Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

Archive for June, 2010

Quick Updates for 2010-06-08

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

• From Magellan Media's @brianoleary there's an interesting letter about digital piracy to Scott Turow of the Authors Guild. http://3.ly/wzzZ #
• Welcome to SFWA's newest Active member Julia Karr, author of XVI from Penguin. http://juliakarr.com #
• SFWA member @EricJamesStone: will be doing a book signing for Year's Best SF 15 in Eagle Mountain, UT June 12. http://bit.ly/9lkEV8 #

Tags: twitter
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Social Media and Your (Lack of) Privacy

Monday, June 7th, 2010

The year is 2010. The internet has passed the infant stage and has grown into a young adult that still hasn’t quite gotten the “rules” down yet. Much of internet law is still in its infancy, in part because the legal system hasn’t been able to keep up with the rapid changes in technology. Words like “piracy,” “identity theft” and “copyright” are just three examples of that, but there are several more. In its basic form, the internet is like a giant toolbox that offers you an array of tools to help you quickly deliver content. Your content, which in its basic form is really different types of data, can be shared through a number of tools like forums, blogs, email, etc. Several of these tools are on a public platform that allows people to not only interact with each other, but to listen in to other people’s conversations as well: this is where social media comes into play.

Although there are hundreds of social media websites out there, many of which can be found through KnowEm.com, there are really a handful that stand out for authors. They are: LiveJournal, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube! and MySpace. Each of these sites allows people to engage in different ways: you can microblog, blog or comment on other people’s blogs in your network, have conversations, share links or stories and play games, watch videos, or do all of the above. Each one of these sites has a Terms of Service (ToS) that spells out what your rights are as someone who might want to participate in their free network. I know several of you might have a blog located on a WordPress or BlogSpot domain. When was the last time you checked your Terms of Service to see who owns your own content? You might be surprised what the ToS states. In many cases, the content that you provide is not, technically, owned by you. For a writer, the question of who has access to your private data or your content can be detrimental. Oddly enough, I’ve seen how many “tools” will proclaim that they won’t enforce their ToS. That is, not until something happens and you wind up encountering legal trouble.

In more cases than I care to admit, your privacy (or your content) is the price you pay for using a free service. This is often addressed within the ToS or within a separate document called a “Privacy Policy” that spells out what a site does with your data. Of course, most businesses have a privacy policy that addresses whether your data is public or anonymous and what they do with it. Many social media networks are businesses to some degree, but sometimes we overlook that fact because they are free (and fun) to use. If the networks are not technically structured as a business, they are often experimental and attractive platforms in order to encourage people to sign up for them. Remember, a social media network is valuable because of the people that use it and not necessarily because of its technology.

If you think about it, each social media platform is very much like a playground at a school yard. When you go to play at Facebook by creating a “page,” for example, you need to abide by their rules or you can get kicked out. Recently, Facebook encountered several problems with updates to their new privacy settings earlier this Spring; the conversations have literally run amok. In response, Facebook posted an update that attempts to be a bit clearer about what you can do with your settings.(1) The end result is that everyone — from the New York Times to Time Magazine — is now talking about privacy.

Regardless of what you think about sites like Facebook and their practices, these “free” websites need to monetize their efforts in order to remain free for you to use. The latest stats claim that Facebook has over 400 million users worldwide (2). Twitter’s user stats, on the other hand, may be closer to approximately 100 million by comparison, but no one knows for certain (3). Both social media platforms have offices with employees; both have business models that employ different techniques in order for these platforms to stay afloat. Behind the scenes, millions of dollars could be pumped into a “free” service through venture capital, online advertising, or other forms of revenue-generation. (more…)

Tags: facebook, Monica Valentinelli, social media, twitter
Posted in SFWA Blog | 3 Comments »

Quick Updates for 2010-06-07

Monday, June 7th, 2010

• SFWA Member @byharryconnolly is pleased to announce that Bibliothèque Interdite purchased French rights to CHILD OF FIRE and GAME OF CAGES #

Tags: twitter
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RIP: Jerry Emerson Loomis 1933-2010

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

SFWA member Jerry Emerson Lewis passed away on March 30, 2010.

He was born and raised on a farm in Iowa.  He enjoyed running wild through the woods and exploring as a boy.  His exploring took a different turn as an adult, when he moved to California to study physics at Brigham Young University. His work as a physicist took him to Livermore and NASA.

