advice

Bunny Slippers and the Professional

September 22, 2008

Right now as I type this, I’m wearing black sweatpants and a faded X-Files t-shirt I’ve had since 1996. It’s a little cool here today, so in a while I might put on a pair of black and pink striped socks. I showered and washed my hair this morning, then ran a brush through it [...]

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So Then And That’s When Actually Though Just Very However Suddenly

September 18, 2008

All writers have words or phrases that they overuse. “Just” is one of mine. I also have characters whisper and murmur too often. Many writers have certain words which they always or frequently misspell. Some keystroke patterns just trip up certain fingers. (See? There’s a “just”!) I’m guilty of “wtih” for “with”. Additionally, I almost [...]

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Turning Freelancing into Dollars

September 11, 2008

When I started working as a freelancer, my first few jobs were for a publisher. I had the security of knowing that everything I touched was guaranteed to make it into print — security I needed as I worked to build my resume — and I knew that I’d be earning the same fixed rate [...]

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Battling the Red Ink Blues

September 4, 2008

Editors aren’t schoolteachers. We’re not here to handhold, or praise, or encourage, or assign an opinion or a grade to the manuscripts we receive. We’re here to correct, to polish, and to be professional. But, when someone’s life’s work is sent back to them covered in red ink, it can be more than a little [...]

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Schedule and scheduling

August 28, 2008

on Dragon*Con, and on making freelancing a full-time job Labor Day weekend is quickly approaching here in the States, and normally that would mean that I’d be heading to Atlanta for Dragon*Con. This year, due to other plans and opportunities, I’ve had to give it a miss. Enough people have asked me if I’m going [...]

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Speedbumps and the Suspension of Disbelief

August 25, 2008

An important consideration in any work of fiction is the world in which your work will be set. As essential to a story as plot and characters, setting is rarely what makes a book, but it can be what breaks it. Suspension of disbelief is a tricky thing because it varies from reader to reader. [...]

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When in Doubt…

August 21, 2008

No matter how familiar you are with the style guide of your choice, something’s always going to come along that’ll leave you stumped. Language is such a fluid, malleable thing that even the most thorough guide can’t cover all contingencies. When I’m working on a manuscript and I’m in the “zone”, I don’t want to [...]

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To Sequel or Not

August 14, 2008

To Sequel, or Not to Sequel: The fine line between inspiration and convenience The creation of a world is a process that requires quite a bit of time and effort; yet, it’s something that science fiction and fantasy writers do all the time. It’s no wonder that writers become just as attached to their worlds [...]

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Proofs and Galleys: The Forest, Not the Trees

August 4, 2008

Since my last post, I’ve had the privilege of editing galleys for one of the books I’ve worked on. While the process of editing galleys isn’t an exciting one, it means that the book is on its way to the printing press, and that’s always exciting! With that in mind, I thought I’d offer a [...]

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