Blog

Stories, Updates, and Craft Notes

Thoughts on author video, storytelling, and building a marketing asset that keeps working long after launch day.

Some Stories Have the Shape for Screen

Maybe it comes from my background in film, but when I write, I tend to pressure-test a chapter by imagining it as a moving picture. Can I see it? Does something happen?

Shelah JohnsonOctober 9, 2026

Being Published Is Not the Same as Being Seen

When I first held my published book, Perpetual Gloom, I expected to feel triumphant. Instead, I felt numb. The closest comparison I can make is bringing my newborn daughter home from the hospital. I remember walking into our flat with her and suddenly thinking

Shelah JohnsonSeptember 29, 2026

Do Authors Really Need Video? A Practical Q&A

Why should an author consider video in the first place? Because readers aren’t only deciding whether they’re interested in a book. They’re also deciding whether they’re interested in the person behind it. A cover can introduce the book. A review can validate it. A synopsis can explain it. Video does something different: it lets a potential reader see and hear the person who created the work.

Shelah JohnsonSeptember 24, 2026

Local Authors Help Shape Riveter Studio's "Author's Video Field Guide"

PORTLAND, Ore., September 17, 2026 — The problem facing many authors isn’t the quality of the work. It’s getting anyone to stop long enough to notice it. Riveter Studio’s "The Author’s Video Field Guide" addresses one part of that challenge: helping authors create videos that give readers a reason to become interested in the person behind the book.

Shelah A. JohnsonSeptember 21, 2026

CineLit: What Riveter Studio Is Building

Cinema and literature have always found each other. A novel becomes a film. A short story inspires an episode. A book written decades ago finds an entirely new readership because someone encounters the story on screen first. That relationship isn’t new.

Shelah JohnsonSeptember 18, 2026

Am I Really a Writer? Impostor Syndrome and the Author

When I was studying photography in college, there was an ongoing debate among the students about when you were allowed to call yourself a photographer.

Shelah JohnsonSeptember 10, 2026

From Typwriters to AI:

The tools keep changing, but real work remains the same: getting the story from one human being to another. There's a romantic lie that gets handed to writers in every generation.

Shelah JohnsonJune 20, 2026

I Put a Curse on a Book Scammer — And Then I Turned My Phone Off Forever

Book promotion scams are getting slicker. Here’s how they sell hope to authors — and the red flags worth memorizing before you pay anyone...

Shelah JohnsonJune 14, 2026

Stop Asking Authors to Become Influencers

Writers need visibility, but forcing every author to perform for the feed is not a book marketing strategy. Here’s how to build better entry points into the work...

Shelah JohnsonJune 11, 2026

Getting Above the Noise Isn’t About Being Louder

Why indie authors need more ways for readers to enter the work — not more pressure to feed the algorithm...

Shelah JohnsonJune 11, 2026

Nobody Is Coming to Ask You to Dance

Why indie authors need to stop waiting for permission, think like small business owners, and build real paths to readers...

Shelah JohnsonJune 11, 2026