Changes In The Last Quarter Of 2026 / Happenings In The Outhouse 18-Sept-2026

I am looking ahead to 2027.

Really, Mark?  2027?

Yes, really.

In doing so, I need to set myself up for success.  This quarter, my main goal was to write and publish two full-length novels.  One is done and the other is so close, it will be by next week.

Although I will not share what I have in store for the last three months of 2026 to lead into 2027, rest assured that it'll be good.  I will still be publishing stories in the last three months of 2026, but I will not have a major challenge like I did for this quarter.  I do have a story in mind to write.

Stay tuned.  It's going to be a fun ride!

What Have You Stopped Doing? / Happenings In The Outhouse 21-Aug-2026

A number of weeks ago, I stopped doing something.  I stopped doing something that I had been doing for a few years now.  Hours upon hours of time devoted to it.

What is it?

A game.  On my phone.

At first, it didn't take up that much of my time.  A little bit here and a little bit there.  But over time it started to consume more and more time . . . 

I've joked to my kids that I would be uninstalling the game app from my phone.  None thought I was serious.

Until one day . . . I had enough.  It started getting glitchy.  So I thought to myself, "What if I just uninstall this now?  What would I be better off doing anyway?"

The answer to the second question is easy: writing.

I did it.

I stopped doing it.  Stopped playing it.

Now I am spending more time devoted to other endeavors, including writing. 

Always Keep Learning / Happenings In The Outhouse 14-Nov-2025

No matter your age and experience, it is always important to keep learning.

I listened to a training video by bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith who has been in the publishing business for over 50 years.  Yes, five decades!  One of the points he made in the video (well, truth be told, he makes many great points but I'll limit to just one right here) is to keep learning.  Always.  So many authors came onto the self-publishing scene 5, 10, 15 years ago, and . . . where are they now?  They stopped learning.

Even many traditionally published authors seemed to have vanished.  Not all, but many who were considered the greatest at the time, have now gone bye bye.

Why?

I can only speculate, but it's possible that they also stopped learning.  They stopped reading and expanding their knowledge.

I learn more with each and every story that I write, no matter if it's a short story or a large novel.  There is so much to learn that I yearn to stretch myself even further.

What are you doing to expand your knowledge?

What are you practicing on to get better and better?

Busy Vs. Productive / Happenings In The Outhouse 10-Oct-2025

"I'm busy!"

"Boy, am I productive!"

Both of these words seem to be used interchangeably, but truly mean something completely different.  Let me give you an example: you want to clean out the garage before winter.  Okay, seems reasonable.  You have a general timeframe, and you know what the task looks like.  To prepare for it, you want to line up a dumpster and have a plan for disposal of the larger items (i.e. city dump, etc.).  Busy in this sense may be knowing who to call for the dumpster.  Productive is actually making the call.  Now that the dumpster is there, you go out on a Saturday morning and start cleaning it out.  Productive.  If you let the dumpster sit in your driveway for weeks on end without filling it up but are planning on doing it soon, that would be the busy department.

Get the picture?

Let's take the creative types out there.  Because this is something I'm familiar with, let's take writers.  Writers are, by and large, finicky.  We let the little things bother us or bog us down so that our creative juices don't flow like we want.  We wait for just the right moment, just the right amount of creative fairy dust to land on our brains and fingers, and in just the right place before we even begin to write.

If you, as a writer, read all kinds of books on writing but never put pen to page, or type any words onto either a virtual or physical page, you are just acting busy.  Not productive.  You need to get words down.  Any amount will do.  And then . . . finish.

Set a goal.

Do it consistently.

Produce something.

Lessons Learned From William Kent Krueger / Happenings In The Outhouse 15-Aug-2025

A few weekends ago, I had the exciting opportunity to meet the New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger. 

Mr. Krueger had a writer's workshop just before his author's talk, and I even had a chance to chat with him one-on-one for a few minutes afterwards.

There were about a dozen aspiring writers he spoke with at the workshop.  He was very patient, offered great insight into his own writing as well as the publishing business, and took the time to learn where everyone was in their writing journey.

