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Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith

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Author Archives: Michael D. Smith

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Take My Word for It

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 15, 2011 by Michael D. SmithJune 13, 2015

No one wants to take the author’s word for it that his or her writing is good–not the slush pile reader, not the editor, not the editorial board, not the marketing staff, not the sales force, not the average reader … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Daily, Novels, Publishing, Query Letters, Trust, Writing, Writing Process | 1 Reply

On the Essential Meaninglessness of the Word “Metaphysical”

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on November 16, 2011 by Michael D. SmithJune 13, 2015

Come on, really–what DOES it mean? Sending query letters to literary agents was one of my more useless wastes of time and energy, but one submission–and it might have been the last one to an agent, a couple years ago–brought … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Daily, Novels, Painting, Publishing, Query Letters, Writing, Writing Process | 1 Reply

The Soul Institute

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on October 18, 2011 by Michael D. SmithJune 27, 2019

I finally returned to this novel and finished it last month.  After an initial two drafts I’d finished what I thought was a final manuscript of The Soul Institute in December 1999, and I was proud of the result.  Yet, … Continue reading →

Posted in Novels, Publishing, The Soul Institute, Writing, Writing Process | 3 Replies

Novels Inventory, September 2011

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on September 18, 2011 by Michael D. SmithJuly 11, 2020

Following is a list of my novels and novellas with terse little elevator pitch summaries and some notes as to their fates.  If there are novel title links, they lead to their detailed info pages on the mothership, www.sortmind.com. Just … Continue reading →

Posted in Akard Drearstone, CommWealth, Double Dragon Publishing, Editing, Jack Commer, Martian Marauders, Novels, Publishing, Query Letters, Sortmind, Stories, The Soul Institute, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

Homage to the Wiess Cracks

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on August 27, 2011 by Michael D. SmithDecember 25, 2024

I never thought much about my stint as editor of the Wiess Crack until I began to see it as another piece of lost energy I wanted to reclaim from the beginning of my writing life. In the small enclosed … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Writing, Editing, Novels, Plays, Publishing, Satire, Stories, Wiess Cracks, Writing, Writing Process | 7 Replies

What Does Your Muse Think of Your Writing Career?

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on August 20, 2011 by Michael D. SmithFebruary 23, 2023

What is Career Art?  Art executed in the pursuit of success and recognition, seeking opportunities, rising, gaining influence and power.  How is this any different at all from rising through an insurance organization? There’s nothing wrong with wanting to make … Continue reading →

Posted in Akard Drearstone, Art Process, Early Writing, Marketing, Nonprofit Chronowar, Novels, Publishing, Sortmind, Stories, The University of Mars, Trust, Writing, Writing Process | 1 Reply

What Passes for an Artist Statement

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on July 26, 2011 by Michael D. SmithMarch 29, 2023

I don’t find artist statements useful. In fact, most of the numerous ones I’ve read strike me as obligatory but unintelligible fluff. But, as I begin to wallow into yet another reassessment of my visual art, I resurrect an older … Continue reading →

Posted in Acrylic, Art Process, Drawing, Painting | Leave a reply

Large Paintings Show at the Renner Frankford Library, August 3-30

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on July 25, 2011 by Michael D. SmithFebruary 23, 2023

In August 2011 I’ll have four large paintings showing at the Renner Frankford library auditorium in Dallas.  The link–URL also shown at the end of the post–takes you to the Renner page with hours and location.  The show runs August … Continue reading →

Posted in Acrylic, Art Process, Art Shows, Painting | 3 Replies

An Archeological Excavation of Akard Drearstone, Draft 1

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on July 19, 2011 by Michael D. SmithJune 27, 2019

If you’re well known and announce on your blog that you’re “going dark” to work on some major project, your readers may accept this in anticipation of some future gift.  If nobody reads your blog and you announce that you … Continue reading →

Posted in Akard Drearstone, Early Writing, Novels, Publishing, Writing, Writing Process | 14 Replies

Back to The First Twenty Steps For a Moment

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on June 10, 2011 by Michael D. SmithJuly 11, 2020

I was able to place my heartwarming novella about a motorcycle gang on amazon.com, via their Kindle Direct Publishing program. So The First Twenty Steps can now be downloaded to either a Kindle or a Nook. The price is still $1.00, … Continue reading →

Posted in Novels, Publishing, Science Fiction, Self-Publishing, The First Twenty Steps, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

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Recent Posts

  • Introducing The Benign Incursion
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus
  • A Blog Post from February 13, 1976
  • A Writing Biography, Part VIII: The Exoskeleton, Archiving, Publishing, The Blog, and the Long Novels, 2011-2023
  • The Major 2024 Book Energies
  • A Writing Biography, Part VII: Organization, Lost Energies, New Novels, Publishing, 1994-2011
  • Zarreich – Publication at Last
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  • Dreams Used in Zarreich
  • Zarreich – The Draft Covers

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Recent Comments

  • Introducing The Benign Incursion – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The Unknown Ending for The Martian Marauders
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on Trip to Mars in Paperback
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The First Childhood Appearance of Jack Commer, September 19, 1962
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The Irregular Origin of The Martian Marauders
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The UR Jack Commer: A Look at the Childhood Beginnings of the Commer Saga

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Michael's books

Why Meditate: Working with Thoughts and Emotions
4 of 5 stars
Why Meditate: Working with Thoughts and Emotions
by Matthieu Ricard
WordPress Web Design for Dummies
4 of 5 stars
WordPress Web Design for Dummies
by Lisa Sabin-Wilson
Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End...
5 of 5 stars
Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End...
by Philip Plait
Using Joomla!
3 of 5 stars
Using Joomla!
by Ron Severdia
Serpent's Tooth
5 of 5 stars
Serpent's Tooth
by Toni V. Sweeney
On a cruise Melissa bonds with an older man, Travis, who turns out to be a famous celebrity in hiding from a once successful life. But by degrees we become aware that his enormous success came at the price of bonding with demonic forces...

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