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HISTORY BROUGHT FORWARD…
Back in the Day… And I do mean “back in the day” when Kris and I were going to a lot of science fiction conventions (1990-1998 or so), we got asked to do a live talk on publishing. Sounded fine, even though were were two new writers, we decided to talk about what we knew about the publishing business (which was a ton because I was the publisher of Pulphouse Publishing and she was not only the senior editor, but also the editor of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.) We were also selling novels like crazy and were in and out of of New York publishing offices all…
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A Few Great Questions Today…
First A Question on Priorities… The question boiled down to this… “What is more important? Writing, Learning, Reading, Publishing?” Great question, and I honestly had to stop and stare at it for a moment because in the publishing world of 2024, all of those are important. There needs to be a balance of feeding them all regularly. But writers tend to get into trouble over time when they drop one or two. “I don’t have time to study another author’s book or to take a class or worse yet, I don’t need it right now.” So learning gets left out and the writer goes stale and dull in time. “I…
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I Have Been Lucky…
Yes, Even With Everything Going On… I consider myself amazingly lucky that somehow I have been able to continue in this profession of fiction writing now for fifty years. I mark that fifty from selling my first short story. For going on thirty-nine of those years, I have been super lucky to have Kristine Kathryn Rusch as my partner. We met when we had both sold a few short stories and just kept on going through all the ups and downs. There have been some amazing ups I can tell you, but also some stunning downs. We just keep on going, enjoying the storytelling and the publishing and our friends…
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Why So Many??
Got That Question the Other Day… Why have I done so many Kickstarters? Done 44 of them, working right now on building #45. My honest answer. I like to get my books and Kris’s books and our projects to readers. That simple. And here in 2024, that is the first step in telling readers what is available. Just as with any kind of promotion, Kickstarters take time to build up followers, but first question I always ask someone who is complaining about book sales is have they done a Kickstarter? Answer is almost always no. Fear. Too busy. Too much work. All the reasons for the answer “no.” And when…
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Writing, Learning, Fun…
New Structure Format… Coming Out of Writer’s Block… I have for some time now not been writing at the pace I usually enjoy. This is from three life events. Going blind for a time, major shoulder injury and surgery, and then a discovery with our business. But as with all Writer’s Blocks caused by life events, I am emerging back into the light and my creative voice really wants me to pick up speed. So now I am deciding on what to do next. And I hope sort of a start on December 1st with a ramp into 2025. I know what I want to do on the publishing side.…
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New Blog Structure…
Or Actually an Old Structure I Am Going Back To… Three parts of the blog if I can every night. 1… Something About Writing or Publishing 2… Something About Learning or Workshops 3… Something Personal and Fun or My Writing. I will miss one part or another, depending on time and events. But will attempt to have something for all three each day. Yeah, I know that is nuts. 1… Notes From An Editor… Part 2 Reading stories over the last four days made me realize something in general as the editor of Pulphouse Fiction Magazine. I love just whacked out weird stories that work as stories. You know, the…
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Notes From An Editor… Part 1
Make It Interesting… When an editor reads a story, just as with any reader, they take their own personal likes and dislikes into their decision to buy or not buy. This is why you can often tell an editor’s voice on a project after reading numbers of issues or anthologies they have put together. That “voice” is their likes and dislikes coming through. I am no different. I have certain basics I look for in a Pulphouse story. First, stunningly well written, meaning the author is in charge of their craft. Second, something a little different about the story in some fashion or another. Third, it has to be interesting…
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Advice From A Fiction Editor
Might Work As A Title… I think I will call this series “Advice from a Fiction Editor.” I have about ten more stories to read that are from workshops as assignments, then I will change out hats and read as the Pulphouse Fiction Magazine editor. Pulphouse is not open for submissions and never will be, so what am I reading? Backers of the Pulphouse Kickstarter in July get monthly prompts and using the prompt can send me a story for consideration. I did this last year and I had a blast and I bought some stories. Great fun. And what is interesting is that the writers are actually (because they…
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Kris Reding Program…
Something Really Fun and Limited Kris Is Doing… She has decided to help a few writers with their writing craft over the next six months. Here is how she put it in her own words on her Patreon page… Kristine Kathryn Rusch On Reading It’s been quite the year. Even though Dean and I have found it hectic, a lot of good has happened. I feel like I’ve recaptured a lot of joy in my life, much in writing, and even more in reading and editing. I do miss a lot of the reading I do for the in-person workshops. To think about stories on the macro and micro levels…
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Dedicated Fiction-Writing Computer…
A Critical Part of Any Fiction-Writer’s Life… Many of you have heard me at one time or one place or another talk about the critical nature of having a dedicated fiction-writing computer. There are a ton of varied reasons for this. But I have been sort of shocked this week at learning how few writers have them and then wonder why their production is not what they want it to be. It is 2024 as I write this. Our computers are full of about a zillion distractions, from emails to YouTube to Facebook and on and on and on. A dedicated fiction writing computer has one thing on it… A…