Mandamon he/him Posted January 17, 2017 Posted January 17, 2017 Details announced for the Writing Excuses Scholarships! http://www.writingexcuses.com/2017/01/16/the-2017-wx-retreat-scholarships/ Note there are 4 scholarships this year, two for applicants with financial need, and two more specifically for writers of color to attend. Since this year's cruise is in Europe, the traveling/hotel expenses are $1000, included with the scholarship. The cruise itself is also covered, which means all meals and accommodations for the week. The only part not covered is if you wish to go to WorldCon, which will happen the week afterward, in Helsinki.
kais Posted January 18, 2017 Posted January 18, 2017 I finally started listening to the Writing Excuses podcast. I'm six episodes in and... I don't have a lot of motivation to keep listening. At what point do these three men either get a female commentator (I know there is one because I've heard people talk about her) and/or use female characters as an example? I just finished a podcast talking about hero versus protag versus main character, wherein they used Star Wars. Major discussion of Han versus Luke, then moved on to Superman, Spiderman... and I'm literally yelling at my phone "WHAT ABOUT LEIA, DURN IT!" (I didn't actually say 'durn'). I can remember literally one reference to a female character across these episodes, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, wherein they mentioned the show and not even its title character. Mary Jane was mentioned once as a handicap. That's it. It's not a lot of motivation to keep listening. I feel disappointed.
Robinski he/him Posted January 18, 2017 Posted January 18, 2017 4 hours ago, kaisa said: It's not a lot of motivation to keep listening. I feel disappointed. It's worth persevering, but you'll need to do so until, I think Season 4 or 5?, before Mary came on board full time. I know that's going to grate, but the blokes were just learning the ropes way back in those early couple of seasons. I can't remember when they started having guests, many of whom were/are female. I'm just finished Season 10, and have jumped to Season 12 so that I'm current, while also filling in Season 11 in my spare time. At Season 12, they have introduced more guests presenters for the entirely season, one of whom is Mary Ann Mohanraj. There's great stuff and genuine insight in those WE seasons, I think it's worth sticking at it, personally.
Mandamon he/him Posted January 18, 2017 Posted January 18, 2017 9 hours ago, kaisa said: I finally started listening to the Writing Excuses podcast. I'm six episodes in and... I don't have a lot of motivation to keep listening. At what point do these three men either get a female commentator For you, I would recommend skipping right to the first couple episodes with Mary...aha...go here: http://www.writingexcuses.com/guests/ and do a search for Mary Robinette Kowal. Then listen to those episodes and she starts full time in season 6. The guys say multiple times how much of a help she is. I think she's probably one of the most knowledgeable of the four. The whole podcast gets a lot more enlightened as seasons go by. This year they're getting some new POC podcasters to help them round out the cast. Piper is really cool--I've talked with her a lot on the last couple cruises. 1
EthanBassett he/him Posted January 18, 2017 Posted January 18, 2017 Does anyone have any advice or experience about short fiction publishing? I recently purchased the 2017 version of Writers Market and working on sending some MMS to fiction magazines.
Mandamon he/him Posted January 18, 2017 Posted January 18, 2017 12 minutes ago, EthanBassett said: Does anyone have any advice or experience about short fiction publishing? I recently purchased the 2017 version of Writers Market and working on sending some MMS to fiction magazines. The Grinder is good place to keep track of short story markets, and who's accepting what. I've used it a couple times to search for magazines that fit my stories.
kais Posted January 19, 2017 Posted January 19, 2017 16 hours ago, Robinski said: t's worth persevering, Actually, even in ep 7, season one, they started talking about more female authors, so all is well. Just some beginning lag I think.
neongrey Posted January 19, 2017 Posted January 19, 2017 (edited) 12 hours ago, Mandamon said: The Grinder is good place to keep track of short story markets, and who's accepting what. I've used it a couple times to search for magazines that fit my stories. This is the best option unless you want to pay for a Duotrope subscription and I just don't think the benefit to doing so is there. Even if you don't track your subs there it'll give you a good idea of where's worth your while. Otherwise, read your markets that you're submitting to so you know what they like. That said: * It's always worth it to submit to Clarkesworld first. They're not gonna accept it. But the pay is through the roof and a three-day turnaround is a long time for them so it never hurts to try. * F&SF responds within a week, often sooner, and almost exclusively give personalized rejections. Not more than a sentence or two but it's always good to have that. Edited January 19, 2017 by neongrey 1
Mandamon he/him Posted January 19, 2017 Posted January 19, 2017 5 hours ago, neongrey said: This is the best option unless you want to pay for a Duotrope subscription and I just don't think the benefit to doing so is there. Even if you don't track your subs there it'll give you a good idea of where's worth your while. Otherwise, read your markets that you're submitting to so you know what they like. That said: * It's always worth it to submit to Clarkesworld first. They're not gonna accept it. But the pay is through the roof and a three-day turnaround is a long time for them so it never hurts to try. * F&SF responds within a week, often sooner, and almost exclusively give personalized rejections. Not more than a sentence or two but it's always good to have that. I agree. I've submitted to both of those (and got rejected). Basically, there's no reason for you not to apply to the highest paying markets first. Never assume you should start with a free or low paying magazine just because you're less experienced or a new author.
