By J. Scott Coatsworth Note: All recommendations in this article are the opinions of the author and do not reflect an approval or endorsement by SFWA. Two Paths to Indie Greatness As an indie author, you have two basic choices for distribution: Go all-in on Amazon—eBooks, paperback, and Kindle Unlimited (KU). Or “go wide,” and […]
by Carien Ubink It’s important to get reviews, but if you ask in the wrong way, your request might be deleted right away. So here are some do’s and don’ts when asking a blogger or fellow author for a review. Do your research. This means you need to have a good look at the blog/site/profile […]
By Sascha Stronach Note: This article first appeared in The Bulletin #216 in October 2021. Publishing (verb): the act of smashing your head against a wall until you see daylight. Publishing From Outside America (verb): as above, at long range. In the aftermath of CoNZealand, the 78th Worldcon, there was a palpable feeling of betrayal […]
by Nilah Magruder Note: This article first appeared in The Bulletin #216 in October 2021. I am a cartoonist. I draw. I write. I draw and write simultaneously. Much of my work these days is in graphic novels. It has fed me and kept a roof over my head for the past few years, but […]
Congratulations, You’ve Published Your Work and You Have Fans (and Critics): So What Do You Do Now? by Amber Benson Note: This article first appeared in The Bulletin #216 in October 2021. Before you can become a creator, you have to be a fan first. As the irrepressible Hannibal Lecter says in the film The […]
by Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali Note: This article first appeared in The Bulletin #216 in October 2021. An editor does more than ensure that grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure are correct. Our job is to help writers craft stories that do more than occupy space on the page. We advocate for writers and partner with them to […]
by Sabrina Vourvoulias First, a quick quiz: Did you read the headline, and automatically compile a mental checklist of the authors and staffers from underserved communities you’ve published or hired? Congrats, but … you were gauging diversity. Did you read the headline and start enumerating the kind of outreach you’ve done to ensure underserved […]
by Benjamin C. Kinney Rejection letters are an inescapable part of the writing life, especially for authors of short fiction. The internet is full of advice to build persistence in the face of rejection – which is good advice, but it’s only one side of the coin. It takes two to reject, after all. […]
by Matthew Broberg-Moffitt Part 1 of this series focused on the importance of #OwnVoices stories and the representation of neurodiversity and the neurodiverse (ND) in modern media. Part 2 covers the business of traditional publishing and the unique challenges that the ND face when attempting to get a seat at the proverbial table. For those […]
by Alice Speilburg Nearly every summer, I bring on an intern for the agency, and each week we cover a different publishing topic, focusing on traditional publishing paths in the US. When we get to author payment structures—advances and royalties—I start with a theoretical explanation. An advance is intended to cover an author’s expenses while […]
In a lonely quest for motherhood, Vera Elpis fails to appreciate her own peculiarity. What happened before she moved here? How does she always know every fact and figure? And why doesn’t her cousin, an executive at a secretive tech firm, trust her?
Ash Bishop is a lifetime reader and a lifetime nerd, loving all things science fiction and fantasy. He has been a high school English teacher and worked in the video game industry, as well as in educational app development.
