Hank Quense's Blog: Hank Quense's Blog

Here are three new reviews for my book: https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Your-First-Novel-comprehensive-ebook/dp/B0CJ7ZPYCZ?

“I read a lot of books on writing. I find it a fascinating subject and love to see various authors approaches, and feel there is always something new to learn. Even when the information covered is something I’ve read countless times before, sometimes it’s not what is being taught, but rather how it’s being taught. Sometimes someone will say something is a different way that will finally make that information click. I have to say I was quite impressed with Hank Quense’s teaching style. His approach/breakdown of the novel writing process was thorough and easy to understand, and I definitely think for new writers this would be an excellent place to start to begin to demystify the novel writing/publishing process.”

“Highly Recommending” by Kevin Phelps: Indie Reader

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Just imagine: breathing life into the story that’s been bouncing around inside your cranium for what feels like forever, smashing it out on your laptop and acing your first draft, and then being offered a lucrative deal with a big-time publisher – book tours, signings with adoring fans, and interviews! The success. The validation. And now wake up – because that’s not how any of that happens.Aspiring writers gather around! This one is for you. Creating Your First Novel provides a blow-by-blow guide on how to develop and write your story, and then how to try and make money out of it. Not only do you have to have a productive imagination, wide vocabulary, and insatiable passion to be a published author. Oh, no! You also need to have a working knowledge of the tax laws in your country, how to format an ebook (or know where to find someone who can do that for you), and have the arithmetic skills to calculate the point at which you have paid off your marketing and production costs, and actually get to start taking home a paycheck. Whew, there’s a lot more to it than I think the average wannabe writer could fathom. Luckily, Hank Quense, an author with over twenty self-published written works and many years lecturing and teaching writing, publishing, and marketing, has written an extensive guide on how you can pull it off. Book Nerdection

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Creating your First Novel is truly a guide to planning, writing, marketing, and starting up your author business. Though I’ve already started the author journey, I found this book to be very interesting and helpful. I am going to take my time and re-read this as I am re-editing the first draft of my novel. This book takes you from the draft with the fiction workshop activities and right into the completion of your story. Definitely work the read.

Serlina Rose: Booksprout

The post New reviews for Creating Your First appeared first on Hank Quense.

In the evolving landscape of the publishing industry, understanding the intricacies of the book business can be as complex as it is critical for authors, publishers, and marketers alike. A Concept Map of the Book Business offers a visual and interconnected overview of the key components that drive the creation, distribution, and consumption of books. This article delves into the creation and utility of such a concept map, exploring how it serves as an invaluable tool for navigating the multifaceted world of publishing.

What is a Book Business Concept Map?

A Book Business Concept Map is a visual representation that outlines the major elements and processes involved in the book industry. It highlights the relationships between various stakeholders, including authors, publishers, agents, retailers, and readers. The map encompasses several critical areas such as content creation, publishing, marketing, distribution, and sales, illustrating how these components interact to bring a book from idea to reader.

Concept maps are quite different from ordinary mind maps in that there is no implied structural hierarchy. Rather than the usual parent nodes and child nodes, with concept maps each idea is an independent box on the screen. Instead of hierarchical relationships, the lines between nodes represent direction, aggregation and flow.

Book Business Nodes

Creating a book involves a complex project that unfolds over a lengthy period of time and involves writing, publishing and marketing besides a critical element of planning. Sooner or later, inexperienced authors realize that their book is a business and this has a number of implications for the authors. These include business types, tax identification numbers, tracking income and expenses and more.

Book Business Creation

The ideal time to start a book business is before the first book is published. This can be before or after the manuscript is completed. Starting the business involves a number of decisions that will require research and thinking.

In order to provide a measure of understanding how all the book project elements fit together, I created a concept map. The map shows the relationship between the book (manuscript) and the publishing, marketing and business aspects of the book project.

You can view it here: https://atlas.mindmup.com/hanque/book_business_concept_map/index.html

The first two pragraphs of this article were written by an AI program

The post Navigating the Book Business: A Concept Map Approach appeared first on Hank Quense.

I have a problem and it’s one I haven’t encountered before.  But first some background.  I’ve been writing stories since the last century,  I’ve sold 45 short stories and published a dozen novels.  Several years ago, I started writing non-fiction and wrote books on fiction writing, self-publishing and book marketing.

My problem is I’m un-motivated to write more books or stories.

I’ve run out of nonfiction stuff to write about: any new nonfiction book will just be stuff I’ve previously written rearranged.  Besides that, I can’t get interested in writing fiction. Actually, I’ve developed storylines for three new novels, but when it comes time to start writing scenes in one of those stories, my brain goes into overdrive and comes up with a list of stuff I can do instead.  The odd thing is that the storylines are good.  The completed novel would be a great story. Unfortunately, I have no inclination to write those stories.

