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The SPECULATIVE FICTION high-five circle.

279K views 2K replies 221 participants last post by  PaulLev 
#1 ·
Why, hello.

I know there's a science-fiction thread here: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,67482.0.html

But it seems to be mostly self-promotion, with little discussion.

This forum is flooded with erotica and romance, so I thought it would be cool to start a thread where speculative fiction authors can just talk about things - I know there's a lot of interesting spec fic authors on kboards.

All types of speculative fiction are welcome here! Speculative fiction is a very diverse field. Feel free to talk about the genre and sub-genres, but please be respectful to your fellow authors. :D

My main aim here is to meet and talk with other spec fic authors. Talk about what you're working on, what interests you, etc. Please don't promote your releases - this is better done elsewhere. The goal here is to have a supportive community of similar authors.

---

Heidi has set up a new blog, the Speculative Fiction Showcase: http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com.au/. The purpose of this site is to support indie speculative fiction, and give readers a place to uncover it. I'll be updating this post with links to each of the features, as they run. For more information, post in this thread.

Features (updated 22-May-14):
Welcome Post
Irradiated by S. Elliot Brandis
Jason Gurley Talks About How He Writes
Threats of Sea and Glass by Jennifer Ellision
Dreaming of the Sea by Heidi Garrett
Warden (Book 3: Attack of the Aswang) by Kevin Hardman
Michael Patrick Hicks Talks About How He Writes
Sworn to Defiance by Terah Edun
The Lost Tales of Power, Volumes 1-3 by Vincent Trigili
The Edge of the Woods by Ceinwen Langley
Outage (Powerless Nation): Book One by Ellisa Barr
Benton: A Zombie Novel by Jolie Du Pré
Cat Amesbury Talks About How She Writes
Deep Breath Hold Tight by Jason Gurley
William D. Richards Talks About How He Writes
Bound in Blue: Book One of the Sword Elements by Heather Hamilton-Senter
 
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#1,578 ·
CoraBuhlert said:
Thanks to Robert for jumping in on short notice to do another "Meet My Character" blog hop.

We still have an opening for this Sunday, November 30, so if anybody has a character you'd love to introduce, let me know and answer a few short questions. December 14 is also free and then every date following December 28.
Glad to help, Cora! If anyone takes this Sunday, PM me with the info you'd like me to put up to link people to your websites etc, and I'll do the same.
 
#1,579 ·
Thanks, Jessica. It was a lot of fun to do, too, plus I'm in excellent company there.

J. Drew, Ted and anybody else who might be interested, here is how the "Meet My Character" blog hop works:

First of all, you need a blog. Then, on the date you signed up for, you answer the following questions about a character from your books:

1) What is the name of your character? Is he or she fictional or a historic person?
2) When and where is the story set?
3) What should we know about him or her?
4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his or her life?
5) What is the personal goal of the character?
6) What is the title of the book(s), and where can find out more?
7) When was the book published?

Answer those questions for your character, either in third or first person. And because this is blog hop, also include a short bio and a link to the blog of the person ahead of you and the person who comes after you. Then you post the whole thing on your blog. Ideally, the person ahead of you and after you should send you their info. If they don't, you'll have to contact them.

If you need some inspiration, here is a list of several people who have gone before you:
http://indiespecfic.blogspot.de/2014/10/the-meet-my-character-blog-hop.html
So you can check out the format and also the way they answered the questions.

Let me know if you want a spot. Currently, November 30, December 14 as well as December 28 and anything thereafter are free.
 
#1,581 ·
Ted Cross has now taken the December 14 date. November 30 is still free as is December 28 and every date thereafter.

Here is the full updated schedule:

07.09.2014: Jamie Maltman
15.09.2014: E.W. Pierce
21.09.2014: Stacy Claflin
28.09.2014: Jessica Rydill
05.10.2014: Cora Buhlert
12.10.2014: SB James
19.10.2014: Jolie du Pré
26.10.2014: William D. Richards
02.11.2014: Landon Porter
09.11.2014: S. Elliot Brandis
16.11.2014: Robert Dahlen
23.11.2014: Robert Dahlen, take 2
30.11.2014: free
07.12.2014: Rachel Medhurst
14.12.2014: Ted Cross
21.12.2014: Amelia Smith
28.12.2014: free
04.01.2015: free
11.01.2015: free
 
#1,582 ·
Cora,
Thanks for the info.  Snooze you lose so more power to Ted on the 14th.
I'm going to check out the blogs so far and will see what others have done before I decide anything.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
 
