Andrew M. Friday

Category: my novel’s progress

  • The answer to the question

    As a fiction writer, I have always wondered how to break into the publishing companies that announce on their manuscript submission guidelines: “We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. We only look at manuscripts through an agent.” Then when trying to find an agent — a legitimate agent — the agents are only looking for established…

  • Exposing “exposure” for what it is: an insult

    As much as I love designing book covers, I don’t have time to do it for free. Last year I designed book covers for a couple of different small publishers. I figured out one publisher would not be paying enough for the time I put into the projects, so I told the publisher I quit.…

  • How to Hack a Flashback: Secret Shortcuts of Bestselling Authors

    Great article on writing flashbacks by author Christopher Kokoski.

  • Whoa, an epiphany in writing dialogue

    In one of my favorite books on graphic design, The Non-Designer’s Design Book, Robin Williams presents the concept of being able to name something so that you can own it. A person may recognize good design in a poster or a brochure, but not be able to know why it’s good design. In her book,…

  • What I’m learning as I write my novel, part 2

    In my previous blog entry, I began listing some things I’m learning as I write my current novel. Here are some more: Let the story unfold like a snowflake. When writing the discovery draft of a novel, I like to use the snowflake method. This is a method created by writer Randy Ingermanson. I mentioned…

  • What I’m learning as I write my novel

    When I say I’ve written six novels, this is what I really mean: I’ve written the rough draft of six novels. Sure I like to say “I’ve written six novels” to try to impress people, but if anyone would read these “novels”, he would read for five minutes, stick out his tongue, squinch up his…

  • The Big Mistake Every Beginning Writer Makes

    The Big Mistake Every Beginning Writer Makes

  • Writing at the cafe

    I’ve had some of my best writing sessions at a coffee shop, but I’ll be honest: sometimes I just hang out and surf the web. I’m procrastinating. I’m telling myself I’m waiting for inspiration but I confess I’ve gotten no writing done at some so-called writing sessions. Here’s an article that describes it from the…

  • When I Used to Go Bookcrossing

    Ten years ago this month, I joined a website club called Book Crossing. The idea behind this website: release books into the wild. Here’s how it’s done. Register a book on the website. Write the registration number and “http://www.bookcrossing.com” on the inside cover of the book. Leave it someone where someone can pick it up.…