et’s say you are sitting at your desk, with something to write, and you notice some anxiety, and an urge to go instead to one of your favorite distractions.
And let’s also say you decided to adopt my approach, the Obstacle is the Path.
Since I can’t tell why, for sure, a story was rejected, I keep submitting to places that meet my minimum requirements. When I run out of places, I put the story in a folder that’s labeled ‘stories I still believe in’ and I review it once in a while.
Is book publicity necessary? In my mind: yes. Do you need a publicist? It depends! I’ve long felt that authors are small business owners; what publicity means to an author is going to vary widely depending upon the resources available.
If you’re selling books on Amazon, you’ll want to set up your page in their Author Central program. Use your Author Central page to provide more information for your readers: upcoming events, a full listing of your books, pictures and videos, and even excerpts from your blog.
On February 23rd, at 8PM, the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, located at 3310 East Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21224, will host Scott H. Andrews (Beneath Ceaseless Skies), Damien Walters Grintalis (Electric Velocipede), Rahul Kanakia (formerly of Strange Horizons), Leslie Connors (Apex Magazine) and moderator Sarah Pinsker (published in multiple magazines) for a round table discussion titled, “From Slush to Sale: Behind the Scenes at Science Fiction Magazines.”
For writers who are interested in writing middle grade or young adult fantasy or science fiction, the first step is puzzling out what exactly those categories mean. Science fiction and fantasy, after all, has a long tradition of featuring young protagonists — including such classics as Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey, Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings, and Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey — even if those novels weren’t originally published as middle grade or young adult books.
MFA Programs and the efficacy or use thereof tend to come up in discussion periodically. For those of you interested, here is a run down of the types of programs and what to expect. I personally have an MFA in Poetry from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and am currently looking into applying for a second MFA, this time in Fiction. I might be addicted to school. Or it might be that MFA programs really are just that awesome.
I’ve just finished a story, and somewhere in the primitive part of my brain, I’m determined to milk it for all it’s worth.
As authors increasingly explore way to promote their work, one question that occurs when launching a book concerns giveaways, things like bookmarks, pens, postcards, or sometimes more complex or costly items, used to promote the book.
When my first novel came out – in 2000 – by all weights and measures, I had “made it” as a mid-list fiction writer. I’d secured a two book deal (the second: a collection of short stories, the most elusive prey on the planet), a tidy first-timers advance, and a round of positive reviews from all the usual suspects.
Occult Private Investigator Nora Simeon and her uncannily handsome partner Eyre follow a trail of magic, murder, and conspiracy from the luxurious apartment towers of Manhattan’s upper east side to the ancient depths of London’s Inner Temple.
Nebula-nominated Beth Cato is the author of the Clockwork Dagger duology & the Blood of Earth trilogy from Harper Voyager. She’s a Hanford, California native transplanted to the Arizona desert. Follow her at BethCato.com and on Twitter at @BethCato.
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