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Some Tips on Evaluating Literary Contests
Since I so often get questions about the legitimacy of literary contests (see, for instance, my posts of December 16 and December 7), I thought it would be helpful to post some suggestions for evaluating any contests you may be…
Nebula Awards Interview: Catherynne M. Valente
I had no idea what that book was actually about, or any notion of characters beyond September and the Green Wind. But the book as it exists in the world of Palimpsest presented certain rules, and I always find it…
Key Conditions for Reader Suspense:
Part 1 – It’s All About the Reader
Sometimes it feels like there are a thousand things to remember when writing a story. New writers who make lists of these things soon begin to drown in them. But I’ve come to realize that many of these “rules” don’t…
Quick Updates for 2010-12-18
Industry News and Member News for Jennifer Brozek, Matthew Johnson, David Levine, and Paul S. Kemp.
Guest Post: Why Go to the Museum?
Every fall, I teach my students Walter Pater’s Conclusion to Studies in the Renaissance. What I’m talking about here is not so different from what Pater is talking about: he says that we need to experience each moment fully, to…
Tidbits
Blogger JM contacted one hundred literary agents with the following question: What is the single biggest mistake writers make when querying you? More than 50 responded. Here are the problems mentioned most frequently:
Blogger JM contacted one hundred literary age…
Quick Updates for 2010-12-15
Industry News and Member News for Tony Pi, Eugie Foster, Jon Armstrong, Blake Charlton, Wendy Wagner, Sigrid Ellis, and Ben Loory.
Guest Post: Write What You Know… or Don’t Know…
Or Want to Know… Know What I Mean?
A week or so ago, I asked a bunch of writers to share some of the best advice they’ve received and how they’ve used it. At the same time I asked them to share some of the worst, the weirdest,…
Note to members regarding Dorchester Publishing Co.
By vote of the board, Dorchester Publishing is on probation as a qualified Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America market for a period of one year, December 10, 2010 – December 10, 2011.
One Way Not to Get Published
Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware
Taking a cue from Janet Reid, who over the weekend posted a truly amazingly bad agent pitch letter (yes, I do know who the agent is, and no, this person does not have any…
Quick Updates for 2010-12-13
Industry News and Member News for Keffy R. M. Kehrli, Rhiannon Held, Vera Nazarian, and Sir Terry Pratchett.
Guest Post: Fairy Tales Reimagined
Even as picture books based on folk and fairy tales are on the wane, the world of children’s books is seeing a rise in fairy tale retellings for middle grade and young adult readers. In fact, this corner of the…
Nebula Awards Interview: Rachel Swirsky by Larry Nolen
Rachel Swirsky was nominated for her novelette “A Memory of Wind”. Instead of asking that tired question of why you became a writer, I’m curious if there were ever any moments in your writing career where you were tempted to…
Quick Updates for 2010-12-11
Resources and Member News for Laurie Tom, Stephen Blackmoore, Anne Nesbet, David Levine, N. K. Jemisin, Seanan McGuire, Catherynne Valente, Ted Kosmotka, and Allan Cole.
Odyssey Writing Workshop Announces
Its 16th Summer Session
Since its founding in 1996, Odyssey has become one of the most respected workshops in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror writing community. Odyssey is for developing writers whose work is approaching publication quality and for published writers who…
The 2011 Indie Publishing Contest
Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware
I’ve been getting questions about a brand-new writers’ contest: the 2011 Indie Publishing Contest, sponsored by (among others) the San Francisco Writers Conference.
Write, Win AND Publish!
New ‘Indie Pub…
Amazon.com now offering BookScan to Authors
Amazon.com is now offering BookScan information to authors enrolled in their Author Central program. For authors, previously one had to subscribe to BookScan or to get their sales numbers through their agents or publishers. Amazon says: We’re happy to announce…
Guest Post–Information Wants to Be Free
The truth of “information wants to be free” is obvious to anyone who works in informatics. But it’s ignored time and again. It’s ignored by record companies trying to prevent music downloads, by startups trying to enforce embargoes on tech…
Guest Post–An Interstitial Moment: Metaphor
I want to talk for just an Interstitial Moment about metaphor, and these thoughts come to you compliments of Faerie Con where hundreds of folk, some quite young, some middle aged, and some old enough to know better have been…
Quick Updates for 2010-12-07
Member News for Lou Antonelli, Matthew Johnson, Marcella Burnard, Jeremy Robinson, Mike Shevdon, and Lee Konstantinou.
Interview–Minister Faust:
Writing is not a performance art
When we write, it’s easy to get carried away, to fall in love with our own endless descriptions of whatever we personally think is amazing: sunsets, flowers, action, aliens, guns, food, sex, shoes…. But when you read your work aloud…
Quick Updates for 2010-12-05
Member News for Tina Connolly, Cindy Pon, and David Brin.
Quick Updates for 2010-12-04
Resources and Member News for Nina Kiriki Hoffman, John Scalzi, Elizabeth Bear, David Anthony Durham, John Kessel, Kij Johnson, Paul Park, Nancy Kress, L. Timmel Duchamp, Charlie Stross, Andrew Burt, and Allan Cole.
Guest Post–The Freelancer’s Survival Guide:
When to Give Up Your Day Job
Every book on how to be your own boss has instructions about when to give up your day job. Each one of these books has a particular rule of thumb. Some say you cannot quit your day job until you…