#1,583 ·
PaulLev said:
That's the way I used to feel just about every day about my agent, before I left his lack of services.
Yeah. So here goes:

My agent first approached me around 18 months ago, just when I was first about to self-publish my debut. She said she wanted to try and sell it to trad-houses, and I took her up on it. But I put in a proviso that I'd give it a year--I'd already invested significantly in the project and couldn't afford to sit on it indefinitely. So a year went by and we came close to two deals with major publishers, but ultimately the editors couldn't justify commissioning a trilogy from a debut author. Fair's fair.
Then things went quiet and I didn't hear from her until after the deadline we had sent elapsed. Nothing seemed to be happening. So I sent a polite email to thank her for everything, but I was going ahead with self publishing, and I'd approach her later with my new projects.
No reply.
So a week ago she finally gets back to me, saying she's been trying to sell it somewhere in Europe. Then she demands to know why I self published without telling her. I informed her about the email, and reminded her of our agreement. She claimed no email had been received, so I forwarded her a copy. She then called me to try and sort things out. The resultant conversation amounted to her accusing me of lying about our deal, claiming I wanted things 'both ways', and that she considered self-publishing 'a hobby' (after claiming in the first instance that she agreed with me in thinking that hybrid-authors were the way forward). She also claimed that self-publishing was a 'waste'.
I tried to talk her down and explain things. She told me to 'stop patronising her' and then said that we couldn't work together. I was surprised, but by then it was clear that she was impatient and profit-oriented--not the kind of person I want to work with. I was in the middle of thanking her for everything, and wishing her well, when she interrupted me with a quick 'ciao' and put the phone down on me.

So yeah... I'm a little wounded. A bit miffed.

Mostly, I'm embarrassed that I didn't know she was like that from the outset. She's been representing me for over eighteen months, after all... I'm afraid she behaves that way with everyone.

Urgh. In the meantime I've just got the manuscript for my new sci-fi back from my editors, both lovely women who I adore working with. I've also received the final proofs for Ruin's interior from my formatters, who are also great people. In addition, my cover designer just started working up the cover for the upcoming sci-fi, and I'm really excited by his ideas.

People in self publishing are nicer people. I'm sticking my feet firmly on this side of the fence for the time being.

Rant over. Now, I need a slice of cake.
 
#1,584 ·
Harry Manners said:
Yeah. So here goes:

My agent first approached me around 18 months ago, just when I was first about to self-publish my debut. She said she wanted to try and sell it to trad-houses, and I took her up on it. But I put in a proviso that I'd give it a year--I'd already invested significantly in the project and couldn't afford to sit on it indefinitely. So a year went by and we came close to two deals with major publishers, but ultimately the editors couldn't justify commissioning a trilogy from a debut author. Fair's fair.
Then things went quiet and I didn't hear from her until after the deadline we had sent elapsed. Nothing seemed to be happening. So I sent a polite email to thank her for everything, but I was going ahead with self publishing, and I'd approach her later with my new projects.
No reply.
So a week ago she finally gets back to me, saying she's been trying to sell it somewhere in Europe. Then she demands to know why I self published without telling her. I informed her about the email, and reminded her of our agreement. She claimed no email had been received, so I forwarded her a copy. She then called me to try and sort things out. The resultant conversation amounted to her accusing me of lying about our deal, claiming I wanted things 'both ways', and that she considered self-publishing 'a hobby' (after claiming in the first instance that she agreed with me in thinking that hybrid-authors were the way forward). She also claimed that self-publishing was a 'waste'.
I tried to talk her down and explain things. She told me to 'stop patronising her' and then said that we couldn't work together. I was surprised, but by then it was clear that she was impatient and profit-oriented--not the kind of person I want to work with. I was in the middle of thanking her for everything, and wishing her well, when she interrupted me with a quick 'ciao' and put the phone down on me.

So yeah... I'm a little wounded. A bit miffed.

Mostly, I'm embarrassed that I didn't know she was like that from the outset. She's been representing me for over eighteen months, after all... I'm afraid she behaves that way with everyone.

Urgh. In the meantime I've just got the manuscript for my new sci-fi back from my editors, both lovely women who I adore working with. I've also received the final proofs for Ruin's interior from my formatters, who are also great people. In addition, my cover designer just started working up the cover for the upcoming sci-fi, and I'm really excited by his ideas.