Here are the few lessons he taught us during the workshop:

1) Write every single day.  7 days a week.  Make writing a habit.  If it's something you love to do, this shouldn't be a problem.

2) Every writer's path is different.  Unique.  Just because something worked for one writer, doesn't mean it will work for you.

3) Don't let being a bestseller be your ultimate goal.  Yes, it's good to have a goal, and to push yourself toward it.  But there is a lot to achieving that title, and may not be as glamorous as one may think.

4) Being an indie author is an acceptable path to publication.  The traditional path may be the most difficult path to get published, depending on your ultimate goal.  Do not dismiss it.

During his author talk, he promoted his latest book in the Cork O'Connor mystery series.  Check it out below:

Link to Apostle's Cove on his author's website

Realistic View Of Business / Happenings In The Outhouse 01-Aug-2025

A few days ago, someone on social media (this person calls himself a "6-fig entrepreneur" which means this "entrepreneur" states he makes over $100K a year which is a flat out lie for a variety of reasons) posted this photo below, along with a statement about everyone getting comfortable doing what's easy, rather than what is difficult, and how he has achieved so much:

First, I want to point out how incredibly inaccurate this photo is when compared to reality.  No job, unless you are salaried (and this is for a single year, not over the course of a decade or more), stays completely 100% stagnant month after month.  And even then, there are increases (and other incentives) over the years and decades.  Also, for $2500 a month comes out to $625 a week (given a 4-week month).  Divide that by 40 hours is $15.62 or so an hour.  And so many jobs now offer that as a minimum wage.  Minimum!  When I was in high school, I made a fraction of that an hour for my grocery store job.  And if you wanted to make more money, apply toward a higher paying position or job.  You may have to work two or three jobs to provide for yourself and your family too, or even have a side hustle to bring in some money.  But the top line is highly inaccurate and should be angling upward and to the right.

Second, the bottom half of the photo is equally as inaccurate, if not more.  No business can sustain a growth trajectory of "up and to the right" all the time.  All business goes in cycles, even small businesses.  I work for a multi-billion-dollar company and its sales growth looks like a roller coaster over the months, years, and decades.

I hire a gentleman to mow my lawn.  That is his business.  A side hustle turn full-time gig.  He used to work a full-time job years ago and mowed lawns on the side, but the growth in his business over the years has earned him the freedom to do it full-time.  I can only speculate, but if one was to review his financials and chart it on a graph, he has a HUGE spike in the summer months for cash flow and a much less one during the rest of the year.  Now, this guy also has other side gigs in his business, from snow removal to vehicle detailing, to keep cash flowing during the "off" season, but the bulk of his business is during the summer when he mows lawns.

I am all for thinking positively and motivating yourself to better your life.  Why do you think I get up at the butt crack of dawn and write EVERY SINGLE DAY?  If you were to chart the cash flow for my writing business, it goes in cycles, much like a roller coaster too.  But I'm not going to lie, to call myself a "6-fig author" just to try impress others who don't give a rip about me.  Who am I trying to prove?  No one.  Also, I'm not going to boast about how much money I'm making.  Seriously, it's none of your goddamned business.

When it comes to business and money, keep it to yourself.  Seriously.  Keep.  It.  To.  Yourself.  Celebrate the wins quietly and, if you have to, only with your very closest loved ones.  Again, only if you have to.  Most of the time, I do not.  Whatever you do, don't boast online about what HUGE business you're doing when it's a complete lie.

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!

Rule Three: Do Not Rewrite / Happenings In The Outhouse 09-May-2025

For Heinlein, the entire rule states: "Do not rewrite except to editorial order."

When I first encountered this rule, I didn't quite know what it meant.  So I dug deeper.

When we first write, we're using our creative voice.  It's raw.  It's got edges.  It's unique.  As we rewrite and rewrite, we're polishing our unique piece of work until something that's . . . frankly, dull and boring.  The creativity is lost.

Now, it's okay to fix typos and errors in the story.

But that's all.

