Long ago, in the dark days of my early-to-mid-twenties, I was a bookseller at Books, Inc. in Sacramento. It was an odd job; very “Empire Records”-like in the way the staff interacted. I kind of miss it sometimes, even though I rarely worked more than 20 hours in a week and I had to eventuallyContinue reading “The Importance of Local Bookstores for Authors–and the Reading Public”
Category Archives: Business
Debut Diary, Part 3: The Cover
Yesterday, I received an email from my editor. Yes, I still love to say “my editor.” Anyway, I thought it was going to be my edits, but no–it was cover design ideas. He presented me with two, told me his preference, and asked for mine. I’ve thought about this moment a lot, even before IContinue reading “Debut Diary, Part 3: The Cover”
My First Worldcon
So I attended Worldcon 76, in San Jose, CA. It was my first Worldcon; the last one in my neck of the woods was Reno in 2011, and I was not in a good enough financial space to go to that one. All in all, I enjoyed the experience, but as a baby writer whoseContinue reading “My First Worldcon”
Debut Diary, Part 2: The Contract
A few days after I sent my acceptance of the terms the publisher was offering, they sent me the boilerplate for their contract. A boilerplate is standardized language used in contracts. Every publisher has their own. It’s essentially the same thing you’ll see in the contract. This is where the negotiation happens. So I read overContinue reading “Debut Diary, Part 2: The Contract”
Debut Diary, Part 1: Getting an Offer
Ever since I got the offer on my novel, I’ve felt a mix of exhilaration and crushing fear. I thought it might be fun to write a series of posts explaining the process and how I’ve felt during it. I’m going to call this series “What it’s Really Like,” because when we’re working towards publishingContinue reading “Debut Diary, Part 1: Getting an Offer”
The Panic of Having Sold a Debut Novel
So, I sold the book. Began writing it in 2012, finished it in 2015, submitted it to the eventual publisher (among many agents and another publisher) in 2016, sold it in 2018. Now what? Well, as it turns out, what happens now is I panic. I mean, not entirely. But the book is scheduled forContinue reading “The Panic of Having Sold a Debut Novel”
Today’s Task: Plotting
So, while I wait for the edits on The Widening Gyre, I’m busy working on book 2, The Blood-Dimmed Tide. As you can imagine from the title, book 2 is a much messier book. Unfortunately, that messiness was in the plot, too. Some of it I already saw, and some was pointed out to me by aContinue reading “Today’s Task: Plotting”
The News I’ve been Sitting On
One of the most frustrating things is when something amazing happens to you and you can’t tell anyone. For the past week, I’ve been trying to act like business-as-usual when inside, I’m doing 99,000 consecutive HappyDances. I kind of want to go on and on before I reveal it, but that would be mean. So:Continue reading “The News I’ve been Sitting On”
A Good Rejection
I just got a great rejection. I know, rejections suck, but in this case it was complimentary. The agent said it was a “fun, fast-paced read,” but she just wasn’t “excited enough about the voice” to move forward. Sure, it’s a rejection, but it’s a rejection that makes me feel good. A “fun, fast-paced read”Continue reading “A Good Rejection”
The Ups and Downs of my “Stage Presence”
On Fridays, I allow a few minutes for students to ask me any kind of question they wish. Sometimes they ask about real world things they don’t understand, like the current Korean negotiations, Trump’s actions, etc. Sometimes they’re random questions about the world (many of which could be answered with a fifteen-second Google search), andContinue reading “The Ups and Downs of my “Stage Presence””