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Grant Applications 101: Finding, Troubleshooting, and Completing the Quest for Funding

by Setsu Uzumé

From Kickstarter to ko-fi to patreon, the search for funding can be a huge challenge. I recently attended a lecture provided by the St. Louis chapter of the Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts on the subject of applying for grants. Some of the most basic hurdles include finding grants that might be a good fit for your work, and how to prepare your materials in a way to make it easy for the folks reading your submission.

Defining Roles: Agents & Editors

by Alice Speilburg

At the pre-publication stage, as you’re drafting queries and sending off sample pages, an editor at a publishing house and a literary agent seem to serve the same purpose: to legitimize your claim as a professional author, and to set you on the path to publication.

What Makes You Think Your Idea’s Even Worth Stealing?

by Dan Brotzel

Genuine idea theft and plagiarism are complete no-nos, of course. But I’m amazed how protective writers of stories, articles and posts can be about ideas that aren’t really worth stealing. Here are a few thoughts on ideation and originality…

Collaboration

by Daniel Brotzel

Finishing a book sounds like hard enough work when there’s just one of you. Can working with someone else really help? Yes! says Dan Brotzel, who’s recently launched a novel he wrote with two pals. Here’s the why and the how…

SFWA Minimum Pro Rate Now in Effect

The SFWA minimum payment rate for professional short fiction markets is now eight cents per word. In accordance with our mission to support and empower science fiction and fantasy writers, SFWA periodically reviews and adjusts the minimum payment rate for professional short fiction markets (known colloquially as the SFWA pro rate). On January 16, 2019, […]

Promoting with Podcasts

by Alan Bailey

Podcasters generally have a mixed reputation. Why? I’m not totally sure. Perhaps it’s because the entry fee is low, and anyone with an opinion can put it out there. The sheer number of podcasts doesn’t help either. So, how do you know which are worthwhile?

Waking up to Productivity: Testing Robin Sharma’s The 5AM Club.

by Deborah Walker

Productivity gurus love routine and habit. They say you should have a regular bedtime and a regular time to wake up. I don’t do that. But I am an early riser and no stranger to 5 am. It should have been easy for me to test this productivity habit.

Five Paths to Break Into TV/Film as a Novelist

by Ellis Cube,

Right now, IP (intellectual property) is everything in Hollywood, and by “everything” I mean its validation—both their and your proof of concept. If your novel draws attention or builds up a sizeable audience, executives/investors will feel more comfortable spending their money on adapting what you’ve created, and they’ll come to you.

Good for Your Career? Evaluating Events for Writers

by Catherine Lundoff

“You should go to this – it’ll be good for your career” is a phrase that you’ll hear more than once as you start getting published. The phrase gets applied to conventions, conferences, writing workshops, book festivals and classes, just to name a few things. The “good for your career part” can refer to networking opportunities, the chance to meet editors and agents, some opportunity to gain new readership like doing a reading or being on a panel, or honing your craft.

A Publisher Might Approach YOU: Four Stupid Mistakes to Avoid

by KJ Kabza

A legitimate publisher approaching an author, rather than the other way around, is both very flattering and very rare. But because of its rarity, the experience had a downside: I had been convinced it could never happen to me, so I was not ready in case it did.