Question Answers and Exciting Things

I feel kind of sick this morning. I really hope I'm not, because a) I don't have time and b) can't afford it.

Questions from this post.

I'm going to do about two a day, in the order I got them:

princejvstin asked Is the ending of Serpent Sea intended to be a close to Moon's story as currently written? Do you have plans, desires or ideas for further stories involving Moon (or perhaps a completely different set of characters or even species) in The Three Worlds?

The book I'm currently working on now is about Moon, Jade, and the others, and takes place a few months after The Serpent Sea ends. At this point, I don't know if that will be the last book about them. I would like to do other books set in the Three Worlds, about the Raksura and/or about different characters, (like the crew of the Wind Ship Escarpment from this story), and I have a couple of books set in other worlds semi-started, but I have no idea yet what I'm going to work on next.

Eric Francis asked In today's market do you have a feel for whether short or long fiction is a better way to establish one's self? In other words, should I keep writing and trying to sell short stories, or should I focus solely on a novel?

I think it would depend on what your skill and inclination is. Some people are short story writers and never do novels or only do one once in a blue moon. Some people are novel writers and don't do short stories, except very occasionally. Some people can do both at will. If you write good short stories and they get published by pro magazines, get award nominations, etc, that will certainly establish you in the genre, but you probably won't get or be known by as many readers as a good novel would attract.

Writing the thing that excites your creativity the most, whether it's a short story or novel, is pretty much always the best way to go.

And there is a slew of exciting things this morning:

The Cloud Roads is a Salt Lake County Library Reader's Choice Book Salt Lake County Library patrons can vote on it or the other reader's choice books and enter to win a drawing for a gift card.

Three signed copies of The Cloud Roads are also prizes in the Worldbuilders fundraiser by Patrick Rothfuss Donate $10.00 to Heifer International and you'll be entered to win one of hundreds of prizes.

Paul Weimer of SF Signal has a review of The Serpent Sea yay, four stars! (beware of spoilers)

Keith West at Adventures Fantastic has a review of The Serpent Sea (not very spoilery at all)

Kate Elliott says nice things about me The Serpent Sea, Martha Wells, & talking up the books you love
If, in this age of social media, you ever wonder if talking about a book online, in person, over the phone, or anywhere, really — whether writing a review on your blog or up on goodreads or LibraryThing or Amazon — makes a difference: It does.

Visibility matters.

Visibility particularly matters for writers who don't often fall into the territory of bestsellerdom or persistent critical or award acclaim. It's hard to buy a book if one doesn't know it exists.

This is very true. Sometimes people ask what they can do to help their favorite writers, and the answer is talk about their books, online or offline, in whatever venue you are comfortable with. All the advertising money (and unless the book is a bestseller there is zero advertising money) doesn't matter if people aren't talking about the book. Whether you buy your books or check them out at the library, this is a power that readers have now.