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In Memoriam
Karl Kroeber
1926-2009
Featured Author
D. R. Evans is the author of the Three Lands fantasy trilogy, as well two popular thrillers and the children’s story “The Boy With Green Hair.” Visit his web site.
Featured Book
Singularity’s Ring : Genetically engineered Apollo is five humans who think as one, created to be a starship pilot, only there are forces at work that have other plans for Apollo.
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Request a SFWA Author to speak at your school, library, or public event. (learn more)
Nebula Awards®
Awards for excellence in genre-themed writing and dramatic media. (visit site)
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How semantics can help you! Part 3
As part of her continuing series on How Linguistics Can Help You, Juliette Wad discusses that ubiquitous genre activity making up words.
Tags: Juliette Wade, semantics, world building
Podcast: Google Book Settlement at WFC
At World Fantasy there was a one-hour panel on the Google Book Settlement with Russell Davis, Karen Wester Newton, Charles Petit, Jay Lake, Christopher Kastensmidt, and Dan Gamber moderating. This is a podcast of the full panel discussion.
Tags: c.e. petit, Christopher Kastensmidt, Dan Gamber, Google Book Settlement, Jay Lake, Karen Wester Newton, podcast, Russell Davis
How semantics can help you! Part 2
Neural networks are really amazing things. In my last post I talked about how a word brings up all of its meanings simultaneously; today I’m going to talk about how that’s not all it brings up.
I’m talking about connotations and allusion.
Tags: Juliette Wade, semantics, world building
Do You Know How to Sell Your Sword?
As an author, it’s important for you to know how to sell and market your book. Because there is no shortage of books and articles on the subject, I’d like to tackle the subject of marketing your book from a more metaphorical approach. (If you’ve ever heard me speak, you should know I’m pretty big on metaphors to help you better understand topics in a different way.) In your case, I feel that it’s not only important to understand how to sell, but also understand a little bit more about a typical sales cycle.
Tags: online marketing, selling book online, selling books
Rights and Copyright
Copyright, literally, is “the right to copy.” It guarantees the authors of creative works–including books, artworks, films, recordings, photographs–the exclusive right for a set period of time to allow other people to copy and distribute the work, by whatever means and in whatever media currently exist. It also prohibits copying and distributing without the author’s permission. You own copyright by law, automatically, as soon your work is fixed in tangible form–i.e., the minute you write down the words.
Tags: copyright, Publishing, victoria strauss, Writer Beware
Research Tool: Archive of WWI pictures
FirstWorldWar.com has a deep archive of WWI pictures, which are clearly labeled and sorted. Whether you are doing a historical fantasy, steampunk, or staging a war in your science-fictional world, this will prove fascinating reading.
Thoughts on Self-Promotion
As I close in on the end of my current writing project, the issue of self-promotion is much on my mind. I don’t mind admitting that it’s a prospect I contemplate with dread. I’m one of those I-just-want-to-sit-in-my-room-with-my-laptop writers who really is not constitutionally suited for a world in which the definition of “author” also includes “huckster” (or, if you want to be a bit more diplomatic about it, “entrepreneur”).
Tags: victoria strauss, Writer Beware
How semantics can help you! Part 1
Choosing the right word is critical to getting our meaning across as writers. Here are a few initial things to think about:
1. Does this word have the meaning I’m looking for?
2. Does it supply that meaning unambiguously?
3. Does it have the proper positive, negative, mysterious, or other desired connotations?
4. Does it reflect on the attitude or identity of the point of view character?
Tags: Juliette Wade, world building
Victoria Strauss — The Perils of Searching For Publishers on the Internet
Imagine you’re a new writer. You’ve just completed your first manuscript, and are on fire to get it published. You don’t know a lot about the publishing world, or how to identify a good publisher for your book–but that’s okay. You have the Internet.
So you open a search engine–Google, let’s say–and type “publishers” into the [...]
Tags: Writer Beware
Thinking About Your Writer’s Platform? Consider Your Online Reputation First.
You’ve probably heard about the importance of developing a writer’s platform. Before you start thinking about your writer’s platform, consider what your overall online reputation is first.
Tags: Monica Valentinelli