neongrey Posted January 19, 2017 Posted January 19, 2017 (edited) Yeah, there are a few semi-pro markets out there that are probably worth considering (Shimmer, eg, is pretty prestigious but only gives 5c/word which is just short of a pro rate) but for most purposes if it doesn't move at a pro rate, just sit on it. It is possible to get some exposure value out of something that pays less, but be careful. Look at who a lower-paying market has published; if you see names you recognize it's probably fine but if you have no idea who any of the people they're publishing are, chances are nobody else is going to either and you're not getting exposure or what the work is worth. While in other genres (litfic, eg) this isn't true, in SFF there's basically no non-paying markets of any value at all. I like to submit in order of turnaround time. Most places don't allow simultaneous subs so that keeps it moving. Edited January 19, 2017 by neongrey
kais Posted January 20, 2017 Posted January 20, 2017 So, you know, just going around the internets and I thought, hrm, that sure does look like a spiffy cover... COVER REVEAL! 3
Robinski he/him Posted January 20, 2017 Posted January 20, 2017 (edited) Much, much better. It's maybe lost some of the variation in colour, but I still like it. I still would pick it up in bookshop and read the blurb, possibly with the slightly uneasy feeling that I was handling space-porn - but then I have no experience of the romance genre, in which I know covers are much racier than what I'm accustomed to, which is, you know, big phallic swords and spaceships, of which there are still, precisely, NONE on your cover! Seriously though, good job, nice to have so much input. I'm looking forward to seeing the next cover. And when is AFD unleashed again? (Free plug set-up opportunity). Also, can I do an announcement on the Reading Excuses Facebook page? Only when and if you are agreeable, of course. And, @Mandamon, any reason for me not to do a blurb of your two releases? Edited January 20, 2017 by Robinski 1
Mandamon he/him Posted January 20, 2017 Posted January 20, 2017 9 hours ago, kaisa said: COVER REVEAL! Arm flail!!!! I also really like the color scheme. Reminds me of the art palette for the board game "Abyss," which a friend of mine bought solely on the colors. 4 hours ago, Robinski said: And, @Mandamon, any reason for me not to do a blurb of your two releases? Please do--and send me the link! More press is always better. 1
kais Posted January 20, 2017 Posted January 20, 2017 6 hours ago, Robinski said: I'm looking forward to seeing the next cover. And when is AFD unleashed again? (Free plug set-up opportunity). Also, can I do an announcement on the Reading Excuses Facebook page? Only when and if you are agreeable, of course. AFD comes out February 27th! I'll post links when preorder is up, maybe in a few days? Unsure. Yes, I would love it if you did an announcement on the FB page! I didn't know there was one. Now I have to go find it...
Mandamon he/him Posted January 20, 2017 Posted January 20, 2017 7 hours ago, Robinski said: Reading Excuses Facebook page Eh? Completely missed this, somehow... Did a quick search, but didn't find it. @Robinski can you post a link?
Robinski he/him Posted January 21, 2017 Posted January 21, 2017 http://www.facebook.com/readingexcuses I certainly can, @Mandamon I'll wait till you give the nod, @kaisa 1
Mandamon he/him Posted January 21, 2017 Posted January 21, 2017 Thanks @Robinski I managed to find it without the link, but it took about 3 (as fas as I can tell) identical searches for it to show up. That's Facebook for you.
aeromancer he/him Posted January 23, 2017 Posted January 23, 2017 Alright. Random steampunk question time. I am a hardcore hard SF fan, which is unfortunate for me when I right steampunk, because that gives me a nasty tendency to over-analyze everything and see if I can construct a design that would work in real life. I am designing a set of full-body armor that augments the wearer using a combination of steam/clockwork. Question: How much attention do I pay towards whether or not the armor could actually work, and how much do I just ignore that in favor of the cool steampunk design?
kais Posted January 23, 2017 Posted January 23, 2017 9 minutes ago, aeromancer said: Question: How much attention do I pay towards whether or not the armor could actually work, and how much do I just ignore that in favor of the cool steampunk design? Granted, I do not read heavily in the steampunk sub-genre, but what I have read has glossed over mechanics pretty thoroughly for coolness. Adding even a little credulity would go a long way, I think, but it doesn't have to be a patentable design by any means.
Robinski he/him Posted January 23, 2017 Posted January 23, 2017 16 hours ago, aeromancer said: Question: How much attention do I pay towards whether or not the armor could actually work, and how much do I just ignore that in favor of the cool steampunk design? Imho, as little as possible. I'm pretty sure that most readers don't care whether something would actually work. In fact, if you limit your ideas to what can be realised, even only in theory, then you are limiting your imagination. Artistic license is a thing that should be given free rein as often as possible. Perhaps a better answer to the question is, as little attention as possible while remaining convincing on the topic in question. The extreme of what you describe is, I think, a technical paper or text book, and no one wants to read that for fun and relaxation, surely.
kais Posted January 25, 2017 Posted January 25, 2017 I realize I'm eight years or so behind on podcasts, but I was really frustrated today listening to Writing Excuses. They were talking about how in Return of the Jedi, the original plan was to have the Falcon destroyed (which would have taken Lando with it). And they discussed the reasons why this was a bad idea, and the focus groups thinking this was a bad idea (though no specifics from the focus groups). They discussed the problems of blowing up an iconic ship, even without Han on it, and no one caring about the copilot dying because it was an NPC. No where, not once, did anyone mention that maybe people were upset about the Falcon blowing up, and maybe it was a terrible idea, because it would have killed the only black character in the universe. I kept expecting it to come up, maybe have it 'can of worms' for an other episode maybe of 'problematic tropes', but nothing. Nothing. None of them saw the death of the one black character, which is very widely known to be a very racist and problematic trope, as something worth mentioning. I'm just... I'm just so disappointed.
Eagle of the Forest Path he/him Posted January 25, 2017 Posted January 25, 2017 I actually think that comes back in a later episode, and then they do mention Lando. ..Or maybe it was in one of Brandon's BYU lectures on YouTube... so much material to get mixed up.
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