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Tim Sunderland

Second-generation California, born in Hollywood.

Tim Sunderland is a freelance writer with bylines ranging from Motor Trend to Bicycling Magazine to the Los Angeles Times. He recently finished the draft of his first novel, Rules for Giving. He is currently editing the piece and plans on seeking an agent in early 2012.

Interests: Reading, golfing, discovering the meaning of life over and over.

Recent Activity

I'm Back with a Cover for My Novel

I have been away from this blog for a while. Work, life and other concerns. I return, however, with bad news that is really good news. The bad news: after contacting scores of agents, and a few publishers, I have been unable to get the literary community to recognize the... Continue reading

Posted Sep 15, 2016 at What If You Could Not Fail

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William Goldman

"The easiest thing to do on earth is not write." "One way an author dies a little each day is when his books go out of print." "Life is pain, highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something." "As far as the filmmaking process is concerned, stars are essentially... Continue reading

Posted Oct 11, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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Traditionally I try to limit the quotes from a writer to four, but it turns out that Tom Clancy had a lot to say about writing, some of it pretty good stuff. Read on: The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense. The only way to do... Continue reading

Posted Oct 4, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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All Writers Know a Strict Teacher They Can Thank

An article in last Saturday’s Wall Street Journal talks about the value of tough teachers, those teachers—we’ve all had them—who expect the best and have little patience for anything else. Those of us of a certain age remember teachers who inspired us and made of work and learn. Many of... Continue reading

Posted Oct 3, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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It's Pucker Time!!

I’ve been a bit of a wreck for the last week or so. In June I met an agent at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference who, through the advance submission process, read the first five pages of my manuscript Rules for Giving. There is a bit of a story behind... Continue reading

Posted Sep 23, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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There are stories still in existence that I wrote when I was five. However, I did not get published until I was seven. Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business. We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have... Continue reading

Posted Sep 20, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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The T-Shirt Philosophy of Writing

As I have mentioned previously in this blog, I am outlining my next novel—the Orange and the Black. Good thing that I am. I have changed the opening scene three times. I have come to appreciate the value of outlining. It allows me to go back--and in a sentence or... Continue reading

Posted Sep 13, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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“If you read someone else's diary, you get what you deserve.” “A good [short story] would take me out of myself and then stuff me back in, outsized, now, and uneasy with the fit.” “At the end of a miserable day, instead of grieving my virtual nothing, I can always... Continue reading

Posted Sep 13, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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Reading Scripts for Dialog Tips

At the recent UCLA Writers Faire I came across a tip for getting a better handle on dialog in your writing. Read the scripts from recent movies. It makes sense. Scripts are all dialog. The first three Bourne movies—The Borne Identity, the Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum--were suggested as... Continue reading

Posted Sep 5, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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Elmore Leonard's Ten Rules of Writing

1. Never open a book with weather. 2. Avoid prologues. 3. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue. 4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said”…he admonished gravely. 5. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per... Continue reading

Posted Aug 30, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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You Did What in Your Story?

My current project is a novel called The Orange and the Black. Three middle-aged men lose their jobs in the recession—jobs that are unlikely to come back—and they are living off the income of their wives. They escape to the boredom and depression of unemployment by making good on a... Continue reading

Posted Aug 27, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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Saving $$$ at Writers Conferences

This weekend I am attending the UCLA Writers Faire, a one-day writer’s conference in West Los Angeles. This one is free, and free is good. As a writer you should take every chance to attend these events. I’ve been to conferences, book festivals, panel discussions and anything else I can... Continue reading

Posted Aug 23, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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F. Scott Fitzgerald

That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong. Show me a hero, and I'll write you a tragedy. I want to know you moved and breathed in the same world with... Continue reading

Posted Aug 23, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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“It takes, unhappily, no more than a desk and writing supplies to turn any room into a confessional.” “Life's single lesson: that there is more accident to it than a man can ever admit to in a lifetime and stay sane.” My belief is that "recluse" is a code word... Continue reading

Posted Aug 16, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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I'm in This for the Big Bucks!

Continue reading

Posted Aug 15, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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Put Together from Junkyard Metal

During my recent vacation I took time to read Savages by Don Winslow. The plot is simple. Two high school buddies from Southern California, Ben and Chon, make a fortune growing some primo marijuana. A ruthless drug cartel invites them to become partners. This is not the kind of partnership... Continue reading

Posted Aug 14, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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Now Part of the Publishing Strategy is Pre-Sales

Chalk up another change that Amazon has affected in the publishing industry. The Los Angeles Times reports that Jeff Kinney—of Wimpy Kid fame—started his book tour for his eighth novel in the series this last week. This despite Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck doesn’t hit the bookshelves until... Continue reading

Posted Aug 10, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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Every writer I know has trouble writing. When I grow up I want to be a little boy. When I read something saying I've not done anything as good as Catch-22 I'm tempted to reply, Who has? Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you He had decided... Continue reading

Posted Aug 9, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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Bezos Buys Washington Post: More Change

If you want to make a small fortune in publishing, start with a large fortune—often quoted by executives in the industry Yesterday’s announcement that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos agreed to purchase the Washington Post has again raised in my mind the conflicted feelings I have about Amazon and the whole... Continue reading

Posted Aug 6, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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This Might be Better Than Kickstarter!

Bliss by Harry Bliss Thanks to Hary Bliss (click here and here) Continue reading

Posted Aug 6, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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Talking to Agents: Wear Your Big Boy Pants

I intended to post this yesterday as a follow-up to my morning post, but the day got away from me. I’m sure you have had similar days. The last writer’s conference I attended made agents available for advance reader submissions. For forty dollars you could submit the first five pages... Continue reading

Posted Aug 4, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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Are You Stalking Agents?

I’ve been in enough business situations, writing and otherwise, to encounter some stalkers. I might have been guilty of it a time or two myself. Since I own my own business, there has been a time or two when I was stalked by some graphic designer or photographer who wanted... Continue reading

Posted Aug 3, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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Sometimes You Hit the Jackpot

If you have been following the news as of late, you know what happened to Reza Aslan. This associate professor who teaches writing and religion recently published a new book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, wherein he portrays Jesus as a revolutionary who dared to defy... Continue reading

Posted Aug 2, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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There are a great many sins in this world, none of them original. Knowing and knowing what to do about it were two different things. The problem with the contemplative life was that there was no end to contemplation, no fixed time limit after which thought had to be transformed... Continue reading

Posted Aug 2, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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Indie Book Stores vs. 7,000 Jobs Added to the Economy

There is an interesting op/ed piece in the Wall Street Journal today by author Ann Patchett. The Antidote to Algorithims: A Real Bookstore takes President Obama to task for visiting an Amazon facility in Chattanooga, TN, earlier this week, but not taking the time to come up to Nashville to... Continue reading

Posted Aug 1, 2013 at What If You Could Not Fail

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