There’s a right way and a wrong way to tell stories.

I love reading. Always have, and hopefully always will. I tend to like people who are big-time readers, too. For all my life, I’ve dissected stories as I read them, and after I’d read them. Without knowing that’s what I was doing, I reverse-engineered them, or reverse-outlined them. I often wrote down how I would’ve told that story differently, and would often talk about them to my inner circle.

After retiring from my job at GM, I had a line item on my bucket list that said: ‘Write a book.’ So I did. I read the directions at KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) and learned how to self-publish there. I enjoyed a slight amount of success, but I really wasn’t very good at it to begin with. I earned a #1 Bestseller in one category at Amazon with each of my first three books, so at least I didn’t suck at it. Then, I talked with my son about it. Boyd Craven 3. He was writing, too, and was the only person I knew personally who was. We learned a lot of things, mostly the hard way, and then discussed them, because back in 2012, we didn’t know any other authors. We changed that, and we learned. Not formally, but self-taught.

And then there were more…

After some measure of success and talking about this ‘new’ phenomenon to those around us, we found ourselves full-time authors, earning enough to support ourselves. Other people we’d met were doing it, too. Some of our family, friends, and acquaintances asked about it, and we shared what we’d learned. Now, some of them are full-time authors as well. Nearly everyone has a story in mind they think people would like to read or hear. Only a few decide to give it a try. Fewer finish. Having someone to talk to about it makes a difference in how many do.

Why am I here?

This is my first post in Substack. I’m here to find others who want to talk about books. Your book, the book you’d like to write, how to write a book, or my books. Pretty much anything books! I expect to post something on these topics - either my pick, or your request, once a week to begin with. We’ll go from there.

Oh, and I’d like to find new readers for MY books! Let’s be honest.