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Tools of the Trade: Stellarium
When a character swims across the Arctic Ocean, in a story set a thousand years in the future, what stars might she use to guide her passage westward?
Join SFWA at BookExpo America
For the first time ever, SFWA will be attending the largest publishing event in North America: BookExpo America (BEA).
Guest Post: Race in YA Lit: Wake Up & Smell the Coffee-Colored Skin, White Authors!
Which came first—the chicken, the egg, or the egg white omelet—I don’t know. But the discussion glosses over an obvious gap: white authors.
Vetting an Independent Editor
I often receive questions from writers who are looking to hire an independent editor to polish their manuscripts, either for self-publication or for submission to agents and publishers, and want to know whether a particular editor or editing service is…
Guest Post: How Writers Can Use Pinterest
When it comes to social networking, Pinterest has emerged as a major player. Cat Rambo provides an excellent overview.
Guest Post: We Limit Ourselves and Need to Stop
Everyone can improve their abilities at almost anything with determination, practice, and coaching.
The Importance of Reversion Clauses in Book Contracts
Most book publishing contracts can be divided into two types: fixed-term, where the grant of rights extends for a defined period of time, such as five years; and life-of-copyright, where the grant of rights extends for the full duration of…
Nebula Awards Weekend: Tragedy is Easy!
On May 18th, join Connie Willis, SFWA’s newest Grand Master, as she explains that when it comes to writing, tragedy is easy; comedy is the killer.
Nebula Awards Weekend: How to Write About Infectious Diseases
Join us for the 2012 Nebula Awards weekend, where a panel on “Infectious Diseases” will educate and help science fiction and fantasy writers to write about epidemics more realistically.
In Memoriam: K. D. Wentworth
Oklahoma author K. D. Wentworth (b.1951) died on April 18 of complications from cancer and pneumonia. Wentworth began her career winning the Writers of the Future Contest in 1989 with her short story “Daddy’s Girls.”
Nebula Awards Weekend: Join us for the E-book Decision!
The E-book Decision: Do it yourself, delegate it, or don’t do it at all? Answers may be found at the Nebula Awards Weekend. There’s a panel on Saturday morning and a workshop on Saturday afternoon on E-Publishing.
New/Updated Alerts at Writer Beware: Literary Agent Uwe Luserke, SBPRA
In 1997, complaints began to surface about German literary agent Uwe Luserke, who was selling foreign rights to English-language short stories and novels and neglecting to pay the advances and royalties due to authors.
Writer Beware’s Alerts page…
Link Roundup
Links to articles, blog posts, etc., that I found especially interesting this week.
Guest Post: Would You Rather Be Wrong or Right?
My personal preference is for what I’ve called third-order answers. A lot of mysteries have an obvious culprit, and then a character who is, if you know your narrative conventions, the obvious alternative to the obvious culprit. I like mysteries…
An Interview with Stina Leicht
The absolute necessity of a happy ending is another Americanism. So, while I understand why some readers were frustrated with those aspects of the story, I wouldn’t change them even if I could because I feel Americans should be open…
2012 Prix Aurora Award Nominations Announced
2012 Prix Aurora Award Nominations Announced
The DOJ’s Ebook Price Fixing Lawsuit Against Apple and the "Agency Five": An Overview
Unquestionably, the big publishing news of the week was the US Department of Justice’s lawsuit filing against Apple and five major book publishers–Penguin, Macmillan, Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon and Schuster–for alleged ebook price fixing.
Poetry.com Returns
Once upon a time, there was an infamous vanity anthology company called the International Library of Poetry, also known by the name of its website, Poetry.com.
BooklifeNow.com Announces a Rebranding
BooklifeNow.com, a website that serves as support for and a supplement to Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21st-Century Writer by author Jeff VanderMeer, is proud to announce a new website rebranding and content management team that aims to…
Finalists for the Prometheus Awards Announced
The Libertarian Futurist Society has issued a press release announcing the finalists for this year’s Prometheus Awards, which will be presented during the 70th World Science Fiction Convention over Labor Day weekend in Chicago.
2012 Hugo Award Nominations
The nominees for the 2012 Hugo Awards have been announced.
Guest Blog Post: Why Small Publishers Fail
I’ve used up a lot of column space on this blog warning about the risks of submitting to small presses, especially brand new small presses. In my opinion, this is currently the most dangerous area for writers–not so much because…
I’ll Know I’ve Made it as a Writer When . . .
I’ll Know I’ve Made it as a Writer When . . .
. . . I have my first hissy hit about my first copyedit. (Only robots speak without contractions! “Me and LJ” is how my character would say it NOT…
Guest Post: Submit, Quit, or Self-Publish It?
The way to become a published writer is to write (and to submit what you write). Seems obvious, yet so many would-be writers produce that one story or novel and then rework it endlessly, or submit a story or…