What author Dean Wesley Smith taught me was to cycle.  Cycling works like this: write a set amount of words (300-500 or so) and then circle back to where you started, fixing what needs fixing on a typo level or adding details, and then moving another 300-500 words past where you stopped before.  Once you are done with your story, you have kept much of your creative voice in it.

Again, that's all.

Rules For A Reason / Happenings In The Outhouse 21-March-2025

Everyone loves rules, right?

Oh, you don't?

Well, you're gonna like these.

Or are you . . . ?

In 1964, science fiction author Robert Heinlein wrote an essay in a collection titled Of Worlds Beyond.  At the very end of the essay, almost as an afterthought, he stated his five basic rules of writing.  Keep in mind, he was talking about fiction, and speculative fiction to boot, but this can be used for all writing.

These simple rules are:

1) Write

2) Finish what you're writing

3) Do not rewrite except to editorial review

4) Put your story out on the market

5) Keep it on the market until it's sold

Sounds simple, right?  Not so fast, Sparky.  When you peel back the onion, you'd be amazed at how many people can't do even the most simple of these rules.

In the upcoming weeks, I will dive deeper into each of these rules, how they shaped my own life, and how you can use them to shape your future.

Also, you may think this is only for writers.  Wrong!  These rules can be put in place for any hobby that you want to take to the next level.

Questions / Happenings In The Outhouse 25-Oct-2024

"How's the book coming along?" someone is bound to ask me.  At any time.

My reply is usually, "Which one?"

"Oh," they will respond back, "you have more than one?"

*sigh*

Although it has been a while since publishing my last novel (July 2023), I still write every single day.  My focus this year has been compiling short stories, learning more of the writing craft, and submitting these short stories for publication.

I still have over 30 published works.

Now, when I look to 2025, my focus may change once again and you may see more published works.  I'll still do short stories and work at publication that way, but you may see other novels being published too.

Just Finish It / Happenings In The Outhouse 13-Sept-2024

I started a short story based on a "what if" scenario a few months back.  I went only so far, then moved on when I felt stuck on where it should go.

But now it fits in with a possible publication submission that is due the end of the month, so I have been working at it.  In other words, I need to just finish it.

So many of us start projects that we don't finish.  There might've been a good reason to start it, but depending on the circumstances, we quit.  I urge you to finish those projects.  Get them out into the world.

Because this is the end of the quarter, I have not only one short story to do, but two.  The other is for another submission to Writers of the Future.

12,000 Books And Counting / Happenings In The Outhouse 09-Aug-2024

I have well over 12,000 books on my Kindle.

Will I get a chance to read them all?  Not a chance.

I recently went through all of them, downloaded the ones that I want to read, and then categorized them given their topic.  I have whittled that list down to roughly 1,500 to read.  Yes, that is still quite a "to read" pile.

Now is the task of going through each book that interests me, and reading it.

Sometimes, tasks that seem daunting at first can be looked at from a different perspective.  The task may still be daunting, but not quite as much.

Best Time To Prepare / Happenings In The Outhouse 26-July-2024

There is an adage that says (I'm paraphrasing here): when is the best time to prepare?  Let's take retirement saving for example or career advancement.  Answer: five years ago (or some time in the distant past).  When is the second best time?  Today.

Obviously, no one has a time machine to go back, to give yourself financial or career advice years ago, knowing how it all ends up.  But preparing for whatever change is taking place, the best time is now.  Not tomorrow.  Not next week or month or year.  Now.

If you do not, then you'll look back five years from now and wish that you had done something different.

How is the world changing?  What can you do to study now that will pay dividends down the road?

Pay Attention To What You Are Learning / Happenings In The Outhouse 12-July-2024

Pay close attention to what you are learning.

I had a meeting with one of my colleagues and they were asking what they should be doing to prepare for an upcoming leadership role.

This is an interesting question, and can be applied to many jobs or learnings as there is a multitude of information out there.  Take leadership for a moment.  There are a ton of books, and they run the gambit from dreadful to spectacular.  Okay, so how do you know?  You don't.  And here's the caveat: what one finds no value in, others do.

I have read a lot about time management over the years, and there are good ideas and there . . . well, mediocre ones at best.  But what one finds that works, others do not.  And vice versa.

