So here’s another example of the enhanced eBook, that David Farland says is to be the future of eBook publishing, the way to find the “good books”. You have “electronic publishers” select those worthy books and set ’em up fat. He’s even starting his own company to produce these enhanced eBooks. By investing money in the book and author, it will both signal the quality of the book and provide added value for the reader. Like a stamp of approval. And it scares the hell out of me. Sure it looks great for non-fiction books — you can have direct links to sources, video, maps, etc. But how do you…
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Publishers Are About to Face Heel Turn
Last week, I got a scary e-mail in my inbox from David Farland. I subscribe to his “Weekly Kick” which sends out writing tips every once in a while. Today’s tip was titled “Perhaps the Most Important Kick You’ll Ever Read”. It described a well-drawn summary of the current state of the publishing industry. You know the story: paper books down, eBooks up. So what’s the publishing industry going to be doing about it? Well, a lot of evil things, none of which are good for authors. They can print fewer books, save on advertising, paper stock, and most importantly, take money from authors. They can renegotiate contracts for worse…
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Line-Edits for Z Company
I am in the middle of a new experience — making line-edits to a story so it’s suitable for publication. I thought this was something only done for books, but apparently short stories need it too… if they’re going into a book. Which makes sense. 95% of these changes are grammar-related. 40% of that 95% are easy — avoid an acronym here, take out a bad word choice there. The others require a lot of thought: weak sentence openers, avoiding past perfect tense, sentence opener variety. And as I make the changes I find myself questioning myself: does this make the story better? Is this what I meant to say?…
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Playable Character is now in Roll the Bones
Friday night I received my copy of “Roll the Bones“, the anthology that my story Playable Character comes out in. It’s a Lulu-published book (which doesn’t and shouldn’t undermine its integrity, I use Lulu too). It’s taken a long time since its inception to come out. When I first received word that it was accepted, the publication date was September 2010. But now the common man can pick it up and read awesome stories about fantasy fighting. I haven’t been able to look at what my story looks like — it’s quite thick — but I did manage to look at the Table of Contents. There my story is listed…
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Honorable Mention in Writers of the Future Contest
This morning I got an e-mail that said one of my stories got Honorable Mention in the Writers of the Future Contest. And at first I wasn’t real excited. I didn’t know if everyone got honorable mentions, like participation trophies. Plus it’s sponsored by L. Ron Hubbard. But legitimate authors have come out of this contest, like Jim C. Hines, so it’s not like this is bupkiss. And they didn’t ask for money for this certificate. Then I came across this bit of reasearch that says that 5% – 15% of the entries get honorable mentions (depending on number of entries that quarter. This makes me feel pretty good. On…
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Sometimes You Gotta Kick a Little Ass
Here’s an interesting thing about the writing industry. Your stories are like your resumes. You gotta keep track of where they are and where they’re going. You think once you sign a contract, the editor takes care of everything from there. Not true. You gotta make sure you know where your story got picked up and when it’s supposed to be published, that way, you can check it, and make sure you got your payment (if applicable). Just because your story’s accepted doesn’t mean it’s time to let it go. Stories are not butterflies, they are keys. So keep them on your keychain. If you find that certain magazines are…
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Asimov’s Now Accepts Electronic Submissions
Asimov’s, the premiere science fiction magazine, is now accepting electronic submissions. One of the big three down, two to go (Analog, and F&SF). Oh boy, Asimov’s, I hope you know what you’re getting into. If you thought you got slush before… wait’ll they get a load of me. “Submit her? I am going to destrooooy her.”
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“Influx Capacitor” Now Readable at Flash Me Magazine
Tis Awesome. You can now read my flash fiction “Influx Capacitor” at the current issue of Flash Me magazine. MARVEL at the temperment of an eleven-year-old boy watching talk shows! WONDER as his self FROM THE FUTURE flashes into his life! VOMIT PROFUSELY from the shock of watching their exchange! GET A SLIGHT HEADACHE AND LOSS OF APPETITE from the thrilling conclusion of this 500 word story.
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A Nibble
Out of the dozen or so agents I’ve sent to, I’ve now received one nibble from an agent. I sent him my query, and he requested to see a partial manuscript over the weekend. Of course, it was rejected quickly, but this is a good sign. It means my query is now of sufficient quality to be able to entice someone. Now I just need to find that right someone. It also means my premise is intriguing enough to garner interest from, at least, one person. My biggest difficulty about this was the feedback. Sure, it’s a blessing that I got some feedback, because I have no idea how this…
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Hines’s Data
I’m linking to this article because one of the difficulties I faced when I was starting my AuthorQuest was developing the best strategy to get into the industry. To “break out” as the term goes. I know there was no hard and fast way that works for everyone, but I didn’t have anything to base my strategy on. I was working with some outdated sources–Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, etc. People who have started in 197X, and forgot how to struggle to get published. Not to mention the cultural changes that occur. You might as well bring out your old Ghostbusters and Ninja Turtles toys to show your two-year-old how…
