Posts by accordingtohoyt

Considerations

Yeah. I AM as a matter of fact delaying covers once more. Sorry. Two cons in two weekends were just too much for this introvert-who-hides-it-well. Dan says I can’t write for three days, but actually the big deal is doing creative work, not writing per-se.  So we’ll put off the covers, please and thank you.

Instead, having found that somehow, without passing through the middle, I went from being treated as a raw beginner to being treated as “wise older woman of Science Fiction/Fantasy” I’m going to answer questions everyone and their cousins kept asking me, all trending to: I’m a newby. How should I publish my work. Read more

If You Love It, Put A Ring On It

No, this is not a cover post yet.  In fact, I have a cover I’m fighting, and I’m going to send it to the person whose book it is and saying “Does this stink?” because as always when I’m exhausted I’ve lost the “touch/feel” and in cover art, I don’t YET know how to paint by numbers when that is done.  In writing I do. I’ll do covers probably next week, supposing the con crud isn’t too bad. After that I’m only traveling in October and not far. So.

Which brings me to the topic of your post: if you love it, marry it.  Which is not about marriage but about writing. H*ll about any career, really, no matter what it is. But this is a writers’ blog, and it’s important to talk about this, because people don’t.

No one stays in love constantly. Note I didn’t say no one stays in love forever. That’s different. But no one stays in love constantly.  Not with a person, not with a career, not with a house, not with a city, not with a state, not with parenting/your children, not with your hobbies. NO ONE. EVER. Read more

On the Road Again and Passing Thoughts

I’m sorry to interrupt the cover seminar again, but I’m “on the road again.”  This time headed to Fyrecon where I’ll be presenting over the next three days starting tomorrow.

Meanwhile a quick thought: I agree with very few of the opinions Clifford Simak expresses in is books. He’s still one of my favorite writers (and number #2 son is only not named after him, because husband says no one deserves to be called Cliff.) and in fact I have been binge reading him. Read more

Mystery and History

Mystery and history live together in perfect harmony, but not on book covers because they’re hard as heck to do with found objects.

Since none of you took my hint — okay beg — to give me a time period and title for our past mystery, I’m going to have to do this on my own. You brought this on yourselves, don’t make me do that again. Read more

Covering the Historical Mystery

Hi.  I’m Sarah Hoyt, and I’m finally returning to my cover series.  If you don’t remember it, check out here for the start of it.  Then go forth every week to find how to cover sf, cozy mysteries and historical romances.

As with everything relating to any artistic pursuit — and doing covers is art — remember your first efforts are going to be wretched.  There is a learning curve.  I am now, after years of doing this, at the point where I sometimes do a cover that astounds even me, but the majority are just good, serviceable covers.  It’s a similar curve as with short stories. Read more

Ripples

I’ve been reading a book called Women’s Work, which is about archeology and what we know of what women in pre-history did, on the assumption partly, that this sets what women like to do/the type of work our ancestresses were selected for.

Rest assured I did not forget I was in the middle of a cover workshop, and I’ll return to it next week, but after 2 weeks in Portugal and a 35 hour journey back a week ago, I had the world’s worst case of plane crud. It seems to be a little better, though worse than yesterday. I hope to resume it next week, but it’s arduous work. So for now, we’ll discuss other things.

Like imperfect work, and the effects it can have on the world.

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