Sillybean

Writing and Publishing 101

[updated July 3, 2008. Stars indicate recently added links.]

This is primarily for SF/F novels, although most of the links will be of interest to just about any writer.

On Agents

Career planning: before you look for an agent…
Everything you wanted to know about literary agents…
Agent first, then sale? Other way ‘round?
Do you need an agent?
On the getting of agents and all associated comments
Why fee-charging agents suck (scroll about halfway down)
Writer Beware
Preditors & Editors (also lives here)
The 20 Worst Literary Agencies (with discussion)
The Rumor Mill (check Caveat Scrivener and Ask Ann topics in particular)
The Association of Authors’ Representatives
Q&A with eight SF agents
List of agents who represent SF/F (read the whole thread)
Sales reported in Locus since July 2004 with agent info when known
A little-known way of identifying successful agents

On Book Publishing

Publishing Primer: part 1, part 2
How publishing works from the publishing side
How publishing works from the bookselling side (in five parts; hit “Next” at the top)
The Economics of Publishing
Publishing in the Twenty-First Century (part 2, part 3)
The Rise and Fall of the Mass Market Paperback
Who are all these people? — one publisher’s outline of the various roles (editorial, marketing, etc.)
Things the author does not get to control
Under the Author’s Control For the Most Part/Not Under the Author’s Control For the Most Part *
The Devil’s Dictionary of Publishing (part 2, corrections)

Slush

Slushkiller and all associated comments
Confessions of a Slush Pile Reader
Common slush mistakes
Myrtle the Manuscript (describes a short story; novel slush piles are even bigger and slower)
How NOT to write a cover letter (bonus: for short stories too)

Money and Contracts

Annotated first novel contract (in parts; hit “Next” at the top)
Negotiating novel contracts
The Importance of Reversion Clauses in Publishing Contracts
Anatomy of a three-book deal
Money
Royalty calculations explained
Real World Book Deals (follow-up #1, follow-up #2)
More on money and the writing life
Survey of first novel advances and analysis of data (in short: get an agent)
From the publisher’s point of view: P&Ls and how books make (or don’t) money: part the first: the mass market original complete failure and part the second: the hardcover to mass market profitable/neutral book
Unasked-For Advice to New Writers About Money
What a royalty statement looks like

Sales

Bestseller list primer
Why putting the text of your published book online is a good idea

Scams and other bad ideas

Variants of publishing scams
Arguments against self-publishing
How to spot the scammers
On Publish America:

• Everything you need to know about Publish America
• Preditors and Editors listing
• the Neverending Publish America thread at Absolute Write
• Atlanta Nights and Publish America
• more on Atlanta Nights
• index of further reading on Publish America

Copyright

Copyright FAQ

Author-editor etiquette

How to be the perfect author

On Writing

Jennifer Crusie/Bob Mayer 2007 blog/workshop (site removed; book forthcoming)
Write a Novel online courseware by Crawford Kilian
Learn Writing with Uncle Jim (that’s James D. Macdonald)
Holly Lisle’s articles
Orson Scott Card’s articles
Stephen King’s ‘Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully: in Ten Minutes’
Elmore Leonard’s ten tips
John Scalzi’s ten tips and Utterly Useless Writing Advice
SFWA’s articles
Broad Universe’s articles
Speculations free articles
The Well-Tempered Plot Device
Avoid these clichés
On Infodumps (notes from a Noreascon 4 panel)
On physical signs of emotion and sex scenes (each in several installments)

Writing Life

A day in the life of John Scalzi
A week in the life of Nick Mamatas
The Dictator of Writing Announces His Decrees, Part I

Markets

Ralan
Quintamid market database
Duotrope Digest, including a submission tracker for registered users
Black Holes response time tracker

Magazines

SFWA Bulletin (Non-members may subscribe)
Locus
Speculations

Face to Face SF Writing Workshops

Clarion (6 weeks; June/July; U.S. Midwest)
Clarion West (6 weeks; June/July; U.S. Pacific Northwest)
Clarion South (6 weeks; Jan./Feb.; Australia)
Viable Paradise (1 week; October; U.S. Martha’s Vineyard)
Odyssey (6 weeks; June/July; U.S. Northeast)
University of Kansas Center for the Study of Science Fiction (2 weeks; June/July; U.S. Midwest)

(note that each workshop has its own list of writing/publishing tips)

Online SF Writing Workshops

OWW (formerly the Del Rey workshop)
Critters

Organizations

SF Writers of America
Speculative Literature Foundation
Broad Universe (Women in SF)
Mystery Writers of America
Romance Writers of America
Horror Writers of America

News, Rumors, and Daily Reads

The Rumor Mill
Booksquare
Making Light
Michelle Sagara
John Scalzi
The Top Ten Blogs About Writing and Publishing