This isn't the post I was going to write this morning. I had it all planned out. Then I made the mistake of dropping by The Passive Voice and one of the stories there caught my eye. Okay, it did more than that. It had me beating my head against the wall. Not because of... Continue Reading →
Hachette CEO a shining example. . .
of how out-of-touch much of publishing is when it comes to what their customers want. Arnaud Nourry is a walking, talking example of publishing trying to hold to the old model. Not only does he fail to understand the market but he fails to understand that the market is changing. This attitude hurts not only... Continue Reading →
Give me my advance back!
The other day, someone asked me if publishers ever ask for their advances back. After all, there have to have been times when a publisher has signed a contract with an author and that author failed to deliver. I told the person asking that yes, publishers do sometimes ask for their money back. But the... Continue Reading →
“Real” books, contracts and “evil” Amazon – a blast from the past
(Kilted Dave is hip deep in life between a toddler, a baby due any time and more. So, to give him a chance to get his head above water, I'll drop this blast from the past here. It was first posted Oct. 21, 2014. It's funny, and not necessarily in a ha-ha way, how much... Continue Reading →
“Real” books, contracts and “evil” Amazon
I'm neck deep in final edits for Duty from Ashes, the second book in the Honor & Duty series written under the pen name Sam Schall. Because of that, my brain has been steeped in space marines, bad guys and things that go boom and not necessarily at night. As a result, I forgot that... Continue Reading →
Attack of the killer kitten
There is some unwritten law somewhere that writers need cats. Or maybe it is just some cosmic joke played on me by the gods of writing. Whatever it is, I have been in possession of the Kitten from Hell (insert deep, echoing voice here) for the last few months. Perhaps it would be more accurate... Continue Reading →
Of Guardians and Dead Sharks
Surprise! It's another post fisking someone at the Guardian – but not Damien Walters. You're shocked, aren't you? In proof that the rot in the Guardian's hollowed hallowed halls goes deeper than a politician's hand in your pocket, I humbly offer this gem by one Suzanne McGee who claims to be a financial journalist. Apparently... Continue Reading →
F%$K me, SFWA, One More Time
*eyeroll* SFWA's getting involved? On the side of Hachette, obvs. Nothing like supporting the pimp and dissing the girls. What? I give you pleasure, you give me money. What does that make me? Only... I don’t have a middleman over my head taking most of my money. I’m a free girl. ... Continue Reading →
Amazon is a Business
Forgive me if I seem a bit impatient. The stupid has been strong this week, and although normally I’m the quiet, nice one, I’m a bit exasperated by now. (but less so, now. Many thanks to Glenn Reynolds for the instalanche. Welcome to any new readers! I'm not Sarah, but sometimes we seem to share... Continue Reading →
Have I fallen through the rabbit hole?
In my room hangs a poster that has to be close to 30 years old, if not older. It shows a group of gentlemen in Victorian dress, hats in hands, looking down the railroad tracks to the bridge that has failed and the steam engine has gone off the bridge into the river below. The... Continue Reading →