Editing Defined

Editing Defined

Publishing is an old industry that's assembled its own internal lexicon. As you'll find with any trade, publishing jargon can be difficult for laymen--and even authors--to decipher. A widely misunderstood term is the deceptively simple title of editor. When most people; again even some authors, hear the word "editor", they…
Hillary Hard Choices

Kiss Tradpub Goodbye

Evidence continues mounting that indie authors publishing with Amazon have sent the Big Five traditional publishers into a death spiral. An inexorable reality of today’s commercial book publishing world is that it is shrinking. Although there have been no obvious signs yet that actual long-form book reading itself has declined…
2017 Dragon Award Finalist The Secret Kings

2017 Dragon Award Finalist The Secret Kings

The final ballot for the 2017 Dragon Awards has been released! I'm honored to announce that my highly praised space opera novel The Secret Kings has been nominated for Best Science Fiction Novel. Because the Dragon Awards do not yet have a Best Editor category, I promised to share the honor with…

The Sad Puppies Saga Explained

The most common reaction when people find out I was nominated for a Hugo Award is for them to ask "What's a Hugo Award?" So I wouldn't be surprised if the number of people who are vaguely aware of propaganda claiming that right-wing bigots tried to deny women and minorities…
How I Predicted that Souldancer Would Win a Dragon Award

How I Predicted that Souldancer Would Win a Dragon Award

Yesterday I announced that my SF/Horror book Souldancer has won the first annual Dragon Award in the Best Horror Novel category. Winning the Dragon, which  truly reflects SF fans' preferences, has been a great honor and a tremendous pleasure. But it wasn't a surprise. Two weeks ago I predicted that the…
BOOK BOMB! After Action Report

BOOK BOMB! After Action Report

As far more people than I'd expected are aware, superstar author Larry Correia held one of his celebrated BOOK BOMBS for my debut novel, Nethereal. Obligatory BOOK BOMB! Explanation: For those who are unfamiliar with Book Bombs, how it works is that Larry picks a book, usually by a new writer,…

Superversary

Today marks the first anniversary of the superversive literary movement--where writers who are tired of establishment sci-fi's obsession with repeatedly burning the motherhood statement in effigy strive to raise SF from the ashes. The redoubtable Mr. Tom Simon declares the purpose of superversive science fiction: The subversives have pulled down…
How to Write Romance

How to Write Romance

Didn't expect a guy who likes space battles, gun porn, and horror films to write about romance, did you?  Well, like others in my theological tradition, surprise is among my chief weapons. I recently finished the final draft of the second Soul Cycle book, Souldancer. While Nethereal had some romantic elements, romance is…