Author Archives: Bill Bunn

About Bill Bunn

Bill’s excited because his first adult novel, Ghost in Theory, is now available everywhere! Bill Bunn is the author of several books, essays, and articles. He is currently writing two pages a day to generate the rough draft of his next novel. Bill Bunn lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Bill teaches English at Mount Royal University. https://www.facebook.com/billbunnauthor

Smell the story

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Bill Bunn

I’ve been working pretty hard on my latest project. Since January, I’ve logged 79,000 words on my latest YA novel. My goal was to have a complete first draft, ugly as a fairytale stepmother, done. Mission accomplished. I’ve written and … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, Writing advice, Writing process, Young Adult | Tagged exploring the setting, getting published, how to treat ideas, messy writer, mothering ideas, publishing process, visiting the story site, writer as tool, writing process | Leave a comment

Toe crossing, and the current YA market

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Bill Bunn

(Sorry about the picture. It was the only one I could think of to go with this post.) Jay, editor-in-chief of Bitingduck Press, asked me the other day, what makes your story unique? It was time to create another blurb … Continue reading →

Posted in advice, fiction, Writing process, Young Adult | Tagged duck boy, how to get published, novel publisher, published, publishing process, writing process, young adult | Leave a comment

Duck Boy Review: Book Review TV

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Bill Bunn

Click on the image for the review!

Posted in fiction, Young Adult | Tagged book review, book review TV, duck boy, duck boy review, review | Leave a comment

Editing, dummies for dummies

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Bill Bunn

The editing process has several phases. Once the manuscript has been accepted, there’s a close read for plot and its problems. The details have to be right. Right? In our case, we’re working from a Word file and ping-ponging it … Continue reading →

Posted in advice, fiction, Writing advice, Writing process, Young Adult | Tagged copy editing, creative process, duck boy, dummy copy, editing process, editors, flight copy, getting published, how to get published, importance of editors, writer's tools | Leave a comment

Marketing a book: in with the old & in with the new

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Bill Bunn

As you probably know, marketing of a book is a very big deal. In some ways, like the music industry, the marketing can be a bigger deal than the work itself. It’s also the most difficult for most authors. I … Continue reading →

Posted in advice, fiction, non-fiction, Writing advice, Writing process, Young Adult | Tagged book marketing, duck boy, how to get published, marketing, marketing your book, persistance, published, publisher, publishing process, writer's tools, young adult | 1 Comment

No writer is an island. Not even a writer on an island.

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Bill Bunn

A few words on the importance of the editing process. OK. There was a time when I thought I was so right that editing would have been offensive. But I was a moron for thinking this way. Even the best … Continue reading →

Posted in advice, fiction, non-fiction, Writing advice, Writing process, Young Adult | Tagged duck boy, editing, editing process, editors, getting published, importance of editors, janitor's approach, novel publisher, published, publisher, value of editing, writing process | Leave a comment

Editing the book: getting it “righter”

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Bill Bunn

Let me spend a few words on describing what happened once Bitingduck accepted my manuscript. Editor-in-chief, Jay Nadeau, once the contract was signed, asked me to work on some initial revisions. Now, instead of just one set of eyes on … Continue reading →

Posted in advice, fiction, non-fiction, Writing process, Young Adult | Tagged book editing, duck boy, editing, finding a publisher, how to get published, novel publisher, writer's tools, writing process, young adult | Leave a comment

Patting the pocket (Floating the duck, part III)

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Bill Bunn

(Photo borrowed from “Duck of the Day“) Last spring, I was surfing newpages.com, looking under “publishers” and what should meet my eyes than this crazy call for submissions by an American company, Bitingduck Press. I enjoyed the cheeky call and … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, Writing process, Young Adult | Tagged creative process, duck boy, finding a publisher, getting published, how to get published, novel publisher, writing process, young adult | Leave a comment

Rejection slips, God’s rude angels (Floating the duck, part II)

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Bill Bunn

(Photo borrowed from “Duck of the Day“) But by this time, I had met a novelist, and he offered to read the first 35 pages of my story for free. He also explained how important those first 35 pages were. … Continue reading →

Posted in advice, fiction, Writing advice, Writing process, Young Adult | Tagged finding a publisher, getting published, how to get published, persistance, process, published, publisher, writer as tool, writer's tools, writing process | Leave a comment

Death of an agent (Floating the duck, part I)

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Bill Bunn

(Photo borrowed from “Duck of the Day“) The submission process for Duck Boy began 16 years ago. I began to submit the story to publishers every spring. Spring seemed to be the season when some publishers take new material. I … Continue reading →

Posted in advice, fiction, Writing advice, Writing process, Young Adult | Tagged barrier, barriers, creative process, duck boy, finding a publisher, getting published, how to get published, Middle school, novel publisher, persistance, published, publisher, writing process, young adult | Leave a comment