writing

Pen to Pen: Liv Rancourt on Plotting and Character Motivation for Novelists

I’m thrilled to welcome Liv Rancourt back to my blog in this installment of Pen to Pen, a series of guest posts by authors about all aspects of writing. Here, she talks about plotting versus pantsing—that is, do you plan your story ahead of time, or discover what will happen as you write? …Read more

Studying Penis Bones at the Smithsonian

red fox (vulpes vulpes) skeleton at Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

I got to visit one of my favorite exhibits at one of my favorite museums this week: Bone Hall at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. And what better to focus on this trip than the baculum, aka the penis bone, an actual bone that appears in the penises of many actual animals—just not in humans. …Read more

Little Mermaid, touring Mormon temples, and other fun things: my interview with J. Scott Coatsworth

I was a guest on sci-fi/fantasy author J. Scott Coatsworth’s blog yesterday. Check it out to discover which translation of Disney’s The Little Mermaid soundtrack is my favorite, what my very first piece of fiction was about, how being a reporter helped me as a fiction writer, and things I’m working on now. It also features an excerpt from “The Cave,” my story in Myths, Moons, and Mayhem. …Read more

What to Look for in a Small Publisher, Part 2: Contract Terms

Infographic with the following text: What to Look for in a Small Publisher Contract Terms Advice from M Pepper Langlinais more info: dalecameronlowry.com/contract-terms/ For how long does the publisher plan to hold the rights? There should always be an end date with the opportunity for the publisher to renew. Is there something in the contract for rights reversion? Is there a way to get your rights back if the publisher closes or you want to try a new publisher? Will your book appear in print? Does the publisher guarantee your title will have a print version? If not, how important is that to you? Does the publisher have distribution and marketing? Are they going to actively market your book? Will they distribute your book to stores and libraries? How and when do you get paid? Do you get paid monthly, quarterly, or yearly? Are royalties based on cover price ("gross"), or what the publisher gets after expenses ("net")? Do they own your next book(s)? If things don’t go well with your first book, you don’t want to owe the publisher all your manuscripts.

It’s important not to sign any offer that a publisher sends you. M Pepper Langlinais was here on Tuesday talking about how to evaluate a small publisher based on its books, online presence, and marketing efforts. Now she’s back to talk about the legal stuff: contract terms.
…Read more

Pen to Pen: Finding Time to Write as a New Author with Sarah Hadley Brook

person typing on manual typewriter

In this week’s Pen to Pen column, author Sarah Hadley Brook tells of her entry into publishing later in life and the challenges of fitting her second career into an already busy schedule. It’s advice we can all benefit from, whether we’re new to writing or have been publishing for a long time. …Read more