 |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1) stillsostrange | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thank you to everyone who weighed in on the name change question. I'm afraid some of you will be disappointed, though. I can't let Varis and Vargas appear multiple times on the same page (much as I couldn't handle Kieran and Kiril), but there will not be any cute in-text reasons for this. (Okay, I say that now, but I may think of one later.) I just have to change it. The first reader who actually notices will get a cookie. The true lesson to be learned from this is: there's no such thing as a throwaway name. At least if one is writing a series, anyway. One never knows when Random Character Bob will show up again, and when he does, you may regret naming him Bob. In other news, Agent F just passed out while watching Animal Planet an hour before her bedtime. This is an unlooked for windfall of writing time, if I can manage not to pass out. Tags: child herding, poison court, writing
Current Mood:  tired
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
hawkwing_lb | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Books 2012: 83-8483. M.K. Hobson, The Native Star. (Spectra, 2010.) I believe it was ![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) anne who described this as a slight book. I have to agree: there is little here of substance, and ultimately failed to portray its world or characters in convincing depth. Afficionados of late-19th-century fantasy Americana may be entertained by this fish-out-of-water quest-cum-love story, but it has little to say for itself that has not been said better elsewhere. 84. Ian McDonald, King of Morning, Queen of Day. (Bantam, 1992.) An astonishing and accomplished novel, if stylistically difficult and, conceptually, very much working in a postmodernist vein. (I hate postmodernism as found in literature, normally. This? This is very much an exception.) It is also a deeply Irish book. And it treats the fantastic in an oddly slipstream/cyberpunkish/sfnal fashion. Although, hmm. I do not feel that the ending was earned. I mean, I still have no plans to read Brasyl or River of Gods or the like. But this is a damned interesting book.
I am tired and sour and hate the world. I wonder why? Oh, right. I have work to do, and cannot conceive of how to start. (And fretting about finances and other things I cannot change is very wearing. I must wait until August to know if I have achieved funding, and backup plans cannot be set out upon without more knowledge of what shall come to pass at that time. Sigh.) This entry was originally posted at http://hawkwing-lb.dreamwidth.org/479699.html. There are  comments there. Comment where you like.Tags: book reviews, book reviews 2012, books, books 2012, fiction
Current Mood:  awake
Current Music: The Low Anthem - Maybe So
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=92.1) sfwa
sfwa_admin | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware
 Two fascinating surveys appeared this week. They look at opposite ends of the writing business, but dovetail in interesting ways. (This is going to be a long post, so please bear with me.)
The Writers' Workshop Survey of Professional Authors
In March, the Writers' Workshop, a UK-based writers' consultancy, launched a survey of traditionally published authors. The aim: to discover how authors feel about their publishers in a time of rapid change, where "it has become possible – arguably for the first time in history – for authors to detach themselves from publishers."
The survey results were posted this week, and they make for interesting reading. Authors are generally happy with a number of aspects of the traditional publishing process--notably, the editing they receive.
Around 75% of authors rated their editorial input as having been good or (more commonly) excellent. Just 14% disagreed...
Similarly – and again contrary to many stories about declining standards – authors rate their publishers extremely highly on copy-editing, proof-reading, page design and so forth. More than 80% of authors regarded their publishers as being good-to-excellent in these areas...
On the matters of cover design and jacket copy, authors remained broadly positive. About three-fifths of authors were highly satisfied with the way these things turned out. The remainder were, on the whole, ‘somewhat’ satisfied. Marketing, however, was a different story. A majority of authors felt they weren't adequately consulted on their publishers' marketing plans, that their skills and strengths weren't adequately utilized, and that they had little input or control (ah yes--I know the feeling). About half the respondents felt that communication by the publisher was poor, and nearly half said that their publishers never sought feedback from them.
 And while there is much grumbling in the writing community about the lack of publisher loyalty, with publishers no longer willing to stick with writers over several books while they build an audience, authors are just as fickle. 40% of survey respondents said they'd move to another house if given the chance. 22% weren't sure.
Read the rest of this entry » Mirrored from SFWA | Comment at SFWA Tags: sfwa blog, writer beware
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
suricattus | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The past week, foreshortened by recovery and then my mom's birthday dinner and the lecture, has been much about me utterly unable to focus. I didn't know why - my brain WANTED to work, and there is, dog knows, enough work for me to be doing.... And then I thought about what I'd said in an earlier entry, how my apartment didn't seem quite 'right' to me when I got back, and thought about past periods of distraction, and went "oh." Because I'm very smart, but sometimes not so bright. So today - in between passes of writing - has been all about cleaning and sorting and the usual summertime rearranging of furniture (moving the sofa so it doesn't block the AC, etc). Because I am very fond of CatSitter B, but her staying here had made it not-quite-so-much-my-own-place. And now it's mine again, properly sorted and everything where I want it to be. I suspect the focus will be much more, well, focused, going forward. (it had BETTER be. So damn much to do OMG)Tags: dispatches from nyc, personal
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif?v=92.1) westerfeld_blog | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/2012/05/fan-art-friday-7/ http://scottwesterfeld.com/?p=4371 I have had interesting news about my work in progress this week, but it’s all super secret. It’s pretty cool, though, and you will all hear it about one day.
One day soon? MAYBE. Maybe one day somewhat less soon. But one day. I PROMISE.
Let me just say that things they are a-brewin’.
In the meantime, it’s time for FAF! Let’s do this.
We begin with some cool 3-D projects. First is a Clanker lamp from Kirsten. Here it is, both in its raw form and with the shade on:
Like I’ve often said, one of my favorite things to come out of Keith’s illustrations is the sense they give of Clanker and Darwinist physical culture. Not just machines and beasties, but simple things like desks and lamps. So thanks to Kirsten for following that vision.
And here’s Haley’s cool Leviathan-wing ring:
The wing wasn’t entirely Keith’s creation. It was something that the designer of the hardback cover of Levaithan, Sammy Yuen, put together from pieces of Keith’s art.
Speaking of wings, here’s Kaitlyn’s cool shot of Deryn using her body-kite outfit:
Nice. Love the color scheme, and the fact that it makes Deryn look a bit like the shot of Lilit from Behemoth.
And here’s another one from Kaitlyn with that always favorite theme: hangin’ on the ratlines:
And from Patricia, a blow-up of A CERTAIN CREATURE WEARING A CERTAIN COMEDY COSTUME PIECE. SEE IF YOU CAN GUESS BEFORE LOOKING.
Okay. I think you were right:
And finally some Uglies action, a cityscape of New Pretty Town from Trenton:
What I love about this is that it calls to mind the classic Saul Steinberg image of how New Yorkers see the world:
Well, played, Trenton!
Thanks to everyone for a stimulating FAF.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Previous
Picture by: 