People in self publishing are nicer people. I'm sticking my feet firmly on this side of the fence for the time being.

Rant over. Now, I need a slice of cake.
That's really disappointing to hear, but maybe I've heard enough "agents behaving badly" stories that I'm not completely surprised. Still, a horror story is a horror story. Shame she didn't have more professional tact in parting ways. Ah, well. Her loss, Harry!
 
#1,585 ·
jdrew said:
Cora,
Thanks for the info. Snooze you lose so more power to Ted on the 14th.
I'm going to check out the blogs so far and will see what others have done before I decide anything.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
First come, first served, sorry. Feel free to sign up for any of the other dates, though. December 28 and after as well as this Sunday are still free.

Harry, I'm sorry to hear about your experiences. The many agent horror stories you hear make me glad I never got around to getting an agent.
 
#1,587 ·
Thanks, guys. It was quite a shock. But as you say, I've definitely dodged a bullet!

Anyway, I'm now putting together my first IngramSpark title. Exciting stuff. I can't wait to see what the proofs turn out like.
 
#1,589 ·
#1,590 ·
CoraBuhlert said:
Today is the last day of the month, so it's time for the ever popular feature Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month, posted to my blog and crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase.

So if you're looking for some new speculative fiction to read during the holiday season, look no further.
Cheers, Cora!

Following on from Robert Dahlen last week, I'm blogging in the "Meet my character" Blog hop - this week. I'm introducing my character, Annat. And next weekend, Rachel Medhurst will be taking up the torch!

http://livinginthemaniototo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/meet-my-character-annat.html
 
#1,591 ·
CoraBuhlert said:
Today is the last day of the month, so it's time for the ever popular feature Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month, posted to my blog and crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase.

So if you're looking for some new speculative fiction to read during the holiday season, look no further.
Thanks for including me! I think I've said this before, but I'm blown away by how many of these books look amazing.

We are all awesome.

Oh and Harry: ugh, that suuucks. I hear so many agent horror stories. It seems like getting an agent, getting a good agent, having that agent sell to a publisher, having the book actually come out, and actually earn out the advance, has about the chances of winning the lottery five times. I'm overjoyed for the people who do manage it (and there are plenty of great agents out there), but I'm glad we have options that rely less on chance now.
 
#1,592 ·
Thanks Phronk. You're right, the odds are insurmountable--that may be very well why I signed up in the first place; top starry-eyed and gushing at being considered by an agent to keep a clear head. But it's all part of the journey. I'm glad I had the experience, because I learned a lot about the realities of the industry that just wouldn't have sunk in before.
But for now, I'm definitely glad I stuck to my guns and went down the self publishing route.
Onwards and upwards!
 
#1,593 ·
I can't believe I'm only finding this thread now! Sheesh! Sometimes I think Kboards might be a tad too big. But then where would we put all this wonderfulness?

Anyway, hi folks! Glad to see this thread exists. Sorry to see that Harry Manners had a tough agent experience, but sadly, that's not unusual.  And, Harry, be glad the worst that happened was a loss of time and a bitchy phone call. I know plenty who have had far uglier things happen.

 
#1,595 ·
Hi folks!

I'm kind of giving up on my attempt to get away from kboards. If it's not one time-suck, it's another, and I do like the community here.

Anyhow, it's launch day! I'm doing a semi-soft launch, with a few ads for free days later this week and a minor blog tour. I haven't decided when to mention it all on Facebook to get family and friends to run over and maybe buy Scrapplings http://www.amazon.com/Scrapplings-Anamat-Book-Amelia-Smith-ebook/dp/B00NJ6DV9E/. I should add it to my sig line here. I think I'll do that now.
 
#1,596 ·
ameliasmith said:
Hi folks!

I'm kind of giving up on my attempt to get away from kboards. If it's not one time-suck, it's another, and I do like the community here.

Anyhow, it's launch day! I'm doing a semi-soft launch, with a few ads for free days later this week and a minor blog tour. I haven't decided when to mention it all on Facebook to get family and friends to run over and maybe buy Scrapplings http://www.amazon.com/Scrapplings-Anamat-Book-Amelia-Smith-ebook/dp/B00NJ6DV9E/. I should add it to my sig line here. I think I'll do that now.
Congratulations, Amelia - and good luck!

