Replies

MM,

>It screams PARANOID AMATEUR

I suppose it does but I assumed the field was extremely cut throat, no honor, all thieves so I asked. Your comments, from knowledge and experience are most welcomed though and I'll heed your advise. The date bit seems critical - hadn't looked at it that way but knowing what I do of the human psyche that old CR date on a fresh release does seem like a suicidal move for an author.

> Shorts aren't my forte, but I do like what you're saying about yours.

You don't know how encouraging that comment is. You didn't have to say anything so it comes across as genuine. It could be easy for one to impress himself with a pet project. How others react is the acid test though. Yours is my first positive feedback - in fact the only feedback and it comes at a needed time.

It seems self evident that someone would write about things that interest them but your angle has the added bonus of being a genre conducive to book and film with the subject being popular in both fields. It is wise to think of commercial reward when one devotes so much time and effort to an activity. Nothing like making money doing something one loves. How many pages do your novels run?

Thanks again,

I'd like to read some of your stuff, U, provided you truly don't mind candor in return. Anything else is worse than worthless to a writer--it's detrimental. I remember joining my first serious writers group, a group in which about half the writers were already published by major houses, and so proudly submitting my first piece. They ripped it to shreds. LITERALLY brought tears to my eyes. But it also changed my life as a writer. I looked at, pored over, and studied what they had to say, and realized they were right. Then I set out to become a good writer. I believe in candor. Feel free to freepmail me and we can swap e-mail addresses or something if you like.

Hey, not a THING wrong with getting paid for creative efforts. My dream is to make a good living with my writing, and of course to entertain a lot of people in the process. :-)

Forgot to answer the length question: I'm finding a comfort zone in the 75,000- to 100,000-word length. Most books from Grisham, Patterson, etc., are on that lower range, while more full-bodied thrillers tend to be at the upper. Clancy is an exception, a guy who gets away with the really long pieces now.

MM