tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465Wed, 08 Oct 2025 07:05:46 +0000My writingAn AsideNovelsWritersPublishersWriting Techniques/IdeasScamsWriting BlogsPOD/Self PublishingPub NewsWriting GeneralAgentsTo Be Read PileReviews - Grade AVid FridayWord CountShort storyReading books/reviewSmall pressPublishing ContractsAbout WritingFinish the SentenceMonday Morning Wrap UpCurrent WIPReviews - Grade BMiss SnarkFilm Fun FridayReviews - Grade CEvanovich-How I WriteThe Teaching CompanyLiteracyReviews - Grade DHi, I'm Nancy Beck. Find out about my novel pursuits (mostly fantasy), how-to books I've used, fantasy fiction reviews, the research you MUST do before deciding on an agent, a publisher or indie publishing, and other writer-type stuff.http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)Blogger419125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-7692582836811308157Tue, 31 Jul 2012 17:27:00 +00002012-07-31T13:28:23.916-04:00PublishersShort storySmall pressDean Wesley Smith and his wife, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, are setting up and editing an anthology project called Fiction River. You can find out all about it here. So why are they using Kickstarter to get funding? Because they know what it takes to get some seed or start up money. They started up Pulphouse 20 years ago or so and had to close it because the money wasn't there anymore. Despite http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2012/07/fiction-river.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-401957548442899340Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:28:00 +00002012-06-08T11:28:09.942-04:00Writing GeneralI didn't hear about this until this morning, but apparently one of the giants in science fiction (SF) has passed away. Ray Bradbury died this past Tuesday at the age 91. Originally born in Waukegan, IL, his family moved to Los Angeles in 1934 in the depths of the Depression. He said that, "Libraries raised me," and went to them three times a week. This was the Depression, remember, so going to http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2012/06/rip-ray-bradbury.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-2370332893105119028Fri, 25 May 2012 17:10:00 +00002012-07-31T13:27:57.542-04:00Current WIPYes, I've been writing and writing and writing the first book of a new series, although it's been tough to keep it going. The reason for that is all sorts of personal crap going on in my life, including losing out on a perm position that should have been mine. No whining here. I've already moved on. I'm now in a temp-to-perm position that I'm crossing my fingers will become permanent soon. So http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-stuff-new-series.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-7052755107473937325Wed, 23 May 2012 16:58:00 +00002012-05-23T12:58:38.254-04:00Over on Konrath's blog, he has done a series of posts on his interpretation of the Department of Justice lawsuit against five of the so-called Big 6 publishers and Apple. The DOJ says these publishers and Apple colluded to keep prices at a certain level. In other words, they all got together and said something like, "We're getting hosed on paper books right now. We have to do something to prop http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2012/05/hopefully-you-havent-joined-this-party.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-3857756164727881670Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:13:00 +00002012-04-17T14:16:46.643-04:00PublishersPublishing ContractsWritersApparently, even the publishers we know about in the U.S. aren't the only ones who are trying to screw their authors. (Not ALL publishers, for sure, just...a lot of them.) This one concerns an author who did the responsible thing (like Kris Rusch said in one of her posts) and checked her royalty statements...and figured out she had been shortchanged. Rather than try to rectify the situation, thehttp://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2012/04/publisher-terminates-because-author.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-175992938478680362Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:22:00 +00002012-03-16T13:22:54.720-04:00POD/Self PublishingI'm linking to a post that those of you who are indies/self pubbers - like me - might consider a simple way to try to get more people to find your books on Amazon. The author of the post self pubs historical fiction, so although the categories, keywords, and tags she picks might not be the same as what you write, you'll get the gist of it. And she gives out more help in the comments.http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-to-use-keywords-and-tags-on-amazon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-1383789456873197185Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:16:00 +00002012-02-14T09:17:39.822-05:00AgentsPublishershttp://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/02/do-you-know-what-business-youre-in/ Okay, so I don't talk about agents anymore, because I find them not necessary in today's publishing climate. However, there are some agents out there who are trying to think things through, not just turning a blind eye to the ongoing transition to digital. It looks as if Rachelle Gardner is one. She compares what's http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2012/02/agent-rachelle-gardners-take-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-4025452425389963807Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:07:00 +00002012-01-31T09:07:00.331-05:00About WritingWriting GeneralOh, oops, excuse me, maybe Mr. Franzen doesn't realize his paper books are now ebooks. And that he's gotten royalties on them. And that the world is gonna end this year - ALL BECAUSE OF THOSE DAMNED EBOOKS! That's right. It's not the Mayans or some fringe cult saying it's the end of civilization. It's Jonathan Franzen, provacateur (what, not selling enough of your books, paper or electronic?)http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2012/01/jonathan-franzen-and-his-ill-gotten.