Storytellersunplugged

By Richard Steinberg This month's essay is dedicated with love and gratitude to Sgt. Bryan J. Tutten, 33, of St. Augustine, Fla., who died Dec. 25 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position.  He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, and also, to: Pfc. Brian L. Gorham, 21, of Woodburn, Ky., who died Dec. 31  of wounds suffered in Afghanistan when his vehicle encountered an improvised ... Read More

By Richard Steinberg “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself,” Ralph Waldo Emerson Our Bear In Mind is deep within the world right now, creating light and words.  And as the world is deeply in need of both light and words, it’s a pleasure to fill in for her today.  I’ll see you again on the 22nd. Abraham Pascal was a writer. True, he was never published.  He lived his ... Read More

--by Bev Vincent I’ve written about this subject before in On Writing Horror as part of an essay on marketing myths. However, I thought a real-life example might help drive a message home. Four years ago, I read a call for submissions for a royalty-only e-anthology. If there’s anything you should run from faster than a royalty-only anthology, it’s a royalty-only e-anthology. “Royalty only” means you don’t get paid up front for your story. You are promised a pro-rated percentage of a fraction (typically ... Read More

A friend sent me a very timely email today, in which he quotes the wise Tom Petty:“The waiting is the hardest part.”Tell me about it, brother. I’m a writer, not yet a professional one (by my standards anyway) but I keep trying. I devote about three hours a day to writing. The other twenty-one hours I spend waiting. My current worry stones include three novellas sent to three different publishers, all out about three months, two novels to one ... Read More