Posts by George Beckman

Baez sang, “Here I sit, hand on the telephone.” That is my case, exactly—Ruth is in surgery. Last year I published Members of the Cast. This year I am sitting…

Candidates running for office have campaign managers. I have no idea what campaign managers do other than managing a campaign, but I think I want one. (joke) After enjoying very…

I am plagued with the ability to recognize problems I cannot fix. I tune pianos and tune the fuel injection on our vintage motorhome. I am “pretty good” at both.…

George Simon created a car wax at the turn of the Twentieth century. They named the wax Simoniz, and it became a new word like Kleenex. I like my cars…

When writing a book opening, the author has precious little time to catch the reader or agent’s eye. Economy is part of creating a successful opening. Enter Raven Hair I…

The Amazon Books’ blurb is the author’s lure to attract readers. If a reader is drawn to “Look Inside,” and the opening is dynamite, it may set the hook, and…

There is always something to be learned about self-publishing on Kindle Direct Publishing. I am publishing a chapbook of poetry that has been languishing for years. The booklet is not…

The #WritingCommunity on Twitter is wonderful. I find support and good wishes flowing all the time. I try to recognize my #writer friends on Twitter. We are part of a…

I yap on and on about getting that opening right. If you don’t follow my chatty blogs, you might want to look at Opening Pages and Fifty Words. Opening Pages…

If you are not interested in the Expansion-Compression theory of vacations and related new findings, don’t read this. Everyone knows that a short week is always longer than a regular…

Writing a historical novel requires research. Writing Members of the Cast taught me a great deal about the clothing and music of the 1950s. Being in grammar school during those…

When revising, I make multiple passes through my manuscript. In my editing, I find sentences that make me uncomfortable. This is not a grammar issue but one of meaning and…

I’m vain. There, I’ve said it. I’m vain—even in my writing. My vanity hates to hear me admit I am vain. My vanity is not so much about looks, although…

Agent Jennifer March Soloway (@marchsoloway) retweeted Tammi Sauer’s (@SauerTammi) tweet: When it comes to pbs, if you don’t hook an agent, editor, or reader by word 50, chances are you…

Jennifer Laughran, a literary agent (@literaticat on Twitter), posted: If you are an author who is scrambling madly to query / get a ms out on sub "before the end…