a great quote: “An absolutely necessary part of a writer’s equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment the world hands out and the punishment he inflicts on himself.” – Irwin Shaw I’ll try to…

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  • Redux: There is No Such Thing as Writer’s Block

    Not quite sure why people are so much more willing to read blogger than live journal as one is just as easy as the other (other than displaying in reader, but we won’t get into an RSS feed discussion). Anyway, because it has reared its ugly head again, I feel inclined to repost one of…

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  • But this is what I do!

    I went to lunch across the street, diligently working on the revision of TTS (Otwald is about to meet Crown Princess Klara, which will require some serious scrubbing). The owner’s wife brings out my food and sees me tapping away on my laptop. “No more work,” she says. “It’s time to enjoy ourselves!” I smiled…

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  • A Ponderance: What do you think is back there?

    My good online friend and beta reader, LurkerWithout works nights at a hotel. Having held this job myself, I understand his psychological pain. To pass the time, he will occasionally doodle and share those doodles with the masses. (That’s you and me, in case you were wondering just who was amassed.) Today’s offering is worth…

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  • A Ponderance: How to Steal from the Greeks

    You may have noticed Nate Wilson appearing here and there in the comments section. He’s a good bean. He’s a bean you’d use in your award-winning chili. He has his own blog. If you have not read it, you should. The footnotes alone make it worthwhile. Recently, he posted an explanation of why the blog…

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  • Beware the AYFKM, My Son

    There are plenty of reasons a person may stop reading your book at the beginning: overwriting, underwriting, rehashed plots or story elements, a disconnection with the protagonist. I can’t even list the number of books I’ve picked up and put back down before the end of chapter 1 (it’s a long list). That’s the important…

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  • Frenetic

    I have stopped revising so I can read BLUE FIRE. I haven’t opened my computer since Monday evening. This isn’t too bad because I should finish the book by tomorrow. It’s not a long-term delay or anything. And reading a good book is a great way to recharge one’s batteries. Keep the juices flowing and…

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  • BLUE FIRE, Writing to Age, and the Agency Model for eBooks

     BLUE FIRE by Janice Hardy released today. Some how, I switched the 10 and the 5 and thought it wasn’t coming out until Friday even though new books come out on Tuesdays. I are dumb. So I get an email while riding the train into work saying the download is available. I turn on my…

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  • The Selby Invitational

    If you’ve browsed my website (and specifically the Inkwell), you will have noticed that I’ve done some work with D&D. I love me some role playing games. RPG play is highly regionalized. There is a reason D&D was born in Wisconsin. The epicenter of fanatical role-playing is the Midwest. Sure there are groups out here…

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