What I’m reading
Fast Ships, Black Sails is, as I mentioned last week, a pirate-focused anthology that has some wonderful tales in it. This anthology spans the range of the past, future, and even pirates with fur over more than their chins. I could not name a favorite as I almost always found the next story as captivating as the previous, and only one story did not resonate with me at all, but it may very well be the favorite for someone else. The stories were sweet, creepy, thoughtful, and just down right strange, held together by a love of the nautical and the mystery of the pirate life. At first I thought these yarns focused only on the pirates, but there are a few, later in the book, that take the perspective of those hunting the pirates. All in all, it’s a good, broad look at different perspectives on pirates, contained in a series of fun stories by talented authors.
Submitting
Another take on the need for agents. A reasoned post that connects goals with the decision to seek an agent:
http://frost-light.livejournal.com/113254.html
Solid tips for submitting your manuscript. (Note that the necessary revision and polishing isn’t mentioned, not because, I’d guess, the publisher doesn’t care but because it’s out of scope.)
http://angryrobotbooks.com/2009/11/pitch-perfect/comment-page-1
A look at long works and an agent’s reactions to same:
http://kidlit.com/2009/11/13/manuscript-length/
Publishing
Thoughts on managing a writing career after a book tanks.
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/authors/curse_of_the_orphaned_book_142908.asp
Is the publishing industry starting to wake up to the need to foster editorial talents? Maybe so:
http://bookbrunch.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3703&Itemid=117
Though not all the information in these three posts is new to me, there are some details and nuances that I haven’t seen before and thought might be useful to others:
http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2007/08/contracts-101-advance.html
http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2007/08/contracts-101-more-on-advances.html
http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2007/09/contracts-101-delivery-and-acceptance.html
And more explanations of the terms in the publishing gig:
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/11/sell-in-sell-through-and-earn-out.html
http://editorialass.blogspot.com/2009/11/whats-difference-between-earning-out-my.html
While not a big fan of reality shows, though Amazing Race was wonderful for showing other parts of the world, this post is both funny and has useful reminders:
http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2009/11/what-i-learned-about-writing-while.html
Updated author earning information for romance publishers:
http://www.brendahiatt.com/id2.html
Writing
A wonderful analysis of a popular play (in lieu of popular books) that looks at why it succeeds rather than pronouncing why it shouldn’t have.
http://www.lauratoffler-corrie.com/blog/2009/11/13/learning-from-books-we-love-to-hate.html
Tips on using relationships with others to reveal more about the characters:
http://www.plottopunctuation.com/blog/show/40
Enjoy the beginner stage, and try not to trample or overly praise others there:
http://jmeadows.livejournal.com/724491.html?view=7383307
An approach to finding the right balance of description. It’s opposite to mine, but I know a lot of people who work from the direction of too much filed down.
http://gailcarsonlevine.blogspot.com/2009/11/describing-description.html
Suggestions for how to keep the tension active in your book:
http://gailcarsonlevine.blogspot.com/2009/09/lions-and-tigers-and-bears-oh-my.html
I once did a challenge about interpersonal conflict and ended up writing my first romance novel. It was enough for me to recognize some of the aspects of conflict beyond outright arguments. This post does a great job of showing that:
http://www.caroclarke.com/whatisconflict.html
And while I might quibble the absolutes, I’ve seen much the same so these are areas to watch out for:
http://www.caroclarke.com/fourfaults.html
Advice on the worth of writing advice:
http://kristentsetsi.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/advice-for-people-who-take-writing-advice/
Promoting/Marketing
One author’s experiment in Amazon sales ranks:
http://robkaay.com/createeveryday/2009/11/amazon-ranking-results/
Science
This is a pet theme of mine, that science as we know it is not a fixed entity. What better example than a barren wasteland springing unexpected water. The implications of water on the Moon are huge considering that water shouldn’t be present according to our previous understanding.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/13nov_lcrossresults.htm?list868465
Amazing animal adaptations:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18170-balearic-goats-could-grow-slow.html