KN Magazine: Articles
This Crazy Writing Life: Four Million And Counting! Please, Somebody, Make It Stop!
In this installment of This Crazy Writing Life, Steven Womack examines the explosive rise of AI-generated books and the growing challenges facing today’s writers. With millions of titles flooding the market each year, he explores how shifting publishing models, algorithms, and emerging technologies are reshaping the industry—and what it means for authors striving to create meaningful, lasting work.
This Crazy Writing Life: When Publishing Throws You A Curve Ball—Again—And The Scammers Circle Above
Publishing is a people business—until it isn’t. In this installment of This Crazy Writing Life, Steven Womack shares the rollercoaster saga of his novel Pearson Place, from near-acquisition heartbreak to unexpected second chances. But just as hope resurfaces, scammers swoop in with AI-generated flattery and too-good-to-be-true offers. This candid, sharp-edged craft essay offers hard-won wisdom about perseverance, publishing politics, and protecting yourself in a predatory literary landscape.
This Crazy Writing Life: Requiescat in pace—In Memory Of The Mass-Market Paperback
A thoughtful, firsthand obituary for the mass-market paperback—once the backbone of American reading culture—examining its rise, decline, and legacy, while exploring what its death means for writers, publishers, and the future of storytelling.
This Crazy Writing Life: AI And Indie Pubbing—Is This The End Of The World As We Know It?
A deep dive into how AI is transforming indie publishing—from audiobook narration to foreign translations—and what this disruption means for authors, narrators, and the future of creative work.
This Crazy Writing Life Performs Killer Nashville Post Mortems
In This Crazy Writing Life, Steven Womack reflects on the energy, community, and evolution of the Killer Nashville conference. With humor and honesty, he shares insights into the changing landscape of mystery and crime writing, the importance of connection in a writer’s life, and why building relationships—not just networks—remains at the heart of every successful writing journey.
This Crazy Writing Life: Binge Writing In This Crazy Writing Life
In This Crazy Writing Life, Steven Womack reflects on binge writing, distractions, and the challenges of balancing creativity with the chaos of everyday life. From clickbait breakthroughs to Whac-A-Mole metaphors, he explores the unpredictable rhythms of a writer’s world.
This Crazy Writing Life: Some Random Reflections On The Reality of This Crazy Writing Life
In this candid and insightful column, Steven Womack dives deep into the overwhelming realities of the publishing world—from sobering statistics to the evolution of indie publishing. With wit and honesty, he unpacks the frustrations, surprises, and small victories that come with living this crazy writing life.
This Crazy Writing Life’s Conversation with Emma Boyer of Written Word Media
In this insightful conversation with Emma Boyer, Vice-President of Digital Operations & Author Relations at Written Word Media, Steven Womack explores how indie authors can successfully navigate book marketing. From giving books away for exposure to leveraging targeted digital platforms, Emma shares practical advice on overcoming the challenges of indie publishing and building momentum with readers.
This Crazy Writing Life: Amazon Ads Part Three–Don't Forget to Press the Clutch...
In this third installment on Amazon advertising, Steven Womack dives into manual ad targeting, explains the difference between keyword match types, and explores how to avoid getting lost in Amazon's massive category maze. If you're an indie author who wants to take the wheel, this is the roadmap.
This Crazy Writing Life: Dipping Our Toes In The Amazon Part Two — On Swimming Upstream...
In part two of our Amazon advertising deep dive, we unpack campaign architecture, custom vs. standard ads, bidding strategies, and the role of metadata in targeting. If you're ready to move beyond the basics and get serious about promoting your book, this is where the learning curve begins.
This Crazy Writing Life: Dipping Our Toes In The Amazon Part One — Beware The Piranhas!
In part one of “This Crazy Writing Life,” we dive into the complexities of advertising on Amazon, focusing on the platform's ad options, bidding strategies, and tips to boost your indie-pubbing success. Buckle up—it's a wild ride.
This Crazy Writing Life: Okay, Let’s Talk About The 800-Pound Gorilla: Marketing
A bold statement: I'd rather write five novels than market one. Here's a dive into the necessary evil of book marketing for indie authors and the principles to guide your marketing journey.
This Crazy Writing Life: On Defining a Book By Its Cover—Part Two
A stunning book cover can make or break a reader’s first impression—but what happens when the packaging far outshines the prose? In this latest installment of This Crazy Writing Life, we dig into types of book covers, production logistics, and the cautionary tale of a beautifully dressed train wreck of a novel.
This Crazy Writing Life: On Defining a Book By Its Cover
Book covers aren’t just decoration—they’re essential marketing tools. In this installment of This Crazy Writing Life, we explore how covers impact book sales, indie publishing strategies, genre expectations, and why you might want to leave the design to a pro.
This Crazy Writing Life: Defining Irony In The Time Of Covid
In this month's edition of This Crazy Writing Life, the author reflects on the irony of missing major mystery conferences due to a Covid diagnosis while also diving into the technical challenges of indie publishing print books.
The Indie Pubbing Journey Continues—Part Four: Navigating The Distribution Maze
You’ve written and polished your book—now what? This installment of This Crazy Writing Life explores the wild world of eBook distribution, weighing the pros and cons of going wide vs. going exclusive with Kindle Select. A must-read for indie authors navigating the modern publishing maze.
The Indie Pubbing Journey Continues—Part Three: The Learning Curve
From engine rebuilds to eBook formatting—indie publishing is a hands-on adventure. In this third installment, Steven Womack shares the hard-won lessons of navigating the indie tech stack, from Jutoh to Atticus, and why learning curves are worth the climb.
Getting Started In Indie Pubbing — Part Two – The First Few Choices
In part two of my series on independent publishing, I discuss the first critical choices you’ll need to make when deciding how to publish your book. From selecting the format—hardcover, paperback, or eBook—to considering production quality and distribution, these decisions will shape your indie-pubbing journey.
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