Archive for the ‘The Business of Writing’ Category

Text Expansion Tools

by Aidan Doyle

Text expansion tools are a way to save time by using shortcuts for text you commonly type. For example, on my computer I type -em and it’s automatically replaced by my email address. When submitting short stories I have a standard cover letter template. I type -pubs and modify the template according to the market. If you’re an editor sending many similar emails, text expansion tools can save you a lot of time.

Contracts Committee Alert: Non-compete and Option Clauses

The SFWA Contracts Committee believes there are serious problems for writers with the non-compete and option clauses in many science fiction and fantasy publishers’ contracts. The non-compete language in these contracts often overreaches and limits authors’ career options in unacceptable ways.

Guest Post: The Work of Writing

by Theodora Goss

I keep reading blog posts that basically all make the same point: anyone can find time to write. You’ve probably read them too. The message is, if you want to be a writer, you can find the time. Get up early and write before work. Write on your lunch break. Write on your commute home. Write after everyone else is asleep. If you can write even a hundred words a day, eventually you’ll have a novel.

It’s not a bad message, but it’s aimed toward aspiring writers. And aspiring writers, I would argue, are very different from working writers, who are different, again, from professional writers.

Story Cake

by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley

The popular advice for writers is to write your first draft for just one person and then to revise for the world. Your voice, they say, should be personal and true and deep but the story itself must have mass-market appeal. This is a rainbow I chased for a long time. Lately, though, I’m starting to question the simple assumption that success is measured by the number of readers.

Ask the Tax Czarina: 1099-MISC

So far, SFWA’s own “Tax Czarina” has discussed basic tax issues writers face and questions about bartering.  This week, she focuses on questions regarding Form 1099 MISC. Q: Did I miss the deadline for Form 1099-MISC? What should I do? A: The deadline for delivering Form 1099-MISC was February 1. So you may have missed that deadline. The deadline for filing […]