point of view – Page 24 – J. Scott Coatsworth

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

POINT OF VIEW: Writing Different

August 13, 2018 by scott

Hey all, As I continue to write, I like to find new ways to challenge myself as a writer. Yeah, I’m a glutton for punishment. 😛 Often this means working on my writing skills themselves. I love to watch really good films and TV shows and dissect how they put their stories together, and then apply that to my own work. It’s a great source of writing lessons and helps me keep advancing my skills. Sometimes it manifests in my characters themselves. In the last couple years, I have written a number of characters very different from myself that I’d … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

POINT OF VIEW: Suck A Little Happy Juice

August 6, 2018 by scott

Hey all, It’s an amazing time in my writerly life. I’m starting to get some local press for “The River City Chronicles” (ok, so I begged and pleaded, but hey, whatever it takes, right?) – and I will do my first official bookstore reading and signing on October 4th at Time Tested Books in midtown Sacramento. (hint hint hint) You can sign up to go here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1180415018767294/ If you are in the Sacramento area, please sign up. I need to show the bookstore I have local support, so they will ask me back again. 🙂 At the same time, I … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

POINT OF VIEW: What’s Next?

July 30, 2018 by scott

Hey all, As I work to finish the final book in the Liminal Sky series, I’ve been giving some thought to the question in today’s title – what’s next for me as a writer? I’ve done far more than I ever thought possible in this whole writing and publishing thing: Sold more than 20 stories (shorts, novellas and novels). Written not one but two series, to critical acclaim (and am wrapping up the last book now) Had a few certified Amazon bestsellers (albeit in smaller categories) Published my own works In the four years since I published my first short … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

POINT OF VIEW: Amazon Bestsellers and The Long Game

July 23, 2018 by scott

Hey all, This last month, I’ve hit the top of the Amazon charts not once, not twice, but three times. My friends and family have taken notice, and many have contacted me to express their congratulations. It’s an awesome thing to claim the title of Amazon Bestselling Author. But if you scratch the surface, it’s not quite as glamorous as it seems. Amazon books have thousands of categories. There are really big ones, like the overall Romance category, or other general genre ones like Paranormal, Fantasy, and Sci Fi. There are smaller ones, like Gay Romance. Then there are the … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

POINT OF VIEW: When Life Intervenes

July 2, 2018 by scott

Hey all, I try to keep this column generally light hearted, sharing news about my writing and tips for my fellow writers. And I am writing – I am plowing through the first part of The Shifting Current this week. But sometimes life picks you up and shakes you hard. So I’m gonna get a little real today. When I heard the news last week that Justice Kennedy had chosen this moment to retire from the US Supreme Court, it was like a physical gut punch. I look back at the steps that got us here – Senator McConnell’s huge … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

POV: Have Fun Raiding the Castle!

June 18, 2018 by scott

Hey all, This is one of the parts of writing that I love the most. I sent off “Ithani” to the publisher a week and a half ago, and now I am getting ready to start off on a brand new quest – writing the final book in the Liminal Sky trilogy. 🙂 Here’s what I can tell you. The new book, tentatively titled “The Shifting Current,” takes place about twenty years after the close of “The Rising Tide,” which comes out on October 30th. Many folks who knew Old Earth are now older or gone, and the world is … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

POINT OF VIEW: The Roller Coaster and the Inner Critic

June 11, 2018 by scott

Hey all, As anyone who knows me or follows this column knows, it’s been a wild month. It was just about a month ago that we discovered how much GDPR (the new EU privacy law) would require of us as a company, and how little time (3 weeks!!!) we had to accomplish it. It also landed squarely in the lead-up to the release of “The River City Chronicles,” my first self-published work. It also happened to be the month when I was due to finish writing Ithani, and one of my beta readers threw me a (much needed) curve ball … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

POINT OF VIEW: It’s Here!

June 4, 2018 by scott

Hey all, Last week was a momentous one for me. After two and a half years and lots of effort, “The River City Chronicles” was released on Wednesday, my very first self-published work. The book is now available in eBook and print formats, and I am thrilled to finally have crossed a line I have labored towards for decades. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, and almost always had a dream of being a publisher too, though that came a little later. There’s something amazing about having the keys to the kingdom – about being fully in control of … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

POINT OF VIEW: It’s Almost Here, and Thanks to Everyone Who Helped

May 28, 2018 by scott

Hey all, Regular readers of this space will know a) that “The River City Chronicles” finally releases in book form on Wednesday, and b) that GDPR took a big chunk out of my hide this month. So… I am kinda freaked out about the whole release thing. LOL… but it will get better. In two days, I will have released my first self published book, and it’s a beautiful thing. I set up a tour (thankfully before I got mired in GDPR) and so many friends came to my aid to help me get the word out on the first … Read more