CoraBuhlert said:
Well, you folks make it easy by writing so many good books.
Well said, Cora :)
 
#1,597 ·
Harry Manners said:
Yeah. So here goes:

My agent first approached me around 18 months ago, just when I was first about to self-publish my debut. She said she wanted to try and sell it to trad-houses, and I took her up on it. But I put in a proviso that I'd give it a year--I'd already invested significantly in the project and couldn't afford to sit on it indefinitely. So a year went by and we came close to two deals with major publishers, but ultimately the editors couldn't justify commissioning a trilogy from a debut author. Fair's fair.
Then things went quiet and I didn't hear from her until after the deadline we had sent elapsed. Nothing seemed to be happening. So I sent a polite email to thank her for everything, but I was going ahead with self publishing, and I'd approach her later with my new projects.
No reply.
So a week ago she finally gets back to me, saying she's been trying to sell it somewhere in Europe. Then she demands to know why I self published without telling her. I informed her about the email, and reminded her of our agreement. She claimed no email had been received, so I forwarded her a copy. She then called me to try and sort things out. The resultant conversation amounted to her accusing me of lying about our deal, claiming I wanted things 'both ways', and that she considered self-publishing 'a hobby' (after claiming in the first instance that she agreed with me in thinking that hybrid-authors were the way forward). She also claimed that self-publishing was a 'waste'.
I tried to talk her down and explain things. She told me to 'stop patronising her' and then said that we couldn't work together. I was surprised, but by then it was clear that she was impatient and profit-oriented--not the kind of person I want to work with. I was in the middle of thanking her for everything, and wishing her well, when she interrupted me with a quick 'ciao' and put the phone down on me.

So yeah... I'm a little wounded. A bit miffed.

Mostly, I'm embarrassed that I didn't know she was like that from the outset. She's been representing me for over eighteen months, after all... I'm afraid she behaves that way with everyone.

Urgh. In the meantime I've just got the manuscript for my new sci-fi back from my editors, both lovely women who I adore working with. I've also received the final proofs for Ruin's interior from my formatters, who are also great people. In addition, my cover designer just started working up the cover for the upcoming sci-fi, and I'm really excited by his ideas.

People in self publishing are nicer people. I'm sticking my feet firmly on this side of the fence for the time being.

Rant over. Now, I need a slice of cake.
Contracts! Always have a signed contract with anyone before accepting professional services from them. I've seen so many organizations, businesses, and individuals get screwed over one way or another because they didn't have concrete terms spelled out on paper. Verbal agreements are worthless, as they cannot be documented or defended.

Remember: YOU are in the driver's seat. This is YOUR business. If they want to do business with you, then they have to agree to your terms. That means, they must sign the contract you have written up and send you the original, signed copy. Not a photocopy. They must send you the original or the contract is null and void, and you will send a copy of the contract once you have received it. (Note: send no paperwork to be signed until negotiations for terms have concluded and both parties agree to the terms of the contract. No penciling in last-second changes before they sign it. "Oh, at the last second, I decided I wanted a 25% share instead of 15% share…" They must sign it first, then you sign it, even though it is your contract. Read it to make sure they didn't pencil in an alteration and claim you agreed to it in a pre-signing phone call.)

Make sure your contract states very clearly the termination points for the contract. My contracts basically say, "If you can't get anything done by such-and-such a date, then the deal is off. If you can't sell it by then, you are unlikely going to be able to do anything with it. Thank you very much."

What's going on with her attitude is that she is a salesperson. They get their sales by being thick-skinned, insensitive, and often bullying their way into the deal. They take the attitude, "If I complain loudly enough, the restaurant manager will give me my meal for free just to get me to shut up." I hate to admit it, but these people have gotten results over the years, and this is why commerce has evolved over the past century or so to the state it is currently in. Most salespeople are extroverts to the max. Most writers are introverts, the very opposite. What the salespeople do best are the very things we writers find most emotionally and personally difficult to do.

Self-publishing has only recently become vogue and acceptable. So the people who have cut their teeth in the traditional publishing industry have never really had to deal with a writer that does not need them. They don't quite know how to handle us or how to react to us. They don't understand that self-publishing writers can take them or leave them-that this new breed of writer doesn't actually need them. The old tactic of "cow them into submission" doesn't work with us. Just as the publishing industry is being forced to change, the writer's agent business will also have to evolve to adapt to this new breed of writer.

