Search Results for: The Mail I Get

USC or NYU?

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I got this email today: Dear Lee, You are one of the rare few to have both a successful television career and an accessible email address. I am an almost out of high school  eighteen-year-old to pursue a career in TV. Next year, I will enroll in the screenwriting program at either USC or NYU. … Read more

The Mystery Bookstore Mystery

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It was the talk of Left Coast Crime in El Paso, whispered in the corridors, at the bar, and by the Spanish-speaking cashiers at the Arby’s across the street… Have you heard about Shelly? They were talking, of course, about Sheldon MacArthur, the  proprietor of the Mystery Book Store in Westwood (and, for many years … Read more

Scam vs. Self-Publishing

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Discussions about self-publishing and vanity presses seem to be in the air today. I received this question in my email… I’m a guy with a day job working on a business book related to my profession.  As a business person I am comfortable with self promotion and like the cost structure of self publishing.  I … Read more

Dive! Dive!

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This has been a big weekend for reader mail. I wasn’t going to post this…but then the sender posted a comment here. Hello Mr Goldberg. I’m a fan of yours in a way. I’m actually a fan of SeaQuest DSV/2032. the show it self maybe cancelled and maybe 10 years old. but to me I’d … Read more

Bibles

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I had this email exchange yesterday.  First, I received this note (all I’ve done is replace the names with XYZ): How are you Mr. Lee? WGA writer XYZ and myself are looking for a great series bible to use as a study example. He will teach with it, I will use it as a template … Read more

Computer Generated Romance

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I saw one of those computer-generated movies today. I don’t mean INCREDIBLES or SHARK TALES… I’m talking about HITCH, of course.  It’s the "romantic comedy" starring Wil Smith and Kevin James that may be the first movie written entirely by a computer. It  sticks to all the formula story elements and, of course, has the … Read more

Death by Committee II

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After reading my previous post, someone asked me: I’m curious — without getting into specifics of which publishing house and such, what were some of the reasons cited for any potential deal being killed? Were they just nervous about bringing out a book that’s very pop culture-oriented? Here’s the jacket copy, describing what THE MAN … Read more

I Hear Voices

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My brother Tod has started an interesting discussion on his blog about the role of  voice in fiction. When someone tells me that they hear me in a book or story (fiction only here — in my essays and columns, you often are getting unfiltered Tod) I feel disappointed. My characters aren’t me and if … Read more

Scamming PublishAmerica

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Novelist Richard Wheeler pointed me to a Los Angeles Times article about a group of science fiction writers who decided to stick it to PublishAmerica, the self-publishing scam that takes advantage of aspiring authors. Professional science fiction writers have long derided the PA scam, urging aspiring writers not to submit their work to the company. … Read more