by the SFWA Safety Committee Listen, so there’s this prince in Nigeria who really needs— Hey, wait, where are you going??? I’m joking, of course. If there’s one scam we all know, it’s the classic Nigerian Prince swindle, a modern iteration of the even more classic Spanish Prisoner scam that dates back to the 19th […]
by the SFWA Safety Committee Have you ever considered writing under a pen name? Some authors use pseudonyms to separate works under different genres, reboot their careers after a dry spell, or replace the names of multiple authors on the cover. These are all great reasons, but some authors want to use a different name […]
by the SFWA Safety Committee As social media becomes increasingly fractured, more authors are turning toward newsletters as a reliable form of direct marketing. Mailing lists are an invaluable way to keep in touch with readers who actively want to hear more about your work. They can also raise questions about how to properly set […]
by the SFWA Safety Committee Small events can be some of the most rewarding experiences for an author. Signings, readings, classes, and panels offer an opportunity to connect directly with readers. They also offer some unique challenges when planning for safety. (Pack a towel for any reading in a bar, since it seems inevitable that […]
by the SFWA Safety Committee Many sites, subscriptions, and tools require a login to function, and in most cases (we’ll get to that later), those logins require a password. So, in the shifting landscape of online security, what’s the best way to handle passwords? The answer depends on a few different factors. Let’s start with […]
by the SFWA Safety Committee Numerous user-friendly options exist for authors to set up and manage their own websites, from single, static pages to actively updated blogs. They can be built with templates or custom designed, self-hosted, or placed on a managed hosting service. Regardless of format or complexity, an author website is a perennially […]
If you could go anywhere, where would you go? And what happens to the people you leave behind?
Steven D. Brewer teaches scientific writing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He writes steampunky romantasy and fluffy military space opera, often with an LGBTQIA+ focus. Brewer lives in Amherst, Massachusetts with his extended family.