Much to my surprise, when I told my friend and fellow author, Joylene Butler, about this, she said, “Me too!”

Here’s how Joylene describes her lack of motivation:

My entire career as a novelist, I’ve always begun a new book during the final stages of my current one. Until now. For over a year, every time I sit down to write a word, I find myself up again and off to do something entirely different: wash floors, walk the beach, watch Youtube. What’s wrong with me? Where’s my muse? I can’t describe how weird this feels… it’s like walking into a room and forgetting why I’m there. 

Joylene and I had a few Zoom meetings to see if we could come up with a project to get us back into writing.  We thought about a joint Youtube channel but that didn’t go very far.  Joylene mentioned that we can’t be the only two authors who have this problem and suggested we try to find others.  Her thinking was that new faces and perspectives could kick off an idea or a project to get us all back on track.

That idea led to the idea of Unmotivated Authors Anonymous (UAA) and this article.  If you’re an author who is currently unmotivated, why not get in touch with us by leaving a comment. We can all set up a chat and brainstorm together. 

Learn more about us at: 

Joylene’s webpage: joylenebutler.com 

Hank’s webpage: https://writersarc.com

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I enjoyed reading “Falstaff’s Big Gamble: A Fantasy Adventure to Get Shakespeare Spinning in his Grave by Hank Quense, who in my opinion has written a hilarious lampoon that is a very entertaining read. I felt the author was highly creative and knowledgeable of the writings of the famous Bard of Avon in writing this light, imaginative, and delightful tale.

n my opinion, the story is ingenious, distinctive, and just plain fun to read. I also felt the story was captivating, intricate, and well-organized all told at a good pace that kept my interest.

I think it was Mark Twain who said, “Laughter is like money in your pocket because it cuts down the doctor’s bills.” This story made me laugh and also acted as a reminder to lighten up when things may look their darkest.

All in all, I felt this was a worthwhile read, fresh comedy, and I enjoyed the ending. Very well done and highly recommended!

The post A typical review for my Falstaff’s Big Gamble appeared first on Hank Quense.

I recently had an interview on NJ Morning Show about my new book, Creating Your First Novel. It runs 8 minutes. You can watch it here: https://www.onnj.com/videos/creating-your-first-novel-with-hank-quense/

The post TV Interview appeared first on Hank Quense.

My last post was a satiric one about politics. I’m playing around with several AI apps to try to understand what they can do. I asked a few of them to rewrite this last post. Let’s see what happened.

Here is the original post:

Republicans claim Democrats are confusing issues by using facts.

Faux News Network Political Reporter, Stacy Conundrum, has learned that the Republican National Committee plans to launch a devastating attack on the Democrats for confusing all the important issues.

“The Democrats insist,” said a RNC spokesperson, “on stating facts when confronted by a reasonable Republican position on an issue. These facts are designed to confuse the voters and make the Republican position seem flawed and flimsy.”

The RNC deploys this underhanded way of debating the important issues facing Americans. Voters should demand that the Democrats follow the Republican lead in addressing issues through creativity and imagination instead of using plain, old boring facts.

FNN will update this report as new information is received.

Here is what the app ChatGPT did:

Faux News Network Breaking News:

FNN Political Correspondent, Chuck Paradox, uncovers the shocking truth behind the latest political strategy employed by the Democrats, leaving Republicans scratching their heads.

In an exclusive interview with an anonymous source inside the Democratic National Committee, Paradox reveals the party’s cunning plan to address issues with a radical approach—by presenting well-researched facts. The source confirmed, “Democrats believe that using evidence and logical arguments can confuse voters and expose the weaknesses in Republican positions.”

The Republicans, however, are not taking this sitting down. A spokesperson for the Republican National Committee responded, accusing Democrats of engaging in a diabolical scheme to befuddle voters with “truth and reason.” The RNC urges Democrats to follow the lead of their Republican counterparts and embrace a more creative and imaginative approach to discussing important matters.

As the political chess game unfolds, FNN will stay on top of the situation, bringing you the latest twists and turns in this battle of wits. Stay tuned for updates and the inevitable plot twists in this riveting political saga.

This is pretty good and I prefer it to what I wrote

Here is what an AI app called Watson did:

The Republicans are accusing Democrats of using facts to confuse voters and make the Republican position seem weak. The RNC believes that Democrats should follow their lead and approach issues with more creativity and imagination, rather than relying on boring facts. FNN will provide updates on this story.