His wife D’Ann wrote, “SFWA was an important part of his life, and he made it a point to review the works that were nominated and vote on them.”

Jerry will be missed.  If you would like to read some of his fiction, he had posted some online.

Tags: Jerry Emerson Loomis
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Quick Updates for 2010-06-06

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

Member News

• View the book trailer for MOONSHINE by SFWA member Alaya Johnson.
• Patented DNA Anthology (Pill Hill Press) will include SFWA member Glenn Lewis Gillette‘s story “Time Enough for a Reuben”.
• Nebula winner THE WINDUP GIRL author Paolo Bacigalupi‘s talk to Google Authors is on You Tube.
• Congratulations to SFWA member Catherynne Valente, whose novel PALIMPSEST won the Lambda Award for Best LGBT SF/Fantasy/Horror.
• Welcome to SFWA’s newest Active member Jacey Bedford, with 3 short story sales.

Tags: Alaya Johnson, Catherynne Valente, Glenn Lewis Gillette, Jacey Bedford, Paolo Bacigalupi, twitter
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Prime Books is SFWA’s newest qualifying market

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

Today the board of directors of SFWA voted to add the publisher Prime Books to the list of SFWA qualifying markets. When Prime Books separated from its parent company, Wildside Press, in May 2009,  one of the goals which its World-Fantasy winning editor, Sean Wallace cited was to be able to pay his authors SFWA pro-rates.

Prime Books has been publishing award-winning fiction in collections, anthologies and novels.  They have published SFWA authors and editors such as John Joseph Adams, Ekaterina Sedia, and Catherynne M. Valente.

Novels and short fiction published in anthologies with Prime Books from May, 2009 forward are  now qualifying sales for membership with SFWA.  Congratulations to Sean, the entire editorial staff at Prime Books and their writers!

Tags: Ekaterina Sedia, John Joseph Adams, Prime Books, Sean Wallace
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Author Solutions Inc. Expands (Again)

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware

Per a press release issued yesterday, POD publishing service juggernaut Author Solutions, Inc. continues to expand--this time, into the Spanish-language market.

Its new brand, Palibrio, is targeted to Spanish-speaking authors. "Palibrio authors will work closely with a team of Spanish-speaking designers, consultants, marketing professionals, and customer service experts to transform their manuscripts to finished books efficiently, affordably, and professionally."

The Palibrio website has the same cheery, upbeat look as the websites ASI has set up for the commercial publishers for which it runs pay-to-publish services (Cross Books for LifeWay, West Bow Press for Thomas Nelson, DellArte Press for Harlequin, and Balboa Press for Hay House), with vibrant colors and photos of happy authors. Prices for publication packages range from $599 to $6,499, and there's the usual a la carte menu of add-ons, from editing to marketing.

Where will ASI expand next? Stay tuned.

Tags: Writer Beware
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Summer of Love, A Time Travel

Friday, June 4th, 2010

“Captures the moment perfectly.” –San Francisco Chronicle

Tags: Lisa Mason, Mason
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Quick Updates for 2010-06-04

Friday, June 4th, 2010

• The book trailer for MOONSHINE by SFWA member Alaya Johnson. http://vimeo.com/12207142 #
• Patented DNA Anthology (Pill Hill Press) will include SFWA member @G2L's story "Time Enough for a Reuben". #
• Nebula winner THE WINDUP GIRL author @paolobacigalupi's talk to Google Authors is on YouTube: http://is.gd/cBKsM (via @johnjosephadams) #
• Congratulations to SFWA member @catvalente whose novel PALIMPSEST won the Lambda Award for Best LGBT SF/Fantasy/Horror. http://is.gd/cBLLs #

Tags: twitter
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Quick Updates for 2010-06-03

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Member News

• The Hollow Crown, a Crosspointe Chronicles book by SFWA member Diana P. Francis releases today.
• Congratulations to SFWA member Jim C. Hines whose novel RED HOODS’S REVENGE got a starred review in Publishers Weekly.
• SFWA Member Lisa Mason is delighted to announce that SUMMER OF LOVE, A TIME TRAVEL has been published on Amazon Kindle.

Tags: Diana P Francis, Jim C. Hines, Lisa Mason, twitter
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