Mur Lafferty's Blog, page 82
May 6, 2010
How to interpret advice
Rules- Photo by Roland: BY 2.0
I'm in an odd position because I a) am a fledgling writer who eagerly seeks advice, and b) a writing podcaster who regularly gives advice. I'm starting to look at how we as writers interpret all of the advice we receive.
[aside: I wish I could find the list posted online a couple of years ago where a writer went through ten stages of being a writer, from beginner to professional, but all of the keywords are so common I am having no luck. All I remember is stage...
May 5, 2010
Save on ISBW guest Seth Harwood's preorder of Young Junius
Young Junius is on sale now! Use discount code "Mur" to save $3 off your order.
Young Junius is coming out soon, but for now you can preorder a limited edition copy! This edition will be covered by a special, embossed dust jacket featuring artwork by Jerry Scullion and Bob Ostrom. Inside, there will be a b&w insert with photos of some of the book's locations. A cloth binding, a metallic spine stamp, and more fun features will round out this gorgeous edition.
Hello from The Publicist
Well! I feel pretty lucky this month! A guest posting slot on a blog I really admire. Thanks, Mur, for asking me.
You might know my writing from The New Sleekness, where I have a lot of bossy complaining commentary about the publishing industry; or from a well-circulated piece in which I demand that authors not to ask their publicists to get them on Oprah, no matter what; or from Twitter.
I thought it might be fun here to spend some of the month talking about one of my favorite things: book...
May 4, 2010
ISBW Hiatus
Spinning plates by Don Fulano (BY-SA)
I've been suffering from a wee case of "bitten off more than I can chew" this spring, or perhaps "spinning too many plates," and am trying to simplify to get some things under control. May is going to be a very busy month for me, with at least one announcement coming soon, and I have a lot of balls in the air. Apologies for this, but I'm going to have to put ISBW on hiatus until June 1. I have some awesome plans for the summer, starting with the ISBW LIVE ...
May 3, 2010
April 27, 2010
Free ebook- Write Good or Die
I contributed to this ebook, along with more distinguished authors, giving writing advice. You can download it at Smashwords, or buy it for your Kindle (proceeds go to Literacy Inc, a non-profit founded by Deborah Leblanc to encourage teen readers).
Survival tips for 21st century writers, from best-selling authors Kevin J. Anderson, M.J. Rose, Heather Graham, J.A. Konrath, Gayle Lynds, Alexandra Sokoloff, Jonathan Maberry, and more. How to develop your craft, improve your writing, get an...
April 26, 2010
Podcast Survey, be part of university research!
I mentioned this survey in a previous podcast, but the show notes went missing and the site got hacked, so few people actually got the link, so I'm giving it again.
My project is a survey of preferences among podcast listeners. Some of the topics are where, when, and how podcasts are found and listened to, preferred frequency and duration of podcasts, and attitudes toward various monetization options. I believe this survey will be a valuable academic exercise — very few academics are studying...
Distraction and links
One of the biggest things to plague freelancers (plague. heh.) is getting sick. when you feel perpetually behind in things, nothing like lying on the couch to make you feel super productive. As I was sick part of last week, and got behind on everything. But links! Links are awesome.
I did find this fantastic post about freelancing and distractions. 11 Awesome tips to Work without DistractionAll genre fans should be reading io9, because gems like this from Charlie Jane Anders come along. 4...April 20, 2010
Locus Award Nominations – AKA my third grade field day
When I was a kid (third grade, maybe? Fourth? Doesn't matter) our school would have a field day of sports and events at the last day of school. It was great fun. There were four teams, and my team (randomly picked) won one year. Personally, I hadn't done much to contribute; I was never terribly good at sports, even with the tomboy sensibilities. But hey, blue ribbon!
Thus, I was excited my team won the blue ribbon at the end of the day, but then a particularly mean boy said, "Why are you so...
