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Surprisingly Useful Things I Learned from Incredibly Dodgy Spam (So You Don’t Have To)
#1: Readers Aren’t Searching Your Book Title. Why I’m Opening the Bombs…. I get a lot of spam. Some of it is ordinary spam. Some of it is publishing spam, which is its own peculiar species. These emails tend to begin with flattering observations about a book, an author, or my company and end, eventually,…
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ARC Readers: We Have Something Special for You!
Dr. Bertina M. Hooks has lived more than one life. She’s a physician, healthcare executive, entrepreneur, mother, and disability advocate. In 2022, a life-threatening medical crisis put her on the other side of the physician-patient relationship and resulted in the loss of her right leg below the knee. Now she’s telling the story in From Fire…
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Have a Writing Question? Bring It to the Chat.
One of the reasons we created the Current Words Publishing Subscriber Chat is simple: writers have questions, and those questions don’t always need to wait for the next blog post. Maybe you’re wondering whether you should self-publish or pursue traditional publishing. Perhaps you’re trying to figure out Amazon keywords, book reviews, editing, cover design, ISBNs,…
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A New Series for Poets at Old Scratch Press
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Your Work Has Value Before It’s Published
Protect Your Own Copyright, Too Most writers spend a lot of time worrying about accidentally infringing someone else’s copyright. Far fewer spend time understanding their own. The final installment of our “Can I Do That?” series turns the conversation around. We’ll look at when copyright begins, why your first draft already matters, what registration does (and doesn’t)…
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Today is the Last Chance to Join the Avengers of the Sun Advance Reader Team!
There’s still time to request a complimentary Advance Reader Copy of Avengers of the Sun, Ken Davis’ historical novel of espionage, betrayal, and romance during the Roman civil war between Constantine and Maxentius. If you enjoy historical fiction, military history, political intrigue, and unforgettable characters, we’d love to have you join the advance reader team. Advance…
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✨ Author Spotlight: C.K. Bougae ✨
We’re excited to introduce C.K. Bougae and celebrate the launch of her new author website! C.K. is the author of The Valley of the Blue Moon, a fantasy novel filled with mystery, magic, and unforgettable choices. As she prepares for publication, we invite you to get to know her, learn more about her upcoming novel, and…
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The Indie Author Companion, Episode 3: Fair Use Isn’t a Magic Phrase
James: Copyright law: the one area where writers confidently say “I looked it up” and then get it completely wrong. DianneP is here to help with that. Claire: This episode follows a single thread — what writers actually get wrong about fair use, and why the answers are almost never as simple as the questions.…
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What If the Detectives Hunting Supernatural Villains Weren’t Entirely… Human?
Some mysteries require more than a sharp eye and a magnifying glass. In Terror by Night: The Supernatural Affairs of Madison Cavendish and Sue SunMountain, James Goodridge introduces readers to an unforgettable investigative duo: Madison Cavendish, a vampire detective, and Sue SunMountain, his Lycan partner and romantic interest. Together, they tackle strange cases that exist where…
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Why Advance Reader Copies Matter (and How You Can Help an Indie Author)
Every book begins with a single reader. Long before a novel appears on bookstore shelves or starts climbing online bestseller lists, it often finds its first audience through Advance Reader Copies, commonly known as ARCs. An ARC is simply a complimentary pre-publication copy of a book shared with readers before or shortly after release. In…
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Copyright Is Every Author’s Business
Most writers don’t become authors because they enjoy reading legal Copyright Is Every Author’s Business Most writers don’t become authors because they enjoy reading legal documents. But sooner or later, nearly every writer asks questions like these: Can I quote song lyrics? Can I use that photograph I found online? If I give credit, is…
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Instant Noodles Lit Mag Hosts Free Zoom Workshop June 13 for Upcoming “Al Dente” Issue
Writers, poets, artists, and creators looking for a fresh publishing opportunity are invited to join a free online creative workshop hosted by the editors of INSTANT NOODLES LIT MAG on Saturday, June 13 at 5 PM ET (2 PT). Now in its sixth year, INSTANT NOODLES has become a distinctive independent online literary magazine known…
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Missing…. Office Dog & Office Cat
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Don’t Miss Today’s Free Live Event!
A reminder for readers, writers, and the creatively curious: Today at 7 PM Eastern, Current Words Publishing presents our next Reader Series event featuring Susan Burgess-Lent, author of When All the Girls Stopped Singing. This free live Zoom event offers much more than a traditional author talk. You’ll hear Susan discuss the hidden histories that inspired…
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It’s a Beastie Boys World: I Just Live In It. Free Guide!
Oh man, you found the perfect song for your novel. Only thing is, it’s not your song. What’s an author to do? What Can You Safely Use: Song Titles Book Titles TV Show Titles Titles typically cannot be copyrighted. What Can You Not Use Without Checking Copyright First: Song lyrics Quotations from people (famous or…
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LIVE & LOCAL
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Poetry and Mentorship from Old Scratch Press
Did you know that we also run Old Scratch Press (OSP)? OSP is a group that loves writing and reading short form writing like poetry, flash fiction, and flash memoir. The group formed from the writers who had been published in Instant Noodles Lit Mag. Several times each month writers in the group post articles…
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Do Authors Need a Website? Yes, and Here’s Why It Matters
“Do I need an author website?” Yes, you do. And we build them. You don’t need a big author website, and you don’t need an expensive one. For about $68 a year, you can have a clean, professional home on WordPress, one you actually own. No gatekeepers, no middlemen, no wondering where your content went. If…
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Get to Know World Anvil
World Anvil is an online worldbuilding platform where writers, game masters, and creators organize everything about their fictional universes in one place, from maps and timelines to characters, cultures, and lore. For fantasy readers, it’s like stepping behind the curtain of a novel: you can explore the deeper history of a world, uncover hidden details about…
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Pass the Mic
