Human beings are largely engaged in wasting enormous amounts of psychic energy in attempting to do things that are quite impossible. All sensible people therefore begin in life with two fundamental suppositions. You are not going to improve the world. And you are not going to improve your self. You are just what you are.Continue reading “You are not going to improve the world”
Category Archives: Writing & Publishing
The Principle of Digital Abundance – thoughts on author earnings
Hugh Howey has caused a brand new stir in the writing and publishing world with the Author Earnings report. If you don’t know, Howey is one of the most significant breakout “indie authors” of recent years. Now he’s disrupting the industry in a much more direct way with Author Earnings. Both Amazon and the BigContinue reading “The Principle of Digital Abundance – thoughts on author earnings”
Publishers have missed the boat on digital genre fiction
Publishers are making moves to exploit the success of genres like romance and sci-fi in digital book sales onplatforms like the Amazon Kindle. “Certain categories [of eBooks] have a much larger digital adoption than others,” Dobson said. “The genres were among the first where readers took to the digital format and the ratio of readersContinue reading “Publishers have missed the boat on digital genre fiction”
Eleanor Catton debunks the idea that literature is elitist
Eleanor Catton is a very powerful writer. What do I mean by powerful? Writers don’t command armies, head governments or lead major corporations. No writer I know can leap a tall building in a single bound. Many, in fact, struggle to get up from awkwardly low seating. And yet writers do have very great power,Continue reading “Eleanor Catton debunks the idea that literature is elitist”
Kitschie shortlists reflect the “mainstreaming” of spec.fic
The Kitschies have become a fixture of the speculative award season, joining the Hugo and Nebula’s, BSFA and Clarkes as among the most interesting awards in SF. This year The Kitschies reflect the new emerging reality of speculative fiction – the most interesting and creative work in speculative fiction isn’t coming from within the field,Continue reading “Kitschie shortlists reflect the “mainstreaming” of spec.fic”
Piracy is the least of publishing’s many problems
With the rise of indie authors and the closure of bookshops, piracy is an easy scapegoat for publishing’s woes. The community of SF writers has reason to dislike digital copying, or “piracy” as it’s commonly labelled in the tabloid press. Genre writers exist, by and large, in the publishing mid-list, where mediocre sales might seem most easilyContinue reading “Piracy is the least of publishing’s many problems”
The DOs and DO NOTs of getting your book reviewed
Writing a regular column for The Guardian on weird books, I get asked by writers of all kinds to read their latest tome. And sometimes that question becomes “how do I get my book reviewed?” In the age of social media and the internet the book review is a much different beast than it onceContinue reading “The DOs and DO NOTs of getting your book reviewed”
Henry Miller on Art
“Art is only a means to life, to the life more abundant.” Henry Miller Discuss
Give Up The Day Job & Don’t Have A Backup Plan
The first mistake we all make is telling people – friends, family, lovers – that we want to be writers. We all do it. And we all get the same advice… …don’t give up the day job. …have a backup plan. And because those people love us, we listen to the advice. That’s our secondContinue reading “Give Up The Day Job & Don’t Have A Backup Plan”
Do writers write?
Because sometimes conversations about writing devolve in to carping about who is or is not a writer, some people find it necessary to draw a definitional line in the sand. The most common, and common sense, is that “writers write”. So if you want to be a writer, you write. If you want to know ifContinue reading “Do writers write?”
The answers to 4 questions
Today I reached 4444 followers on Twitter. I wish I could claim to have barely noticed noticed, but I do have a sneaky peak at my follower count at least a few times a week. I *almost* reached this milestone around a month ago, hitting 4443, close, but no cigar. To celebrate I promised toContinue reading “The answers to 4 questions”
Your Government vs. Your Tech Provider
We might be facing the most largest tectonic shift in the power structures in the modern era since World War One finally ended the old empires of Europe. But this isn’t a conflict between the interests of nation states. It’s a power struggle over you, and the question of to who you owe your primaryContinue reading “Your Government vs. Your Tech Provider”
Damien Walter 