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Author Taylor Stevens

A Few Thoughts on Writing, Getting Published, and Things Word Related:

Like many aspiring authors I started without any credentials or platform and had no direct route into the publishing world. But, unlike most, I was also limited by a life of cultural isolation and a sixth-grade education. Tackling the creative writing process from such a restricted foundation was often a frustrating experience, especially when the best advice said that one had to read a lot and write a lot in order to learn how to write well. I’d already lost three decades and didn’t have that luxury of time.

I’m an autodidact, which is a fancy word for self-taught. And, because I’m self-taught, my approach to writing and the resultant entry into the publishing world has been very boot-strap and ground-up. I share extensively about these experiences and teach what I learn, but due to time constraints I’m not often able to update the material to this website. If you’d like more of what you find here, everything is available by email.

  • How to Get a Book Published
  • How do Authors Get Paid? Understanding Authors Advance, Royalties and Foreign Rights
  • How do You Know Your Writing is Good Enough
  • Rants and Other Great Stuff
  • The Thrill Begins: 3 Publishing Survival Tips from Taylor Stevens
  • For the Writers: Dealing with Criticism
  • How to Make an Author Happy
  • How to Overcome Writers Block
  • Oh F*ck. Swearing.
  • The Power of Knowing What you Want
  • The Thriller Writer's Dilemma

    • Audio Discussions on the Business of Publishing:

    For a whole slew of more recent fun conversations, Q&A, and general entertainment from Yours Truly, be sure to check out the podcast page.

  • Writing novels is as much about running a business as it is about creating entertainment. I am fascinated by the business side of publishing, which is why I turn around and share what I learn with others.
  • A discussion on how book royalties are calculated for various book formats, as well as on how eBooks have impacted royalties for traditional published authors.
  • A discussion on author branding, email lists, and social media output and how these various factors can help or hinder an author's career.
  • A discussion on foreign rights, how they are handled within a publishing contract, and the impact holding on to those rights vs. selling them to a publisher can have on an author's bottom line.
  • A discussion on film rights, how these rights are handled within a publishing contract, how film rights are coordinated between author's agent and film agent, and the impact these rights can have on an author's bottom line.
  • Publishing accounting practices that all authors considering traditional publishing contracts should know before going into negotiation.
  • More on publishing accounting and the one-hundred-thousand-dollar advance.
  • A discussion on motivation. Because every writer needs this at some point.

    • Research, and Links to Interesting Things:

  • How Research Changed the Way I See the World
  • Stingrays, Dirtboxes, and Data Siphoning
  • On Civil Asset Forfeiture and Sticky Government Hands
  • Gender-Swapping Kickass Women are Nothing New
  • Why Not Just Write a Male Character?
  • How Much of Vanessa Michael Munroe is Based on Me?

    • For some people, the fact that Michael Munroe speaks 22 languages strains all level of credulity. For this, I refer you to what it means to be a hyperpolyglot, as well the life and history of Emil Krebs, who, although not the only hyperpolyglot in history, is to me, the most fascinating (at least that I have read of so far).

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