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-7460927602862475422Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:08:00 +00002012-01-27T14:08:43.557-05:00My eyeballs normally glaze over when an organization puts out a report that has reams (or what seems like reams) of data. But the report Dean Wesley Smith posted about on his site actually sounded interesting to me. So while I mostly skimmed the report, the research data on page 8 was especially interesting. Nielsen's UK data (wonder if it's similar in the States?) analyzed a bunch of different http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2012/01/reviews-dont-necessarily-mean-increased.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-1462600280933702496Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:17:00 +00002012-01-17T16:21:05.829-05:00My writingI've been going forward with the start of a new series, book 1 of an I-don't-know-how-many-books series. An historical fantasy, the series will be called Werewolf on Broadway, and takes place in New York City in 1929. Yeah, the year Wall St. laid an egg...but before that happens. Karolina Wokowski is a Broadway hopeful, arriving on a cold, blustery day. She's an Abnormal, a mythical or magical&http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2012/01/start-of-new-fantasy-series.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-4806489857628666851Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:41:00 +00002012-01-09T15:25:18.890-05:00Current WIPWord CountSo how's your writing going? I've managed 500 words since January 2 - for a total of 4,000 words so far this year. (I figured out last year that I wrote about 100K words, the most I've ever written in a year.) I've split the current word count between a novelette in a Super Secret Genre (actually, it's a sub-genre) under a pen name, and an historical fantasy novel, the first in a series (what http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2012/01/word-count-first-in-new-series-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-1826871149188773541Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:47:00 +00002011-12-28T13:57:45.814-05:00About WritingWriting BlogsWriting GeneralYorkWriters: Only the Brave Read the above post, and read Dean Wesley Smith's post on the same subject. Whether you're gung-ho into the indie thing or are submitting to smaller or online presses, these two fantastic posts tell you that it's okay to fail. Especially read the part in the York Writers blog which talks about George Clooney and his fear of failure. Yeah, George Clooney fears failurehttp://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/12/dont-be-afraid-of-failure.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-6022070976322758424Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:14:00 +00002011-12-28T13:23:20.815-05:00My writingPOD/Self PublishingI've uploaded the 3rd (and last) in the series today, and it's available on Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/117757 ETA: And it's available on Amazon now too: http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Daughter-Haven-Jersey-ebook/dp/B006QQ0CZA/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1325093065&sr=1-6 Here's the blurb (which sucks, but the great thing is, I can change it if I http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/12/demon-daughter-now-available.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-419010487685164046Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:52:00 +00002011-12-21T09:55:19.825-05:00My writingPOD/Self PublishingSo the editing is almost done; I'll be doing most of that today. Already have the cover in place (see below), and I'll be uploading no later than Saturday morning. Yes, that's Christmas Eve, and my family has traditionally held the Christmas get together on that day; it goes back to the late 50s and early 60s, when my mother and aunts started having babies: How were they supposed to go see http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/12/demon-daughter-last-in-my-fantasy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-981972865465614390Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:35:00 +00002011-12-21T09:35:51.603-05:00POD/Self Publishinghttp://robinhobb.com/2011/11/caveat-emptor-hephaestus-books/ I read Dean Wesley Smith's blog on a regular basis (you should too; it's full of lots of good stuff :-)), and he alerted his readers to the above blog post by Robin Hobb (she of the Farseer series and other books). Apparently, Hephaestus Books is repackaging wiki articles (public domain) on Robin's and other writers' books - but they http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/12/stuff-you-can-get-for-free-for-12.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-2337026372798452690Sat, 03 Dec 2011 02:14:00 +00002011-12-02T21:33:48.211-05:00I wish it was because I'd taken a month-long vacation or something fun like that, but it's nothing like that. I'm not going to go into details, so I'll just say I'm having personal problems with a loved one - it gets harder and harder to deal with. It's tough for me to talk about on a public forum like this, but I'm trying to do something about it even though the person doesn't want any help, http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/12/sorry-i-havent-been-posting-much.