About

I want to be an author, a published book author.

I tell people this and watch their faces. Some are blank, they don't believe me. Others, skeptical, they think i'll fail. My wife? She kissed me.

I am doing my best to take this ambition seriously. I write and do research daily to learn the craft, the business, and the art. In so doing, I've heard many authors speak about how lucky they were to get published, how getting published is a matter of writing a book, casting its words onto an editor's roulette table, putting the "gun barrel of success" to your head, and hoping the editor pulls his trigger.

I've read blogs, listened to podcasts, and attended panels. No one can fully explain what it takes to become a published author. Writing books is hard, they say. It's not for everyone. Quit. If you can't quit, then quit anyways. If you still can't. . . then you might have a chance.

I don't like chance. Luck. The magic of creating a story is not the outcome of a rock, paper, scissors match, neither is a book's publishing. I love stories about magic. I want to write stories about magic, but there is no magic in publishing a story. There is no luck, least not the kind that requires a gamble.

I am a journeyman writer, Bilbo just leaving the shire, Harry Potter in his first days at Hogwarts. My purpose in this blog is to map my work, my story. Display it for the world to see. The title of my blog is "Paper Beats Magic" and while a blog is not physical paper, the posts will prove that publishing a book is not a process of chance. Magic will play a part in it, creative, disciplined, magic of faith. But in the end, what is on the paper will beat any contest of chance.

What does your face look like right now? Are you blank? skeptical?  Do you want to kiss me? I am a writer. I am going to publish.

You are welcome to see how it's done.