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Atlanta Nights, the Movie: From Hoax to Film
Once upon a time, a motley crew of knights, hobbits, and assorted elves–all members of the Fellowship of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America–set out to prank a certain publisher of ill repute.
Quick Updates for 2011-04-07
Member News for Vera Nazarian and Lyn Nichols.
An Interview with Kay Kenyon
I’m always attracted to secret, arcane realms, which is one great subect of fantasy. I started in that direction with The Entire and the Rose, which I’ve (loosely) been calling a science fantasy for its quest theme and fantastical adventure.
Quick Updates for 2011-04-06
Member News for Julie Jansen, Paul Daly, Monte Cook, Mark Niemann-Ross, Ernest Cline, Nisi Shawl, Eugie Foster, Paul S. Kemp, David Levine, Allan Cole and Holly Black.
Lies (Dishonest) Fee-Charging Publishers Tell
This blog post was inspired by a recently-seen “acceptance letter” from a fee-charging publisher (which doesn’t admit its fees on its website; writers don’t find out about them until they’ve actually submitted).
Guest Post: A Viable and Just Business Model
For the Ebook Age
The times they are a-changing, the question of when will probably be answered after the next Christmas season as ebooks emerge at minimum as a major market force, over 20% of book sales is a conservative guess, so the…
Key Conditions for Suspense:
Part 16 – The Story Cycle’s Dynamo (and a little Hitchcock)
Even in the reaction stage we can include conflict and surprise. Maybe after our team’s setback, they regroup and discuss what they’re going to do now. This is a fine time to allow the varying motives of those on the…
Karma’s a Bitch: Robin Price, David William Caswell
Robin Price, a fake literary agent and film producer accused of bilking writers out of more than £500,000 over a number of years, admitted in a UK court on Wednesday to six counts of theft.
Top-Earning Authors of 2010
Forbes magazine has released its annual list of the ten highest paid authors. The order is based on income from books, film, television, gaming, and other sources from June 2009 to June 2010.
Nebula Voting ends March 30th
SFWA Active members, tomorrow is the last day to vote for the Nebula Awards. You may do that online with the Nebula final ballot. Your vote must be received by Wednesday, March 30th, 2010 at 11:59pm PST in order to…
Why Your Self-Publishing Service Probably Didn’t Cheat You
I often hear from writers who are convinced that they’re being cheated by their self-publishing services because they’ve been vigorously promoting their books, and yet their royalty checks are tiny.
Guest Post: Shorts vs. Novels—A View from the Trenches
The books I love most immerse me in a world utterly different from my own. Arrakis, Pern, Barrayar, Chalion… I crave deep information about these planets, and fortunately the author always delivered.
Key Conditions for Suspense:
Part 15 – Story Cycle Action & Trouble
We solve all sorts of problems on the first or second try in real life. We keep tension down. But with stories we don’t want to eliminate tension. We want to build it.
Quick Updates for 2011-03-26
Industry News and Member News for Thoraiya Dyer, Nancy Fulda, Sara Creasy, Anna D. Allen, and Matthew S. Rotundo.
Guest Post: Writing on the High Seas
For many it does feel like a kick in the gut when you see people refusing to pay for something you’ve invested anywhere from six whole months to years of your life to create.
Submission Guidelines to Beware of: Midwest Literary Magazine
Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware
Midwest Literary Magazine (MLM) bills itself as “the quiet press.” Its online magazine publishes poetry, articles, and short fiction. Its mission: to “find and publish excellent authors of poetry, fiction a…
How Not to Market Your Book
How not to promote your book: make up a faux publicity company (at whose supposedly professional website you are the only listed client), whip up a badly-written press release (don’t bother with grammarcheck), and spam everyone you can think of…
Judge Rejects Google Book Settlement
A US District Judge has rejected an agreement between Google and some members of the book industry. If the deal had been accepted Google would have put millions of additional books online, in most cases, without the author’s permission.
Hugo & Campbell deadline: March 26
The Hugo nomination deadline of Saturday, March 26, 2011, 11:59pm PDT is fast approaching to cast nominating ballots for the 2011 Hugo Awards and John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
Quick Updates for 2011-03-22
Industry News and Member News for Stina Leicht, Gregory Norman Bossert, Lou Antonelli, Bill Ledbetter and Eugie Foster.
Guest Post: Networking with Purpose and Sincerity
Want other people to feel inclined to spread word of your stuff? Then make sure you’re doing it for them.
Key Conditions for Suspense:
Part 14 – Put Your Plot Together with the Story Cycle
Let’s say water starts dripping out of the light fixture right above your kitchen table. Maybe the wiring in the light starts to spark. What do you do?
Quick Updates for 2011-03-18
Resources and Member News for Richard Johnson, Linda Poitevin, Peter David, Seanan McGuire, Edward Willett, John Joseph Adams, and Christie Yant.
Guest Post: An Infinite Supply of Writing Prompts
I’m usually a bit reluctant about using writing prompts that are offered to a group because of the danger of similarity in stories and because a given prompt may or may not interest me personally. The Wikipedia Prompt Trails approach…