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-493692964237672744Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:44:00 +00002011-11-17T10:40:00.405-05:00Pub NewsPublishersScamsI didn't believe it at first when I saw this over on Konrath's blog. Penguin U.S. has set up something called Book Country. One side of it, the critique side, doesn't bother me. If that's your thing, go for it. But what Konrath and other writers object to is this announcement to self publish and format your ebook for a fee. Outrageous Fees This part of Book Country's "self publishing" http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/11/book-country-newest-way-to-screw.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-6164656792231692524Sat, 29 Oct 2011 22:41:00 +00002011-10-29T18:41:04.646-04:00An AsideThe weather has really been crappy this year - tons of rain, Hurricane Irene - and it's cost people psychologically and monetarily. Put me in the money category. We're having a rare October snow (a heavyweight one), and the branches have been coming down. Now, that's bad enough. But when one especially thick branch came down on our fence and destroyed a section of the fence. Oy vey. You can http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/10/lousy-weather.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-6149176765504769152Thu, 20 Oct 2011 18:04:00 +00002011-10-20T14:05:25.295-04:00PublishersWriting BlogsEspecially people who have a ton of knowledge on any particular subject? This post on Kris Rusch's site really resonated with me today, because I'm going through something similar, except it's in the corporate office realm: The Business Rusch: R*E*S*P*E*C*T Which is why I can't really get into any long-winded post. All I'll say is that I feel like I've been sucker punched; I've been working http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/10/do-you-really-what-to-diss-people.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-6445418831700370705Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:06:00 +00002011-10-07T13:06:56.563-04:00PublishersWriting BlogsI know I've been sort of absent of late, and it's due more to my busy/hectic/hellish schedule at my day job. This also happens to be Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the foundation I work for has DVDs and other things that domestic violence agencies are clamoring for. It all gets dumped on me. Now, I think what they're doing is a good thing; but I've had to recreate a spreadsheet and http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/10/fascinating-read.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-3029137067240551285Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:41:00 +00002011-09-29T14:41:40.872-04:00AgentsTrident Media group has decided to become a publisher of its clients' ebooks. (You can read about it here and elsewhere.) As DWS has made clear, this is a conflict of interest. Period. I can understand authors who have been trad pubbed for a long while being afraid or hesitant to upload their own stuff; they might be Luddites for all I know. (Hmm...Luddite...a gold star word, heh. :-)) But as http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-agents-as-publishers-is-just-plain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-1780574535422558730Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:11:00 +00002011-09-27T14:11:59.493-04:00The past couple of weeks have been nothing short of exhausting. Besides having to deal with some personal crap (which I won't go into) and the explosion of work at my temp job, I've been going nuts. The personal side has quieted down, and I expect the office side to quiet down soon. The Second in the Series Obviously, I missed the production date for Night Terrors (in case you  hadn't http://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/09/life-intrudes-cover-for-2nd-book.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-7612808228636007962Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:19:00 +00002011-09-12T09:19:00.038-04:00My writingThe new cover for Changing Faces has been finalized: I LOVE IT! The lovely Harris Channing provided the cover, after I gave her some ideas. Did I say I love this cover? :-) I love all the covers Ms. Channing provided, and heartily recommend her. Her rates are reasonable, and she's currently looking for clients; of course, that's always subject to change. (She already has a few covers uphttp://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-cover-is-finalized.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-615101983429441966Sun, 11 Sep 2011 13:06:00 +00002011-09-11T09:06:59.676-04:00An Aside I suppose most bloggers are going to reflect today, 9/11, 10 years later. The First Plane I was home on 9/11/2001, recuperating from surgery. I was scheduled to see the doctor the next day, for the okay to go back to work. After being on short-term disability for a few weeks, I was antsy to get back to the office. I was flipping through the TV channels until I happened upon a news broadcasthttp://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/09/where-were-you-10-years-ago-today.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33545465.post-8290004710604525983Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:55:00 +00002011-09-09T12:55:12.911-04:00My writingI'm certainly not going to pretend I'm a graphic artist; I don't even play one on TV. :-) But I was having a hell of a time coming up with an idea for the 3rd book of the series, and one day, out of sheer boredom (or maybe it was curiosity), I decided to check out some of the cover designers who were having sales on ready-made covers. I looked through a couple of them, and then one really struckhttp://writerlystuff.blogspot.com/2011/09/ebook-covers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nancy Beck)0