Where do I need an agent's services? There are many things about being a writer that I don't know about yet. Such as, what do I charge if a fan convention wants me as a guest? How do I even get my name out there as available for public appearances? A lot of new writers perk up and say, "What? They pay you to come to conventions?!" Yes. Remember: travel, hotel, and food all cost money. Also, during the time you are traveling, you still have to put food on the table, pay your utilities bills, buy clothing, put your kids through school, etc. The issue is, I don't know what fair compensation I should be asking. A headliner for a convention can command between $10,000-$20,000 for their appearance on one day. The big names (Shatner and Stewart) can command $75K or higher. If that seems excessive for a fan convention, do the math. A recent convention near my home sold over 17,000 tickets at $50 a head. They certainly had the budget for it. The conventions are big money makers for the participants. As I am nowhere near the level of a headliner-I have to pay for my own ticket to get into a convention-I'd like to think I might be able to get between $500-$5,000 for compensation, depending on how much in demand I am. Truth is, at this point, I'd be happy with the cost of a train pass and parking. Or at least a free lunch. (Okay, 50% coupon for the food court?)

Yeah, I'm years away from worrying about that. But what I need is a publicist who can go out and find these opportunities for me. Right now, I'm very happy popping in for reading groups and book clubs in my local area, and I seem to be getting very good reviews for my appearances. But to get beyond that, I need someone who knows where to find these opportunities. That is what I need an agent for. In truth, more of a manager than an agent.
 
#1,598 ·
Great post.

I would like to point out for my ego's sake that I had plenty of clauses put into the contract, which is the reason I managed to sever ties with my agent without any namby-pamby squabbling. The phone went down, one email sent, and bye-bye.
 
#1,599 ·
Harry Manners said:
Great post.

I would like to point out for my ego's sake that I had plenty of clauses put into the contract, which is the reason I managed to sever ties with my agent without any namby-pamby squabbling. The phone went down, one email sent, and bye-bye.
Awesome! A gold star for you!
 
#1,600 ·
WDR said:
Contracts! Always have a signed contract with anyone before accepting professional services from them. I've seen so many organizations, businesses, and individuals get screwed over one way or another because they didn't have concrete terms spelled out on paper. Verbal agreements are worthless, as they cannot be documented or defended.

Remember: YOU are in the driver's seat. This is YOUR business. If they want to do business with you, then they have to agree to your terms. That means, they must sign the contract you have written up and send you the original, signed copy. Not a photocopy. They must send you the original or the contract is null and void, and you will send a copy of the contract once you have received it. (Note: send no paperwork to be signed until negotiations for terms have concluded and both parties agree to the terms of the contract. No penciling in last-second changes before they sign it. "Oh, at the last second, I decided I wanted a 25% share instead of 15% share..." They must sign it first, then you sign it, even though it is your contract. Read it to make sure they didn't pencil in an alteration and claim you agreed to it in a pre-signing phone call.)

Make sure your contract states very clearly the termination points for the contract. My contracts basically say, "If you can't get anything done by such-and-such a date, then the deal is off. If you can't sell it by then, you are unlikely going to be able to do anything with it. Thank you very much."
Great post, William. I also wanted to stress that you should always read every contract you sign and also check the whole contract again, if there's been a supposedly minor alteration.

In my day job, I'm a professional translator, so I see a lot of contracts. With many contracts, I suspect I'm the only person who ever actually reads them. And lots of contracts are full of clauses that are unclear or badly formulated, clauses that are contradictory and clauses I would never ever agree to.

Here's a cautionary tale: Last year I was hired a translate a partnership contract for a start-up company. The contract contained a really nasty non-compete clause, so I told one of the prospective partners (who's also a family member) to insist on getting that clause thrown out. He succeeded, the clause was stricken, the contract signed.

A bit later, one of the clauses of the contract was declared illegal and had to be changed. I translated the changed contract and the paperwork involved in registering the company. Only a single clause had supposedly been changed, but I ran a document comparison between the old and new contract anyway, just to be on the safe side. And promptly realised that the new contract had magically reverted to the original draft version with the nasty non-compete clause. So I called up the partners to inform them about the issue. Once I got them to actually listen to me, they said, "Oops. We accidentally submitted the old draft version."

For a while, I thought this was an honest mistake, that someone had just called up the wrong document and no one actually checked it. However, half a year later, the start-up company imploded very messily (they still owe me money, too), which makes me wonder whether the attempt to sneak in the already stricken non-compete clause again wasn't deliberate. Only that the annoying little translator foiled it by actually checking the document.

So in short, trust no one. Always read the small print.
 
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