Let’s talk about self-promotion and how it feels icky.
Yes, self-promotion is awkward to do the first time. Yes, it is very easy to do badly. But–it is incredibly important to your career. Someone asked, “Isn’t it enough to write a good story?”
No.
As we begin the new year (Writer Beware’s fourteenth!), here’s a look back at some of Writer Beware’s most notable posts and warnings from 2011.
SFWA member @alcole123 presents A HOLLYWOOD CHRISTMAS: Santa's Back In The Hood – http://t.co/W2JpcLcQ #
Because even watchdogs have to rest sometimes, the Writer Beware blog will be taking a break over the holiday season.
SFWA member @MFJ72 is interviewed today as part of Amber Sistla's "Writer Wednesday" series: http://t.co/D8xrqslj #
The research is simple. I pick up phone and call a physicist. Or whomever. I don’t trust myself to do my own research because I don’t have the background. I should mention that, across thirty years, I’ve made countless calls, often to strangers who just happened to be at the office, say, in the Lowell Observatory.
Some panel ideas, which any convention organizer is welcome to grab.
A couple of weeks ago, I began hearing from self-published and small press authors who’d been approached over the summer by a Turkish publisher called Arvo Basim Yayin.
Like Amazon and Barnes and Noble, Dymocks is a major book vendor. Unlike Amazon and Barnes and Noble, it doesn’t have its own ereading device–so D Publishing does not resemble the free, direct-to-device self-pub services offered by Amazon and B&N.
Member News for Ian Creasey, Paul Cook, Ed Greenwood, Robert Lowell Russell, Eric James Stone, David D. Levine, Eugie Foster, Ferrett Steinmetz, Karen Azinger, Brit Mandelo, Jay Lake, Jim C. Hines, Jody Lynn Nye, Laura Resnick, Jennifer Brozek, and Nancy Fulda.
A historical fantasy: the remarkable tale of Miss Bristol, a young woman born in 1885 who lost herself, found herself, and learned how to eat pizza like a New Yorker in 2025.
My co-authored books are: Blonde OPS, Sirenz, and Sirenz Back in Fashion. My solo books are: The Excalibur Vow, the Evolution Revolution trilogy: Simple Machines, Simple Plans, Simple Lessons. I’ve written short stories and have several mss drafted.
SFWA Is Going to Chicago! June 2-7, 2026
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION NOW OPEN for the 61st Nebulas!
$225 USD until 11:59 PM PDT June 30
