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ISBW #392: Convention How-To

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:14 — 18.0MB)

It’s time for the yearly discussion about conventions, how to talk to pros, how to talk to editors and agents, and don’t harass people.

ISBW is sponsored by Serial Box! Yes, my publisher for Bookburners, one of my favorite projects I’ve worked on in the past few years! Get a discount on a whole season of content with the code WRITING18.

HEY- did you know I’m offering transcriptions of both ISBW and Ditch Diggers? They will go up as soon as I get them for Patreon supporters, and a bit later for everyone else. It’s only at the $1 level, and you’re helping me offer a more accessible show, so pledge now!

- Current Writing Project: LIMBY (code name), a standalone SF book.
- Currently reading: The Sol Majestic (ARC) by Ferrett Steinmetz (follow me on Goodreads if you like, I’m usually reading a bunch of stuff at once.)
- Last movie seen: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Affiliate links to my books!
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Podcasts, Projects, Transcript

[Transcript] Ditch Diggers #52: Cleaning Out Old Business

Ditch Diggers #52

January 18, 2018

Theme Song: [00:00:05] Ditch Diggers appear, ain’t no wannabes here. With some not so nice advice for your writing career. To be clear, no punches will be pulled, but the punch may be spiked, how they like before they get on the mic. To my left we got the mighty Mur Lafferty, and if I piss her off, believe me, she’ll come after me. And her co-host Matt F’n Wallace on the right, yeah she may be half his height, but she could take him in a fight. So settle in folks, buckle in, and boot up. Time to meddle in a way to make you write or shut up. It’s hard work, but the perk is that it’s fun and exciting. Facebook will still be there when you’re done writing. Ditch Diggers!
Mur: [00:00:46] Coming to you live from Morgan Freeman’s snow bungalow. It is the Ditch Diggers with Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace. Happy New Year!
Matt: [00:00:55] Happy New Year, Mur. It’s our first episode of 2018. These are exciting times. (more…)

Podcasts, Projects

ISBW #391: Emotions Get In the Way

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:11 — 17.7MB)

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I got some News. I wish I could tell, but I can’t. But the news has made my brain and schedule all higgledy piggeldy. So I talk about that.

Current Writing Project: LIMBY (code name), a standalone SF book.
Currently reading: Miranda in Milan (ARC) by Katharine Duckett (follow me on Goodreads if you like, I’m usually reading a bunch of stuff at once.)
Last movie seen: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Affiliate links to my books!
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Podcasts, Projects, Transcript

[Transcript] ISBW #390: Timelines

January 25, 2018

Original podcast here.
PDF: ISBW-390-transcription

Mur: [00:00:00] Hi there, welcome to I Should Be Writing: the podcast for wanna-be fiction writers. I’m your host Mur Lafferty, and I already recorded this today, but it was in the car. I like recording in the car, like thinking in the car, like talking in the car, and then I get home and I look at the audio, and I’m like, “I don’t want to give this to you, because the audio is crap because you can hear all the car stuff in the background.” Maybe if I got a better mic, I don’t know. But so, I’m re-doing this. Of course, now the dogs are in the background. I can’t win.

[00:01:08] But, what I’ve been up to is we got a … went to ConFusion last weekend. Had a really great time with other writers and some editors and some agents, and there were fun panels. I did a reading of something I had just written, which is kind of scary, but awesome. It went over well, anyway. And now I’m home working on a variety of big deadlines and small. I’m working on my new novel, and that’s going pretty well. But I’ve got other more important deadlines, which of course is why it’s easy for me to work on the novel, because my brain is a jerk. (more…)

Personal

LetterMo, and the Stages of Good News

I’ve decided that I have a huge pile of stationery and awesome postcards and I don’t mail a lot of letters. So I’m taking advantage of Mary Robinette Kowal’s brainchild, LetterMo, where you pledge to send mail in February. It’s the 3rd, so I’m ALREADY behind.

Here’s my LetterMo profile. If you want to send me mail, I’d be happy to write back:

Mur Lafferty
8311 Brier Creek Parkway
Ste 105274
Raleigh, NC 27617

(more…)

Podcasts, Projects, Transcript

[Transcript] ISBW #389: Get Bored

I’ve worked getting a transcription service going for my podcasts, and will be transcribing the episodes from 2018. Having an accessible podcast is important to me. It’s not cheap however, so I’ll be adding a few tiers to the Patreon to help pay for it.

It will be up for only Patreon supporters for a week, then it will go up here for everyone.

NOTE: I am posting the text here. If you would rather I post the transcription PDF as a link, then let me know. I’m new at this.

