N.V. Binder's Blog, page 4
January 23, 2012
I will review your book (just not in public)
Writers need each other. We need moral support in our (occasionally Quixotic) quests to get published, or sell books. We need someone to drink with when this does not happen. Sometimes, knowing that someone else is trying to do the same thing you are, and is successful (or just as unsuccessful) is just what we ...Read more ...
January 17, 2012
Support the space program from home
Speaking as a science fiction writer, the space program is my bread and butter. While politics and the economy have slowed down the human exploration of space, there is still a lot going on up there. In 2011, the Curiosity probe headed to Mars. Two probes are now mapping the Moon. Using real data collected ...Read more ...
January 16, 2012
Participate in space research at home
Speaking as a science fiction writer, the space program is my bread and butter. While politics and the economy have slowed down the human exploration of space, there is still a lot going on up there. In 2011, the Curiosity probe headed to Mars. Two probes are now mapping the Moon. Using real data collected ...Read more ...
January 15, 2012
Lady in white
A beautiful young woman walked between the stalls of the market alley. She was alone. Sprawled on the leather seat of his rickshaw, Scrap Lackman stared. He rubbed his eyes with a grubby hand, blinking. Then Scrap reached into the rickshaw of the driver next to him, shook him awake, and pointed at the lonely ...Read more ...
Get "New Year's Day" for free
As you may already know, I have a problem with exclusives. I'm not against them–I can think of thousand$ or even million$ of reasons to work with a single publisher or platform. However, unless you are being adequately compensated for closing off other markets, your book should be everywhere that it's possible for it to ...Read more ...
January 14, 2012
The publishing pyramid
The publishing industry is rapidly changing due to the growing prominence and respectability of e-books and independent writers. This does not mean the end of the traditional publishing industry, but an expansion, diversification and fragmentation of the book market. Here I have represented the new publishing environment as a pyramid. Toward the bottom are ventures ...Read more ...
January 13, 2012
And then we prayed
If a tornado hit Monticello, Florida, it would be news. You'd see it on CNN and for a while all you would be able to do is shake your head and donate a little money–if you had any. Its name would become synonymous with the disaster, and you would say it the way you say ...Read more ...
January 9, 2012
Lady in white
This is a deleted scene from my upcoming Redshift story, "Surprise, Surprise." Welcome to the planet of Barton, where a poor rickshaw driver spots a rich young lady wandering through Cutthroat Corner. A beautiful young woman walked between the stalls of the market alley. She was alone. Sprawled on the leather seat of his rickshaw, ...Read more ...
January 2, 2012
A red-letter year for Redshift
"We wryte yet in oure kalenders the hyghe festes wyth rede lettres…" -The book of Eneydos (1490) With the publication of "New Year's Day" last fall, many books bought, and the first royalty checks received (whoo!) last year was a great year for my short novel series Redshift. But this year is going to be ...Read more ...
January 1, 2012
6 marketing lessons from 2011
For me and many other new writers, this year wasn't just about writing, but learning how to publish and sell. While my book is doing better than I expected (easy, because I expected zero), I can't say that I've stumbled on the alchemy of skill and luck that makes for a good marketing campaign. Frankly, ...Read more ...
