by Catherine Lundoff
Got a new book coming out? If you need to do all or even some of your own publicity, a multi-pronged approach to getting the word out about it can very helpful. And, if you’re like most writers, your budget is somewhat limited. So let’s talk about what you can do that promotes your work, but keeps that promotion affordable.
Welcome to the March edition of the SFWA Market Report. Please note: Inclusion of any market in the report below does not indicate an official endorsement by SFWA.
When you have your first (or next) contract in front of you for a traditionally published book, you are likely thinking primarily about your advance and what rights you want to retain. But one of the most significant clauses, usually found somewhere toward the end of the contract, may be the most important for you in the long run: the reversion clause.
by Martin Jenkins
One of the pleasures of genre is that it lets us identify a type of writing that we know we like. We’d feel short-changed if a crime novel didn’t feature a crime, after all, or if a romance didn’t put the travails of a relationship front and center. What we don’t want to see, however, is a mere repetition of genre tropes and clichés – it’s what is fresh and different in a work of fiction that keeps us turning the page while still being identifiably a genre work.
We have had some productive conversations with Goodreads and wanted to update you. As some of you may be aware, over the course of several weeks, trolls created dozens of false accounts as part of a harassment campaign against some writers. We reached out to Goodreads to ask for assistance in stopping those attacks and they were, thankfully, responsive. Goodreads was as committed to solving this as SFWA was. If readers lose their faith with the site because of false reviews, that’s a problem for all of us.
by Ken Pelham
Occasionally, you come across a work of fiction told in the form of documents. Letters, court reports, diaries, news articles, and such. We call this epistolary narration (from the root word, epistle, meaning “letter”). Some call epistolary a gimmick. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m a sucker for it.
by Dan Brotzel
Many writers find it difficult to talk about money, especially if it means asking for more and potentially risking turning down an offer of publication. But writing is a business as well as a passion, and the more cash you can secure for it, the more time you’ll be able to devote to your craft. Here are a few pointers on how to approach the dark art of negotiation…
Welcome to the February edition of the SFWA Market Report. Please note: Inclusion of any market in the report below does not indicate an official endorsement by SFWA.
by Amelia Wiens
One of the best parts of science fiction and fantasy is the worldbuilding. A key part of creating interesting worlds is creating diverse cultures that vary in some way from our own norms. That being said, it can be so hard to get out of our own culture’s point of view and redefine elements that we unconsciously take for granted.
by Hunter Liguore
What do you fear when you sit down to write? Fear can be the debilitating emotion that prevents us from getting into the chair in the first place. It’s the force that makes lengthy excuses for why we can’t write. Next to procrastination, fear can cause us to abandon projects, call it quits, or worse, abandon the writing completely.
A demon has possessed an 18-year-old girl and believes the hard part is over–only to discover college can be hell–in this thrilling YA fantasy continuation of The Girl inspired by Filipino/PI mythology.
Michelle Knudsen is the New York Times bestselling author of 50 books for kids & teens, including the Trelian (MG) and Evil Librarian (YA) trilogies and the picture book Library Lion (one of Time magazine’s 100 Best Children’s Books of All Time).