—

ISBW 389

January 17, 2018

Original blog post is here.>

Mur : [00:00:00] Hi there. Welcome to I Should Be Writing: the podcast for wanna-be fiction writers. I’m your host, Mur Lafferty. Happy New Year! I know it’s middle of January, but hey, what better time to talk about New Year’s resolutions, because everybody else has stopped talking about New Year’s resolutions because they’re already forgotten two weeks in. I could be exaggerating. Maybe some of you were holding on to them, maybe some are not. But revisit them. What did you think you were going to change this year? I made one resolution this year, and I’ve been ok at keeping up with it. In short, my resolution is get bored. I know that sounds kind of silly, but the deal is when you’re bored your mind wanders. When your mind wanders, you get good creative ideas. If you’re bored and you pick up your phone or tablet and play Candy Crush, you’re not getting good ideas, you’re playing Candy Crush.
(more…)

Podcasts, Projects

Ditch Diggers #53: The Money Taboo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:10 — 43.5MB)

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Matt and Mur come to you live from Morgan Freeman’s Gender-Neutral Statue Factory in New Jersey (and talk about why they chose the show’s patron well).
Matt talks about adjusting to his new schedule with a full-time marketing writing job atop his existing full-time fiction writing job.
Mur apologizes for the delay in getting the last episode posted via the blog (and how she’s a pro-am DJ).
Mur recaps ConFusion (including a shoutout to author Michael R. Underwood), and Ditch Diggers possibly featuring a guest appearance by Justina Ireland in the near future.
A brief interlude to silence Mur’s excitably adorable dog.
Mur talks about the importance of medicating regularly when you’re prescribed medication, the consequences of not doing that, and how to cope with it.
How that led to an epiphany on Mur’s part about the meaning behind being mindful. She explains that epiphany, and Matt weighs in with his take on mindfulness.
Everybody needs schtick.
The Ditch Diggers talk about author Fonda Lee’s Twitter thread concerning how much she makes from her books, the response to it, positive and negative, and share their thoughts on transparency in authors’ income.
How to address the core issues behind the money (of lack thereof) authors make (Matt uses pro-wrestling as an analogy).
The disparity in people’s reaction to women making money vs. men making money in our industries, and how it is used to derail the real discussion/discourse.
How to positively build on the actions of author’s like Fonda Lee, and Mur talks about her own experiences selling and publishing her newest novel, SIX WAKES.
A writer’s self-perception vs. the their perception of “successful” authors.
A lament for Ursula K. Le Guin.
Matt offers up his Hugo Award recommendations.
There are no viewer questions this week, but we do have shilling and Hugo nomination pleas to get through!

Author Fonda Lee’s Twitter thread about author income.

Podcasts, Projects

ISBW #390: Timelines

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:05 — 14.9MB)

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS

The dogs and I have some things to say about when you should worry about what, and how worry is just another form of procrastination.

HEY- did you know I’m going to start offering transcriptions of both ISBW and Ditch Diggers? They will go up as soon as I get them for Patreon supporters, and a bit later for everyone else. It’s only at the $1 level, and you’re helping me offer a more accessible show, so pledge now!

Podcasts, Projects

Ditch Diggers #52: Cleaning Out Old Business

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:01 — 47.4MB)

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS

NOTE: I was in Detroit for ConFusion and didn’t get a chance to post this until today- Mur

The Ditch Diggers come to you live for the first time in 2018 from Morgan Freeman’s snow bungalow (which is actually a bungalow made from snow)!
Morgan Freeman and Kryptonian technology, how he is the only man who can act as his own attorney and is NOT a fool, which is also the premise of his next movie, and his eternal feud and love affair with Betty White.
Matt talks about fulfilling his major 2018 writing career goal right under the wire, defying all freelance writing conventions of the industry closing down over the holidays, how it came about, and thanks everyone for their support and encouragement.
Mur talks about dog surgeries and her novel SIX WAKES being nominated for the prestigious Philip K. Dick Award!
Ditch Diggers will now be recording weekly!
Wrapping up their career recaps, the theme of the premiere episode of the year emerges: Old Business!
Mur and Matt continue to be bad at segues, and gods willing they always will be.
Mur assures listener Allie Wade that we WILL answer her questions about contracts by dedicating a whole episode to it in 2018. We will also get Cameron Rowe’s blueprints for Morgan Freeman’s imagined compound up on the website.
Mur digs into the email bag for questions unanswered from 2017.
The Ditch Diggers respond to a question about new authors using samples of their work as free promotion, and when and how that crosses the line into working for free.
@TheFaldor on Twitter asks what a good daily word goal is. Matt believes it to be more than one and less than eleven thousand. Mur is, thankfully, more helpful with her answer.
@WordsByStacia asks how the Ditch Diggers feel about reading fees, and Mur and Matt expound on the differences between beta readers, sensitivity editors, and manuscript doctors.
Having handled the old business, the Ditch Diggers look to the new business of 2018.
Matt launches into an epic pitch/plea for the podcast being nominated for a Hugo in 2018.
Mur makes suggestions for other potential and deserving Hugo nominees you might have overlooked (Matt promises to have his recommendations next time).
The obligatory end-of-episode shilling of books and other things.

Podcasts, Projects

ISBW #389: GET BORED

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:12 — 14.7MB)

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS

I have one resolution this year, and that’s to get bored more often. Also, I talk fears and NBC’s The Good Place. I was supposed to have an interview but I just discovered it’s crap and I have to re-record. Sorry about that.