The Plight of a Fellow Author

Stephanie Burgis is a fellow fantasy author and also a member of SFNovelists, an online group of over one hundred published speculative fiction writers, of which I am also a part.  Stephanie writes middle grade novels for Simon & Schuster, and right now her publisher is locked in an unpleasant and highly destructive battle with Barnes and Noble over pricing and marketing issues.  And like any war, there is a good deal of collateral damage.  Stephanie writes about the situation here, far more eloquently than I could.  Please read her post and then, if you’re interested in her books, find a way to buy them.

Mostly, though, please remember the next time you’re angry about the relative lack of availability of a book you’re looking for, or about the pricing of an ebook, or about a series that is only partially in print, or any of the hundreds of other things that readers find annoying, that we authors — at least most of us — have precious little power in this business.  We are artists.  We write our books, we revise and polish them.  When we can, we try to promote them.  And yes, a few of us publish them ourselves.  But most of us are subject to the vagaries of the marketplace, and are powerless when the huge corporations for whom we work, in effect, decide to fight their battles publicly.

Again, here is that URL:  http://www.stephanieburgis.com/blog/caught-in-the-middle-hard-publishing-news.php

Writing and Revising, over at SFNovelists

Today’s post can be found at http://www.sfnovelists.com, the group blog on speculative fiction that I maintain along with a group of over one hundred published authors of fantasy and science fiction.  It is called “Writing and Revising” and it’s about the unique challenges I’m going to face as I revise my current work-in-progress, and the ways in which I plan to meet those challenges.  I hope you enjoy it.

A Post About Short Fiction at Magical Words

Today’s post can be found at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, Kalayna Price, and James Tuck, among others. The post is called “On Writing: Why I Love Writing Short Fiction.” It’s about the different approaches I take to writing short stories and novels. I hope you enjoy it.

A New Post on Plotting and Pacing at Magical Words

Today’s post can be found at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, Kalayna Price, and James Tuck, among others. The post is called “Creative Intersections: Pacing and Plotting.” It’s about the steps I take to blend my plot points and my narrative into a story that flows at what I believe to be the correct pace. I hope you enjoy it.

A Book Giveaway: 17 Books by 17 Awesome Writers!

There is a HUGE contest underway.  I’m part of it, and you do NOT want to miss it.  A group of authors — 17 of us in all — are giving away books to some lucky readers.  That’s right:  you have a chance to win 17 books by 17 very talented authors (if I do say so myself), all of them writing in the fantasy or alternate history genres.  (The image link below, and the website link will both say “16 authors,” but we have since added someone.  Trust me:  it’s 17.)  These authors include, among others, Mary Robinette Kowal, David Liss, Kate Elliott, and yours truly, D.B. Jackson (David B. Coe). (I’m giving away signed copies of Thieftaker.)

The contest is called the Ides of March Book Giveaway, because the winners will be chosen on the Ides, March 15.  For every 500 entries, we will give away one set of books; the more people who enter, the more winners!  If you want to enter, go to this site.

And if you’d like to see the books you’re trying to win, check out this very cool graphic:

So visit the site, enter the contest, and good luck to you all!