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May 2026 Find You Happy, Healthy and Prosperous

Steps To Publishing Fiction With an Agent or Publisher

Begin with the reader in mind by determining what's selling. You can do this with some research into the New York Times Best Sellers, your favorite book store, or at Amazon. At Amazon, take note of titles, descriptions, keywords and phrases. A tactic is to use them knowing that if they get your competition fount, they will get you found, too.

Finding competition is good because it means there's a market for your story. Look at the competition, is your book duplicating what's there? Or is a new fresh take ? If your book does not add to the literature consider a different story. Why? It is not worth your time, effort, and expense to publish with other have already published. Consider this closely.

One. Fiction needs a story. There are two kinds: character-driven and plot-driven. Character-driven means the book centers on the characters.

In a plot-driven story, the focus is more on the things a character deals with, while a character-driven story focuses on why the character deals with those things in the way they do. On a plot-driven story, a character is used to view the plot. In a character-driven story, the plot is used to develop the character.

A superb example of plot-driven story is Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton.

Two. A character-driven book, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is an excellent example.

In order to make a lighter plot interesting, we really need to dive into creating a compelling and driven main character. The arc of that character is what makes the story.

Which one do readers prefer? Both. Pick the one that works best for you needs.

In a plot-driven story, a character is used to view the plot. In a character-driven story, the plot is used to develop the character.

A character-driven book follows a dynamic character that makes a lighter plot interesting and viable to the reader. In this case, you will create a compelling and driven main character that carries the story. For example: Mr. Lorry in the Tale of Two Cities. Hence the name 'Lorry,' it's a truck or wagon for carrying things. Mr. Lorry carried the plot.

Some Techniques

• Here's a good article on Plot Vs Character Driven Stories.
• Reveal back story in conversation. We did this in Attila's Revenge where a main character reveals their, the character and his wife's) back story with Attila when he talks to his hound (today we call them dogs).
• When your story exists in widely separated time frames, use a parallel plot structure. Here, you place the past in its own chapters so the reader does not have to deal with two time periods close together.
• Your main character need to go through a transformation. In Attila's Revenge the main character become a caring man.
• When your story bounces back and forth time-wise, place the date and place at the top of each chapter. This grounds the reader so they are not wondering where, in time, this chapter takes place.
• Flashbacks. Avoid them. They take the reader to somewhere and some other time fast. Should the reader miss that you've flashed back the story becomes confusing. And no writer wants a confused reader because they will put your book down and never pick it up.

Artificial Intelligence & Robotics

1. After watching this video you will see AI in a whole new light. Watch the whole thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byQmJ9x0RWA
2. OpenAI inks mega $38 billion deal with Amazon for compute power: The seven-year partnership will let OpenAI run AI workloads on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure. OpenAI has made similar arrangements with Microsoft, Oracle, Google Cloud, and others to help meet its infrastructure needs. The deal has raised some eyebrows; read our full analysis below.
3. Apple’s Siri is getting a Gemini-powered upgrade: Apple is reportedly commissioning a custom version of Google's Gemini AI model to enhance Siri's responses and web search capabilities. The model will run on Apple's Private Cloud Compute to protect user privacy. Expected launch: March 2026.
4. Microsoft announces 3 strategic AI deals. First, a $9.7 billion deal to buy AI computing capacity from the data center
5. Chinese startup demos autonomous AI for humanoid robots: Shenzhen-based MindOn Robotics just dropped footage of Unitree's G1 humanoid nailing household tasks without teleoperation. The video shows MindOn testing its AI system on Unitree’s G1, seemingly enabling the robot to water plants, carry packages, and vacuum floors with remarkable fluidity. The demo has impressed social media users, though some remain skeptical about the startup’s claims. You can see the viral footage here. This from Superhuman Newsletter by Zain Kahn, 15 November 2025.

   Author's Note: This robot is amazing. I can sort, clean, and play with the kids.

Book Recommendations

• For books on the business of doing business read everything that Seth Godin has published. Seth is a brilliant business man and well worth your time.

Online Tool For Writers

• Email. We like Constant Contact.
• Other solid choices are Mail Chimp and Kit.
• We found Mail Chimp hardest top use. And never evaluated Kit. These sites give you a free way to check them out. Look for ease of use, menus that take you where you want to go with well defined links.

Got a question?

• Have a questions on the web, writing, publishing, editing? Send it to Wayne@WayneAEnglish.com.

The Business Blurb

Bye For Now

Next Month

We begin our three part series on graphics for the web, email, social media, and cell phone photography.