This one is rather blah and a definite dis-improvement on my original article.

Here is what an iPad app called Content Generator wrote: 

According to a report by Faux News Network Political Reporter Stacy Conundrum, the Republican National Committee (RNC) intends to launch a forceful offensive against the Democrats, accusing them of muddling important issues. The RNC argues that the Democrats employ factual information as a tactic to bewilder voters and undermine the perceived strength of the Republican stance on various matters (Conundrum, date). The RNC suggests that the Democrats should emulate the Republican approach by addressing issues with creativity and imagination, rather than relying solely on straightforward fact. Faux News Network assures its audience that it will provide updated information as it becomes available. 

Another blah rewrite.

To conclude: AI apps aren’t all equal. Some of them seem to be made on the cheap. It is also apparent that AI apps don’t like dialog.

The post Artificial Intelligence testing appeared first on Hank Quense.

I’ve simplified the pricing for products for fiction writers and for authors. For fiction writers, a one-time price of $24.99 for each one will get you access (without additional charges) to the ten products listed below plus all additional products added during the year:

Beta reader questionnaireBook review questionnaireCast of characters checklistCharacter design templateFiction do-it-yourself bundleFiction writing workshop for kidsHow to create a storyMind-mapping a novelPlots + scenes = emotional arcPutting it all together

For authors, a one-time price of $24.99 for each one will get you access (without additional charges) to the thirteen products listed below plus all additional products added during the year:

Author do-it-yourself bundleBook blurbsBook marketing basics: Author platformBook marketing basics: cheat sheetBook marketing basics: landing pageBook marketing basics: social mediaBook marketing fundamentalsBook marketing plannerHow to self-publish and market a bookSelf-publish a book in 10 stepsSelf-publishing and book marketing scamsSelf-publishing checklistStrategic marketing planner

To grab these great products for one low price go to: https://hankquense.podia.com

The post For fiction writers and authors appeared first on Hank Quense.

I’ve always been considered a creative guy. While working in sales, I enjoyed solving tricky problems by going into a conference and fill up a whiteboard (occasionally more than one) in order to develop a solution.

I sense that my grandchildren don’t appreciate the need for creativity or in fact know how to use creativity. I don’t think they understand that creativity unlocks new ideas, innovations, and solutions. It’s thinking outside the box and seeing things in a different light. It’s an important skill for artists, designers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and problem solvers. However, to be creative they must realize it involves risks and, oftentimes, failure. Failure, to creative people, is a learning experience that can lead to success.

To make it easier for my grandkids, I’ve been thinking a lot about it and I’ve amassed a collection of stuff about creativity. The collection is divided into sections labeled notes, books, videos, articles, brainstorming and apps.

I hope my collection will be of use to others who are interested in learning more about creativity. I add more content to the collection as I come across interesting material. The collection is contained on a single webpage that is free to visit.
Use this link to access the collection: https://padlet.com/hanque/creativity-3afb5elqfurdt47q

After a lot of adjusting and fooling around and shuffling boxes, this workshop is now available. It consists of 10 lessons with assignments spread over three web pages.

Here is the organization of the workshop:

Overview

Lesson 1: Getting started

Part 1

Lesson 2: Setting

Lesson 3: Character Development

Lesson 4: Plots

Lesson 5: Character Arc

Past 2

Lesson 6: Scene Design

Lesson 7: Point of View

Lesson 8: Story Telling Techniques

Lesson 9: Dialog

Lesson 10: Wrapping It All Up

While most of you have no use for this type of a workshop, you may know someone who can benefit from it. If so, please pass this message on to them.

This link will take you to the overview page: https://padlet.com/hanque/fiction-workshop-overview-hj2wo3mvxx9e2rjv

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Are you writing your first novel?  Or are you thinking about writing it? 

Do you have any idea what you’re getting into?

No?  Let’s talk about it

Most aspiring authors concentrate on writing the book to the exclusion of all else.  However, the reality is that creating a book is a long-term, multi-phase project and writing it is only one facet of the project. 

The complete project involves five separate phases:

Planning the bookWriting the bookPublishing the bookMarketing the bookAuthor business issues

Unfortunately, planning and writing a book does nothing to prepare the author for the other phases of the project.  The only commonality between the phases is that they are about a single book.

Another difficulty with the creative project is that almost all information on the process only discusses one phase of it.  

Until now.  Creating Your First Book covers all five phases.  It is written by an author who has gone through the project over two dozen times. 

Creating Your First Book provides a road map to get you through the process without losing your sanity.

To learn more or to grab. copy go to Amazon