November 2, 2023
By Paul Goat Allen
Let’s get right to it. Info dumps are called “dumps” for good reason—using them is a sure way to turn the commercial viability of your novel into garbage.
It’s one of the most frequent criticisms of our BlueInk reviewers—and has been for years—but writers just don’t seem to grasp how […]
September 26, 2023
By Paul Goat Allen
I watched a presentation recently given by Mike Tomlin, the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he said that talent has very little to do with success in football. “It’s not what you’re capable of, it’s what you’re willing to do. I know plenty of people that are capable. […]
September 6, 2023
By Paul Goat Allen
Over-explanation in storytelling is always a big red flag—in large part because it reveals to the reader one of two (very bad) things: either the author doesn’t have confidence in their own writing ability, or they don’t think that their poor ignorant readers will understand the brilliance of their own […]
June 14, 2023
By Paul Goat Allen
As a reviewer—and a graduate writing instructor—my biggest red flag, the one thing that warns me of a truly terrible reading experience ahead, is the inundation of grammatical errors.
It makes my blood boil just thinking about it.
Ever read a novel that includes hundreds of grammatical errors? Shocking, […]
May 17, 2023
By Paul Goat Allen
In the almost three decades that I’ve been a book critic, and the 50 years that I’ve been a hard-core reader, I’ve seen genre fiction—and fiction in general—evolve in radical and remarkable ways. Watching the rise of genre fiction hybridization (novels that blend together seemingly disparate genre fiction elements) has […]
March 27, 2023
By Paul Goat Allen
I’ve had the opportunity to interview some legendary authors in my 25 years as a book critic and editor—Michael Moorcock, Dean Koontz, Laurell K. Hamilton, China Miéville, Kim Harrison, Joe Hill,
December 6, 2022
November 21, 2022
By Paul Goat Allen
As someone who has been in the self-publishing business for decades—from purchasing titles for a national book chain to reviewing thousands of self-published titles for Kirkus, BlueInk, etc. to interviewing countless self-published authors for various sites—I’ve seen cover art quality for self-published titles increase exponentially over the last few decades […]
November 9, 2022
By Paul Goat Allen
Straight from the files of Stating the Obvious comes the next BlueInk blog about the monumental importance of a novel’s conclusion. It’s a no-brainer, right? Your novel needs a memorable ending in order to have any chance at commercial success.
But then why do so many novels have weak conclusions?
[…]
March 14, 2022
BlueInk Review Staff
It’s not easy to write a book. And it’s even harder to sell it.
While authors know all about the mechanics of writing, they aren’t likely to be marketing experts. So how can they get the word out about their book efficiently and effectively
We asked five genre writers about their […]
