John Scalzi reported on this scam earlier this week, and his post was widely disseminated on Twitter–but since not everyone reads the same blogs, and the scam is a recurring one that isn’t limited to science fiction and fantasy writers, I thought it was worth covering here.
You might have heard the advice, “Don’t chase the market.” That’s good advice, as a general idea, but many people misunderstand it and think that it means that you should not write for a specific audience. Here’s the thing… Your audience is not the market.
You’d think that dodgy publishers, publicists, and others would know better than to spam Writer Beware. But no. Disproving the frequent spammer claim that their email lists are carefully targeted, I get quite a substantial number of advertisements, press releases, and solicitations.
When people speak of works that “have withstood the test of time” it’s worthwhile asking “Withstood for what?” and “Withstood for whom?” For instance, The Malleus Maleficarum is indeed an immortal work, but it’s not remembered for the reasons its authors and admirers might have wished. The same nuancing holds for classic SF. Overlapping this is the forelock tugging to so-called “hard” SF that, inter alia, seems to still hew to the fifties concept that only physics and astronomy are quantitative sciences.
As we begin the new year (Writer Beware’s fifteenth–good heavens!), here’s a look back at some of Writer Beware’s most notable posts and warnings from 2012.
On Saturday, January 12th, 2013 at 8PM, the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS), located at 3310 East Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21224, will have a free, public party to celebrate 50 years of promoting science, science fiction and fantasy throughout Maryland.
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.
In The Forever War, I had fun writing about cooking under primitive conditions. It’s easy to write about because you don’t have to explain things so much. People understand cooking over a fire. When you start to go into cuisines, you risk losing your readers because the descriptions require too much detail, or it’s too gross.
Writer Beware is taking time off for the holidays. Unless there’s some especially major publishing news, look for us to be back after January 1.
I’ll still be answering emails. To contact me: beware [at] sfwa.org.
We wish all our readers peace, ha…
SFWA has named Gene Wolfe as the 2012 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award for his contributions to the literature of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Practical guidance, frameworks, and tools for incorporating the principles of peacebuilding and nonviolence into compelling fiction. Many examples in this book are drawn from speculative fiction genres.
Mary G. Thompson is the acclaimed author of Flicker and Mist, Wuftoom, and Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee, which was the winner of the Westchester Fiction Award and a finalist for the Missouri Gateway Award. Thompson’s short fiction has appeared in Dark Matt
SFWA Is Going to Chicago! June 2-7, 2026
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION NOW OPEN for the 61st Nebulas!
$225 USD until 11:59 PM PDT June 30
