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Archive for the ‘SFWA Blog’ Category
Waking up to Productivity: Robin Sharma’s “The 5 AM Club”
by Deborah Walker
A few months ago, I began to hear great things about Robin Sharma’s bestselling, new book, “The 5 AM Club.” Sharma is a productivity guru whose work is ’embraced by rock stars, royalty, billionaires and many celebrity CEOs’. When I heard the glowing testimonies from more ordinary folk (albeit productivity types), I was quick to order a copy from my library.
Grice’s Maxims and How You Can Use Them in Your Fiction
by Dan Brotzel
The philosopher of language Paul Grice (1913-88) is best known for his four conversational maxims, which describe what’s going on when people hold a conversation. I want to look at these to see how they can help us in crafting fiction.
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.
Lovable Predictability: The Pleasures and Challenges of Writing a Children’s Fiction Series
by Alex Woolf
“Why do we always have to reinvent the wheel?” my editor once asked me.
When a new book is launched, it’s like introducing a stranger to a largely disinterested world. Potential readers know nothing about its characters or the kind of plot they might expect. Publishers are forced to spend a great deal of money on marketing to give the book a comforting, pseudo-familiar feel. The title and cover design will be reminiscent of other, similar books that readers might already have enjoyed.
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.
SFWA Market Report For June
Welcome to the June edition of the SFWA Market Report. Please note: Inclusion of any market in the report below does not indicate an official endorsement by SFWA.
Crowdpublishing
by Diane Morrison
Everyone says that indie publishing is the wave of the future. Avoiding gatekeepers, who are often prejudiced against particular ideas or demographics, and putting your work out there to see if it will sink or swim on its own, puts the power (and the money) back in the hands of the writers. I had an unusual idea and format that I realized would have difficulty finding a home because of its experimental nature, so I though I would give it a try.
Words Out of Time: Building a Better World Through Etymology
by Ken Pelham
Your stiff-upper-lipped hero, Professor Jenkins, frustrated with the chicanery of Air Captain Hamm, pounds the table and shouts, “Good heavens, man! The scoundrel has hatched yet another outrageous boondoggle!”
Boondoggle. This is where your narrative gets stuck in the etymological weeds.
An Appreciation of Eleanor Wood
by Michael Capobianco
SFWA thanks Eleanor Wood and Spectrum Literary Agency for more than twenty years of service to the organization.
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