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Guest Post: 60 Rules for Short SF (and Fantasy)
A “mainstream” short story can be about anything: a mood, a character, a setting, even a flashy writing style. A genre (SF or fantasy) short story is about an idea. The fictional elements (character, plot, setting, etc) are only there…
Quick Updates for 2011-07-05
Member News for Matthew Johnson and Yasmine Galenorn.
Happy 4th of July
SFWA wishes you a fabulous Fourth filled with “squibs, crackers, backarappers, sparklers, torches, dwarf-candles, elf-fountains, goblin-barkers and thunder-claps.”
Video Pick of the Week: VLT and the Milky Way
There are an estimated 100-300 billion stars in the Milky Way. Of these, in ideal conditions at any given time or place on Earth, only 2,500 are visible to the unaided eye.
Why You Want to Hire a Competent PR Service
Before approaching people to review a book, you really ought to a) make sure they’re actively reviewing; b) determine that they review books in the genre you’re pitching, and c) spend a little time researching the venue you’re asking them…
A note to SFWA members: Request for information for Night Shade Book’s probation review
Edited to add: Thank you all for the information you sent in. Please see SFWA’s report regarding Night Shade Books probationary review. Dear SFWA members, Last year, the SFWA board of directors voted to put Night Shade Books on…
Quick Updates for 2011-06-30
Industry News and Member News for David Levine.
Redstone SF is SFWA’s newest qualifying short fiction market
Today the board of directors of SFWA voted to add Redstone Science Fiction to the list of SFWA qualifying markets. Just celebrating its first year online, this market features science-fiction short stories and essays. They have published SFWA authors such as Cory…
Agencies Becoming Publishers–a Trend and a Problem
However, to my mind at least, the conflicts that arise when agencies begin publishing clients’ previously unpublished works are even more concerning. If an agency can publish a client’s book itself, will it try as hard to market the book…
Nebula Awards 2010 Interview: N.K. Jemisin
I usually write a detailed outline of maybe 15-20 pages, including character profiles and brief worldbuilding notes. Sometimes I start a wiki — I’ve done that with the Inheritance Trilogy, so I can easily look up concepts or made-up…
RIP: Martin H. Greenberg 1941-2011
Martin Harry Greenberg (b. March 1, 1941) died on the morning of June 25, 2011 after a long battle with cancer.
Getting Out of Your Book Contract (Maybe)
Consult legal counsel about your situation, and your options for taking legal action. This is where the issue of breach becomes relevant. A publisher may ignore an author’s personal claims of breach, but may pay more attention if an attorney…
Video Pick of the Week:
Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography – Language
Today, we feature a Kinetic Typography video where Stephen Fry discusses anglophones, pedants, and language. Enjoy a delectable dance of diction.
Nebula Awards 2010 Interview: Christopher Kastensmidt
If I had to choose a label myself, I’d call the stories historical fantasy, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter how they’re classified. It’s nice that people place them in so many different categories.
Guest Post: Kindle Starter Kit: A Mini-Handbook on Independent Publication
Today, I’ll focus on kindle publishing, but the principles apply equally well to Nook, Smashwords, PubIt, and other distribution systems.
Key Conditions for Suspense:
Part 27 – Patterns for Resolution
Element 4-6 & The Series Wrap Up
Well, folks. This is it. The final post in the series. I’m going to finish identifying basic patterns for the resolution phase, summarize what I’ve presented on structure, and wrap the whole series up.
The Internet and Procrastination
I’ve tried a variety of strategies to keep myself on track (simple willpower, unfortunately, isn’t enough). I concentrate on email, blogging, etc. in the morning, and reserve the afternoon and evening for working on my fiction.
Message to New Writers: It’s Okay to Focus on Your Craft
Self-publishing is not the only ticket to winning the proverbial lottery. In some ways, I feel the accessibility of authors online coupled with the availability of publishing news hurts the craft because it’s taking the emphasis off the words on…
Quick Updates for 2011-06-16
Member News for John Arkwright, Geir Lanesskog, and Douglas Hulick.
Book Marketing Methods That Don’t Work
It’s no wonder that the Internet is bursting with promotional services, marketing companies, publicity gurus, and book promotion self-help advice from authors who’ve been there, done that.
Guest Post: Checking the Gender Balance
What is happening here is the creation of what we might call “his-story”. If the only books talked about, the only books that find their way into the historical record, are books by men, then anyone looking back over time…
Key Conditions for Suspense Part 26:
Patterns for Resolution Elements 1-3
Readers want their tension to build to a pitch. Then they want to feel a release. The resolution phase is where you deliver that delicious release.
Quick Updates for 2011-06-10
Member News for Robert J. Sawyer, Leah Cypess, and Anna D. Allen.
Guest Post: The No. 1 Habit of Highly Creative People
Creativity is a nebulous, murky topic that fascinates me endlessly — how does it work? What habits to creative people do that makes them so successful at creativity?