It's easy to get caught up in the soaking up of knowledge.  In the end, the best way is to actually do the job.  Take writing.  The best way I have found is to sit down and write.  Read too, but also write.

Control Your Calendar / Happenings In The Outhouse 10-May-2024

It is important to get control of your calendar.

Everyone is getting pulled in different directions, and with the advent of technology it seems like our time and attention is getting pulled even more.

It pays dividends to focus on one item at a time without distractions.  If you're doing your taxes, I wouldn't suggest watching a movie at the same time as well as washing dishes and playing your meals for the next week.  Even if you do one thing for an hour and take a small break, that's fine as long as you're doing just one thing at a time.

Also, multi-tasking and doing it well is a myth.  Trust me, there is research to back it up.  I won't link to any studies here.  If you don't believe me, look for yourself.

Learn what is important to you and put those things on your calendar.  Because if you don't control your time, someone else will.

Organizing Stories / Happenings In The Outhouse 15-March-2024

I have kept a spreadsheet of all my writing--from finished and published stories to works in progress--for a long time.  It's interesting to see this list grow over these past number of years.

But I have been running into an issue lately that I may need to revamp it.  It's a good problem to have, truth be told.  With close to 60 stories to keep track of, I need to rethink how I have them organized.  Specifically, the short stories that I am submitting for publication or contests.

How you organize your stories is up to you.  But I stress that you at least keep track of them, even if all of them are self-published.  Whether you go physically writing them down to organizing them electronically (or both) is what you feel most comfortable with.

As a side note: I will NOT share how I'm organizing because it's unnecessary and it may not work for you.  So please do not ask.

The Time For Your Craft / Happenings In The Outhouse 12-Jan-2024

I set my alarm at 6am every morning.  Well, not on the weekends, but during the week I do.

But I still write, no matter the day of the week.

We all feel like we're running a rat race these days, not knowing which way is up.  But if you are serious about your craft--whatever that craft is; in my case it's writing so that's what I'll use--you will make the time for it.  Even if you don't feel like it, carve out the time.  Even a few minutes here and there is good, although if you're serious, you'll want to set aside the time.

Podcast Fast To The Next Level / Happenings In The Outhouse 25-Aug-2023

I have noted on this blog that I have trimmed down my podcast feed from time to time.  Well, now it's time to do so again.

This time, however, I need to take it to the next level.

In my individual podcast episode feed, there are over 500 episodes from a variety of podcasts.  About 45 or so podcasts, while there may be another 10 that I will pull individual podcasts out of, depending on the subject matter or who is being interviewed.  And one podcast has over 200 saved episodes that I just haven't gotten around to listening to.

What's important to me?

Although the subject matter may be important to me, the growing list of podcasts allows me to do one thing that erodes my time: procrastination.  Yup, the dreaded P word.  Many people do not ever realize their dream because of procrastination.

As of this posting, I have whittled the podcasts down to the low-20's.

I'm still waiting to pull the trigger on the one with over 200.  Do I go back and remove the oldest episodes?  Or remove it altogether?

Time will tell . . . 

If You Schedule It, It Will Get Done / Happenings In The Outhouse 04-Aug-2023

Be intentional.

If you mean to do something, put it on the calendar.  For myself, it works wonders if I schedule something on my calendar.  It feels more permanent.

In a way, it's like the old adage from Field of Dreams: "If you build it, he will come."  If you schedule it, it'll get done.

Or, at least, the chances of it getting done are much higher.

It's always better to be intentional than not.

It's Okay To Reset On Stalled Project / Happenings In The Outhouse 20-Jan-2023

I'm not saying my current work-in-progress is stalled completely, but I'm at a point where I'm not clear as t the direction of the story.

All I need is time to think.

I've had a few things going on in the past week that has stalled this project a bit, but not completely.  My mind is still working, sorting out details and asking questions as to the direction on where the story is heading.

Never fear, it will be done.

So I took a few days, hit the pause button, and am now refocusing on the project.  I have no doubt that it will turn out well in the end.