Had a FABULOUS time at Norwescon. My fellow panelists were great, and it was terrific seeing everyone, including (but not restricted to): Alma Alexander, Michael Alexander and his lovely wife Sheila, K.C. Ball, Nathan Crowder, Janet Freeman Davis, Caren Gussoff, Mary Robinette Kowal, Nancy Kress, Nick Mamatas, Mary Rosenblum, Michael Swanwick, Stephanie Weippart, whose surname I think I have misspelled, and Duane Wilkins. Particularly loved the Beneath Ceaseless Skies reading, which featured so much very good stuff that it was alarming.
Your prose needs a good editor. The below is your opening on a story posted at Clarkesworld:
I glance in the glass wall’s reflection. [Why give a plural possessive to an inanimate object? And, are you really glancing in the Wall’s reflection, or are you glancing at your own reflection?]
I glance at my reflection in the glass wall. It faces me twenty feet away as I walk up the stairs [;] marble slab steps, showing grainy pink underneath my red sneakers. My fingers clutch the [again] chrome railing. I’m feeling shaky, that internal quiver where your body announces that it may not be up to this.
What any competent writer needs is a good editor. Unfortunately, you will probably not get to where you want to go by publishing in semi-pro zines; they don’t have the resources to make your work better””tighter””more publishers friendly.
Fellow writers might help, but nothing takes the place of a good editor.
Good luck with your secondary career. Or, if you would like to take a flyer””I can be bought! A penny a word and then perhaps your work might be expanded into professional magazines. Content counts for about half of what an editor considers.
Best-
Mike
P.S. Comma after the word “that” is never a good idea, and placing two “that’s” in the same sentence is a no-no. That said, that’s a shame.
Hi Mike, good luck with the editing career! I’d suggest that if you really want to use the web to drum up business, you might want to rethink your approach, which comes off more like an attempt to troll than a genuine effort to be helpful and thus ends up looking less than professional. You might also want to acquaint yourself with the list of what’s considered pro and what’s not when dealing with SF writers – I’ve found the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America site very helpful and I often point people new to the field at that site.: http://www.sfwa.org I hope that’s helpful!
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"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."
~K. Richardson
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2013 Wrap-Up
Here I am with a peacock's worth of color in my hair.Well, it’s been a very good year.
I had 20 original stories come out. Here’s the list, if you want to look for some of them.
My short story, “Five Ways to Fall In Love on Planet Porcelain,” appeared on the Nebula Ballot. Another first happened on that trip: got to see my charming spouse in a tux for the Nebula Banquet. The story has been reprinted into several different languages as well as in the Nebula Awards volume for 2013 edited by Kij Johnson.
I won an Ictineu Prize for the best fantasy short story translated into Catalan in 2012. The story was “Kallakak’s Cousins,” which originally appeared in Asimov’s, and was reprinted in my collection, Near + Far.
I wrote a nonfiction book, Creating an Online Presence, based on my online class of the same name. Classes overall have gone well, and I’ve even added a few more, including an advanced workshop that has been tremendous fun to teach.
I got a shiny new agent, the amazing Seth Fishman, and began shopping a novel around.
As a result of letting my blog readers determine my hair color for LoneStarCon, I’ve developed an unfortunate Manic Panic habit. I look forward to trying some additional new colors in the coming year.
I turned 50, which felt extremely weird. However, we had a rousing party for it over at the Wilde Rover in Kirkland, thanks to the party organization skills of Deanna Francis and Caren Gussoff. I felt extremely blessed to see so many of my friends in one place and realize what a great group I’m associated with.
In March, I began working with the moderating team for the SFWA private discussion boards. In some ways, it’s been a lot like working with the Armageddon MUD boards. But more cantankerous at times, which is saying a lot. Still, I was pleased to see, when looking at the logs, that traffic on those boards has literally increased tenfold. We’ve added a lot, and one effort that I’m very pleased with is the scheduled chats, which have been a lot of fun as well as very informative.
Time with my godkids is always golden. This year I accompanied them to Disneyworld in May and then got some additional time with them at Thanksgiving. Cutest, smartest, most wonderful kids in the world. 🙂
3 Responses
Dear Cat,
Your prose needs a good editor. The below is your opening on a story posted at Clarkesworld:
I glance in the glass wall’s reflection. [Why give a plural possessive to an inanimate object? And, are you really glancing in the Wall’s reflection, or are you glancing at your own reflection?]
I glance at my reflection in the glass wall. It faces me twenty feet away as I walk up the stairs [;] marble slab steps, showing grainy pink underneath my red sneakers. My fingers clutch the [again] chrome railing. I’m feeling shaky, that internal quiver where your body announces that it may not be up to this.
What any competent writer needs is a good editor. Unfortunately, you will probably not get to where you want to go by publishing in semi-pro zines; they don’t have the resources to make your work better””tighter””more publishers friendly.
Fellow writers might help, but nothing takes the place of a good editor.
Good luck with your secondary career. Or, if you would like to take a flyer””I can be bought! A penny a word and then perhaps your work might be expanded into professional magazines. Content counts for about half of what an editor considers.
Best-
Mike
P.S. Comma after the word “that” is never a good idea, and placing two “that’s” in the same sentence is a no-no. That said, that’s a shame.
Hi Mike, good luck with the editing career! I’d suggest that if you really want to use the web to drum up business, you might want to rethink your approach, which comes off more like an attempt to troll than a genuine effort to be helpful and thus ends up looking less than professional. You might also want to acquaint yourself with the list of what’s considered pro and what’s not when dealing with SF writers – I’ve found the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America site very helpful and I often point people new to the field at that site.: http://www.sfwa.org I hope that’s helpful!