What Is Your Hesitancy? / Happenings In The Outhouse 27-June-2025

What is holding you back?

What is keeping you from doing what you want to do (or what you're supposed to do)?

What is holding you back from succeeding beyond your wildest dreams?

Is it time?  Money?  Other commitments?

Maybe what's holding you back is . . . you?

Now get out of your way and accomplish something!

Let's Talk About Money (again) / Happenings In The Outhouse 20-June-2025

Let's have a quick chat about money.  I've done it before, so let's revisit this topic again.

Not about how to make more or how to handle it, but . . . rather, how much to share.  Not sharing your money, but sharing with others how much you make.

I have mentioned this particular "entrepreneur" before, and it's worth noting this same one again.  Because this person seems to be doing it all wrong.  At least from a perspective customer (if I was one).  Do not . . . and I stress DO NOT . . . tell everyone how much you made.

"Oh, my, I made ten G's last month, yippee, motherf**kers!"

It's very unprofessional, and quite frankly, for those who also have businesses on the side, it's makes us shake our heads in bewilderment.  I had a talk with my wife the other day and I told her that I have NEVER told anyone how much I made on my writing.  NEVER.  Now, if she wants to know, I'll tell her in private.  But it's not anyone's business how much my business makes.

If it sounds like I'm on a soapbox, well I am.  Very irritating, to say the least.

Watch Your Audience / Happenings In The Outhouse 13-June-2025

It's important to know who your audience is.  If your marketing (how you are promoting yourself and/or your product--in my case, it would be my stories) has the potential to turn off your audience, I would highly suggest refraining from the type of promotion you're using and try a more positive tactic.

What do you mean, Mark?

I've been watching a young entrepreneur who is trying to find his way, to find out what he's good at and wants to do (and make a boatload of money at the same time despite it being unrealistic in what he desires).  The problem is his social media posts.  Tons of swearing, foul language.  If your audience isn't turned off by this type of language, by all means go for it.  But the audience that this person is trying to attract are homeowners, middle class people, hard-working people.  Starting a video with the line, "Hey, motherf---ers!" and "What's up, pu--ies!" would definitely turn me off.  I wouldn't comment.  I would just decide not to do business with that person.

Also, I strongly urge you to watch your political (or other hot topic) affiliations.  Yes, you may have an opinion about something, but at the same time you may be alienating 50% of your potential audience in a single post.  Trust me, I have completely unfollowed and not purchased any more books/products from a particular company/person based on a single post (okay, truth be told, it's a series of posts, but you get what I mean).

Watch what you put out there.  It's true that you have your opinions, but are your opinions aligned with your audience (or potential audience/customer)?

Next On The Stove / Happenings In The Outhouse 06-June-2025

So, with the publication of my latest novel--a cozy mystery, and the first in a series--one may ask: what's next?

I am putting the finishing touches on a short story to submit to the Writers of the Future contest, and then I will start writing another novel, starting another series.  It's a vigilante novel, with some characters you may already be familiar with.

But, for now, that's all I'm saying . . . 

New Cozy Mystery! / Happenings In The Outhouse 30-May-2025

 "Meet Kevin Stubbs.  When Kevin isn't flipping pancakes or burgers at Rose's Kitchen, he is patrolling the streets of small-town Charity, Minnesota. Juggling two demanding jobs can be difficult, but when a fire claims the lives of two prominent members of the tight knit community, the investigation leads him into places where he never dreamed of going."

This book, "Sunny Side Up With A Side of Bacon" is available in ebook format on Amazon as well as other ebook retailers.

This is the first is my Short Order Cop cozy mystery series.

Enjoy!!

Rule Five: Keep It Out On The Market Until Sold / Happenings In The Outhouse 23-May-2025

Rule five.  The last rule.

But is it, really?

Keep your story out, either making its rounds in the short story market or indie publish it.  It won't make any money sitting in a drawer or computer file.  No eyeballs will read it.  No one.  You never know which story will hit a reader the best and will drive them to read more of your stories.

Which brings me to what I like to call rule six . . . write something else.

Keep writing.

And have fun!

Rule Four: Put Story Out On The Market / Happenings In The Outhouse 16-May-2025

At the most basic levels, there are two paths to publication: traditional and self-publishing.

Traditional means to go through an agent or magazine publisher.

Self-publishing means to do it yourself.

For decades, I tried the traditional route by submitting to agents and contests and magazines.  When, I discovered self-publishing in 2011.  I researched the heck out of it until I decided to give it a go in April 2012.

And I have not looked back, except I still submit to contests and magazine publications.

The bottom line on this: get your story out there.  If it gets rejected, don't take it personally.  Put it out there again.  If you have completely exhausted all of the contests and magazines, then try the self-publish route.  But for crying out loud, no one is going to discover it if it's sitting either in a drawer or in a file folder on your hard drive.

Get the story out there.  Now!