Why I Ditched My MacBook Air for a Chromebook
When Chromebooks were first announced back in 2011, I was intrigued. As a budget-conscious freelancer, I loved the idea of some slick new machines hitting the market at reasonable prices. But it was a Chrome browser as a laptop. Was that worth it? At the time, I was knee-deep in Linux – the Ubuntu flavor […]
Becoming an “Intern” at 33 Years Old
I was an English major in college, with an emphasis on creative writing. Why? Because I enjoyed writing stories and I was good at it. But of course, none of that really lends itself to a budding career. I had no desire to write books (no “starving artist” for this guy!) and I never really […]
The Drawback to My 1K Streak Efforts
Last week, here in the United States, was the Fourth of July. It’s the celebration of American independence, so it’s a big deal around here (not mention, it’s my wife’s favorite holiday). That was on a Wednesday this year – smack in the middle of the work week. I’ve just begun my streak of writing […]
How (+ Why) I Plan to Read More in the Coming Months
When I was a little kid, there were few things as exciting to me as a little, red, wooden barn up the road. I wasn’t a country boy. I lived in the city. And the barn wasn’t outside; it was in the Milwaukee Public Library on Mill Road. This place was my jam. We didn’t […]
6 Things I Learn By Doing “Writing Streaks”
Writers write. That’s what I hear all the time. “I want to be a writer.” “Okay, so write. Writers write.” Seems simple enough, but it’s often very difficult in practice. You see, when you have a job, you have a boss that breathes down your neck to produce results. You have something to measure to. […]
Why I am giving away three books for free…
It’s the age-old question: Do you give away books for free, or not? It’s hotly debated in author communities. When I first started out as an author, I gave away the first two books in my Hardwick series. It worked well. Then sales stopped. I partially blamed the freebies (I was totally, completely wrong about that […]
Why Are My Paperback Books So “Expensive”?
At long last, I have finally updated all of my books to be available in paperback format with the updated covers and updated stories! Hallelujah! This was a long time coming. I have a lot of readers who are fans, but would really prefer the paperback versions of my books. I also have a handful […]
Why Authors Are Okay with Bad Reviews…
Last week, I got an email from a very well-intentioned reader who told me that he was going to leave a review for my book as long as he thought it was worth 4 or 5 stars. If it was less than that, he would not leave a review, but rather send me an email […]
How I Organize My Day
Hello. My name is Tom, and I have a problem. My problem is that I want to do it all. It’s not because I’m a workaholic, and it’s not because I like doing everything. It’s because I am in this weird transitional spot in my career. With the exception of a one-year stint working full-time […]
The Hardwick Story I’ve Never Told
The entire idea for Hardwick came at 5:30am a couple years ago. I was out for a run on what was a very chilly morning. It was dark, and I lived on a quiet street. I could run for several minutes without seeing any evidence that anyone was awake or active. Sometimes it felt like I was […]