Sable Aradia's Blog, page 31
October 18, 2018
10 Things NOT to Do to Your Book Cover
By Paul Barrett, Art Director, Girl Friday Productions
After years of pouring your soul into your book, the last thing you want to do is flub the landing with a bad book cover. Of course, we all judge books by their covers (otherwise they wouldn’t exist!), so it’s crucial that you achieve a book cover that’s as elegant and effective as the book it advertises. Here are ten things to keep in mind when working toward that cover.
Read the full article at A Marketing Expert.
October 15, 2018
Book Review: The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing (Writer’s Digest)
The Complete Handbook Of Novel Writing: Everything You Need To Know About Creating & Selling Your Work by Writer’s Digest Books
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
An excellent writing guide, suited for writers of all levels.
I think this collection of essays and articles will have the most utility to the beginning writer. There’s everything a writer who has decided to be serious about it will need. How to get started. How to find time for writing. Pacing. Character. Plot. Theme. Genre. It’s all there.
It will be almost as good for the intermediate writer. Agents. Publishing. Whether to go indie or traditional.
Even the active, professional publishing writer will get stuff out of this. Marketing. Advanced writing techniques. Movie rights.
As an emerging neo-pro with some publications but no big successes yet, I got quite a lot out of it. The whole thing was worth the read, and I think I’m going to keep it in my personal library, rather than pass it along. I will likely reference it again several times in the future.
In short: highly recommended to writers of all levels.
October 11, 2018
Book Review: Pavane by Keith Roberts
Pavane by Keith Roberts
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Read for the Science Fiction Masterworks Book Club.
Who’s this Keith Roberts guy? I wondered. I had never heard of him.
But lots of people I had heard of had, because they all did blurbs for this edition of this book: Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Ian R. MacLeod, S.M. Stirling, Christopher Priest, George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois. Neil Gaiman is quoted as saying that he read of the stories in Pavane as a child, and it “scarred him.” Well, that’s quite the list of recommendations! I thought. And it was on my SF Masterworks list that I have resolved to read at a rate of one a month until they’re finished. So I read it.
WOW. Just – wow!
I understand this is one of the seminal works of alternate history. The premise: the Catholic-prompted assassination attempt against Elizabeth I succeeded. The Spanish Armada was victorious. The world became Catholic. And technology was repeatedly held back and held back. Roberts traces the implications of this alternate history by relating it through multiple viewpoint characters in different stories, all of which are interconnected.
It’s fascinating and involving! In this case, however, it’s the writing itself that is, in my opinion, the most beautiful aspect of this book. His description, the techniques he uses for deciding which part of the story to tell next, the rousing successes, the heartbreaking tragedies; these are rendered with the loving care of a masterwork painting.
I don’t know why more people outside of the field don’t know about his work. Maybe you have to be a bit of a connoisseur to be able to distinguish the subtleties inherent in this work of high art. But it’s just an all-around amazing read too. If you’re a fan of alternate history, historical fantasy, or just an all-around great tale, I highly recommend it.
October 8, 2018
Why the Robot Revolution Risks an Economic ‘Death Spiral’ for Australia
By Greg Jericho
In promoting his 10-year tax plan, Malcolm Turnbull suggested people want governments to undertake “long term planning”. However, a new research paper out this week from the IMF highlights how economies could be set for a major shake-up in the future and how sticking with the belief that better wages for workers comes from reducing company tax in order to spur capital investment is a rather wishful proposition.
Economics research papers generally are not known for their optimism, but the IMF paper titled “Should We Fear the Robot Revolution? (The Correct Answer is Yes)” fairly hits you between the eyes with its pessimism.
This research goes very much to the heart of primary political debate in this country about jobs, equality and the role of government.
Read the full article in The Guardian.
I just want to point out that I wrote a story about this very thing, but in Canada … not published yet, so there’s my pitch … but you know, there’s a simple solution. Just tax capital gains as income. You wouldn’t even have to adjust the tax brackets that way. It would easily pay for a Basic Income for everyone, and then artists could make art, clergypeople could serve their congregations, and no one would have to worry about where their basic meals were coming from. Just sayin’.
October 5, 2018
October 4, 2018
Crowdpublishing
By me!
Everyone says that indie publishing is the wave of the future. Avoiding gatekeepers, who are often prejudiced against particular ideas or demographics, and putting your work out there to see if it will sink or swim on its own, puts the power (and the money) back in the hands of the writers. I had an unusual idea and format that I realized would have difficulty finding a home because of its experimental nature, so I though I would give it a try.
Here’s the problem: It’s not free.
Read the full article on Cat Rambo’s blog.
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Hey! Did you know you can get my original fiction before anyone else at my Patreon for just $1 a month? And I also offer an audio RSS feed of my stories, podcasts, and updates at $2 a month, and livestreamed video readings at $7 a month! Check it out!
October 2, 2018
My Pro SFF Debut!
Terra! Tara! Terror! is a publication that features all three major realms of speculative fiction: science fiction (Terra), fantasy (Tara), and horror (Terror). There’s quite a lot of stories in this amazing anthology; well-worth your money, I think.
This is the first story I’ve ever had accepted in what is defined as the pro-SFF market. I realize I come across as a professional — and I think of myself that way — but most of my fiction work has been indie or small-press published. This is a bit of a milestone for me, and I’m really excited! It tells me I’m finally on my way.
And they paid all of us pro-rates, so you should support them just for that reason.
September 27, 2018
September 24, 2018
Neuralink: Computer-Neural Interfacing Technology
By Susan Fourtane
Neuralink, the brain-computer interface and neuroprosthetics company started by Elon Musk and others in 2016 is developing ultra high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect humans and computers. Elon Musk is also the CEO of the company.
The neurotechnology company headquartered in San Francisco, California is expected to develop implantable brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).
Neuralink aims to make devices that intially would treat serious brain disease and brain damage that was caused by a stroke in the short-term. In the long-term, the company’s goal is to develop the technology for human enhacement. Part of Elon Musk’s inpiration for the creation of Neuralink is a science-fiction concept called Neural Lace that is part of the fictional universe in Scottish author Iain M. Banks‘ series of novels The Culture.
Read the full article at InterestingEngineering.com.
