David Mark Brown - Page 50 of 193

Easter Week: Gift of Self-tiredness

March 30, 2012April 2, 2012 by David Mark Brown

Johnny Bravo It’s long been my seasonal tradition to grow tired of myself in spring. Part of the timing has to do with the campus calendar on which I lived for 17 straight years. As a campus pastor April and May brought a dizzying blur of activity followed by a trough of self-examination.

This spring-cleaning of the self also loosely lines up with that rustic, old church calendar. You see, lent works as a sort of discipline overdose driving one into the realization that all this self-effort is a total waste of time. I realize this isn’t what the time of sacrifice is supposed to be, but hey, Christmas isn’t supposed to be about annual gift man either.

Anywho, by the time I get to Easter week I’m usually pretty dang tired of myself. Due to the fact I’m an ego-maniac for the rest of the year, I consider this a gift.

Evolution of an Indie: Competitoring

March 21, 2012March 29, 2012 by David Mark Brown

Evolution of an Indie Entering my third year as an indie, it is my responsibility to impart sage wisdom to the world. (Don’t blink, or you might miss it.) See the series introduction post for more on my saga. But for now, lesson #3 for 2012:

You are not competing with other indies. You are competing with the big six.

Here is another mantra for you as you work. Repeat it, live it, remember it. Launching an indie career in the current Wild West of publishing is a double-edged sword.

The pluses include speed and flexibility of product to market. The distance and intermediaries between reader and writer are greatly reduced. So, as an indie novelist I can not only squirt out a new baby every four months (from outline to Kindle), but I can also incorporate reader feedback and adapt on the fly (sometimes as quickly as 24 hours).