THE NEXT CHAPTER – Stepping Out When taking a break, might as well make it a big one.

Reflections on stepping a long way away from the whirl of a book launch to encounter some fresh information.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#travel #japan #publication

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Public Presence A brief history of finding the presence to address a community.

On finding the presence to come out of the writing to the people for whom you have written.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#marketing #connecting presence

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Marking My Book Making something to leave in hand as a reminder of the book itself.

The process of preparing a little piece of oneself and one’s book for promotion.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#marketing #publication #connecting #bookmarks

A WOMAN OF AGENCY has landed... first copy in hand.

A Woman of Agency Amazon.com: A Woman of Agency: 9798252730028: Kass, Andrew: Books

A young woman in 1863 London holds the key to stopping a Great Powers intrigue that could extend the American Civil War. Set in England, my Civil War spy thriller A WOMAN OF AGENCY has been published by Holand Press as a Kindle eBook -- now available in paperback.
www.amazon.com/dp/B0GT8NK8K...

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Blasts To and From the Past A meditation on the process of human connection in the business of publishing.

The lasting value of marketing a novel for me has been the excuse to re-connect with old friends.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#marketing #publication #connecting

THE NEXT CHAPTER – The Promised Land Publication Release Date arrives. What now?

With my novel’s release, some reflections on undertaking the changing role of author, from writer through to marketing strategist and implementer-in-chief.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#marketing #publication #releasedate

A young woman holds the key stopping to a Great Powers intrigue that could extend the American Civil War. Set in England, my Civil War spy thriller A WOMAN OF AGENCY has been published by Holand Press as a Kindle eBook, printable on demand. www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRHNQKH...

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Terra Incognita Setting off on a journey to find my readers.

With the novel package ready and a release date before me, some reflections on preparing and engaging in this voyage of discovery.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#marketing #publication #releasedate #HolandPress

In THE CASE RUNNER (75,600 words), ex-con Jay Smerlow finds plaintiffs for lawsuits. A client was settling a case against a secretive lab and a shady doctor when she and her plaintiffs disappeared; now Jay must find them before a prison enforcer from his past makes him and his family disappear.

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Reading for Keeps It is not necessary to agree with a reader’s critique to find value in it.

The key to interpreting beta reader criticism lies in examining your manuscript from a fresh perspective.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#critique #publication #editing #writing

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Pre-Flight Check Improving the chances of a good takeoff for a book requires careful preparation.

Preparation is critical in aviation; it’s also important in launching and marketing a novel.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#publication #preflightcheck #flying #marketing

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Spring Training Downtime is what you make of it: practice getting prepared.

Writing, like baseball, is about being prepared to succeed. That preparation can start at any time, wherever you happen to be.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka... #writing #stretching #baseball #conditioning #practice

THE NEXT CHAPTER – High Anxiety Interpreting nerves as getting primed to succeed.

If you are anxious about performing or sharing your creative work, take a step back and consider that it just might be a matter of preparing to do your best.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka... #anxiety #writing #editing #music #openmic #performing

Words on a page work best when tested by being spoken and heard. open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
collaboration?r=24o7ym&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=tru
e #writing #editing #music #openmic #collaboration

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Wanting Versus Having Setting goals is good; achieving them can bring something else entirely.

Authors must invest thought and preparation to find success in the quest to publish.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#agents #ponfarr #publication #marketing #startrek #spock

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Creative Workflow Creative pursuits require finding structures in which to be creative.

Creativity is about finding the process as much as the content in making the stories we tell.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#creativity #querying #writing #pitch #synopsis

To Rep. N. Malliotakis: In your next photo op with actual law enforcement officers, how do you plan to explain helping Speaker Johnson hide the plaque comemmorating the heroic sacrifice of Capitol Police officers during the January 6th insurrection? Tough having to bow to a Felon-in-Chief, isn't it?

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Unlearning Taylorism Work in the creative life is not only about production.

The scariest thing we take on as writers is framing the time given over to writing.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#creativity
#taylorism
#timemanagement
#writing

Don't forget, we're also paying his bills and those of his accessories.

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Choosing the Voice of Your Story Deciding the point of view from which your story is told.

Your story’s point of view may come from a real or imagined character from history. It may be based on someone you’ve met, or (heaven help you) someone in your family…
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#writing
#pov
#research
#Tolkien
#characters
#MargaretAtwood

THE NEXT CHAPTER – The Persistence of Memory The pastness of the past and its presence in our writing.

Memoir offers a window to finding true people and situations for your fiction.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#writing
#characters
#memoir
#fiction
#workshop

THE NEXT CHAPTER – What We Write Thoughts about how we get to what we write.

A consideration of where we come up with stories we can drive for 80,000 words while keeping readers onboard.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#writing
#improv
#AgathaChristie
#Hegel
#Poe
#Salinger
#ChinaMiéville
#GeorgeLucas
#WilliamKentKruger
#BarbaraKingsolver

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Research for Fun and Fiction Finding the stories in history is mapping the buried treasure for your readers.

History in America is taught as dates and events. How those events came to be on the dates cited, and who was left out in the telling, is where authors find and tell the stories that became the world we know.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#research
#fiction
#travel
#historical
#nypl
#LOC

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Tactical Retreats Deciding when a manuscript’s time is not ripe.

A consideration of timing a step back in querying to consider the next step forward.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#writing
#agents
#publication
#querying

THE NEXT CHAPTER – How I Got Here Creativity is not a straight path.

A brief telling of my long strange trip to return to a creative life.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#writing
#BrooklynCollege
#TSEliot
#JohnAshbery
#MarkStrand
#SusanFrombergSchaeffer
#RichardPearse

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Prepare for a Reading A brief guide for bringing your words to life for listeners.

Sometimes authors need to step away from the desk, step up to a mic and perform. Here's a little guidance as I prepare to tell stories in public.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#mysterywritersofamerica
#historicalnovelsociety
#dylanthomas
#holandpress
#elleryqueenmysterymagazine
#nypl

...tell me WHY you're getting paid...

Just say, "Tell me you're getting paid for doing nothing so people can't get paid for trying to make things work despite you."

THE NEXT CHAPTER – Laying It All Out Performing at a high level doesn't necessarily mean competing.

From Carnegie Hall and World Series Game 7, sports lessons for arts and arts lessons for sports.
open.substack.com/pub/andrewka...
#culture
#music
#performing
#writing
#LADodgers
#TorontoBlueJays
#2025WorldSeries
#TommyEmmanuel
#RichardThompson
#CarnegieHall
#MilesDavis
#YoshinobuYamamoto