Kristine Kathryn Rusch » Archive
Recommended Reading List March 2011
I read a lot of anthologies in March, most of which I will not recommend. I’ve been searching for a certain type of writer, because one of my favorites has repeatedly failed me, and I’d like to replace him with a similar book. I’ve been reading the anthologies cover to cover, forcing myself into some stories I wouldn’t normally read (usually by very popular authors), trying to see if I haven’t given them enough of a chance. Sometimes I haven’t, and I revise what I think of them to the positive. Often, though, I realize they’re just not to my taste. The other thing I’ve realized is that a lot of published short stories have no point. Oh, they have an adventure and something happens, but it’s not very interesting. … Read entire article »
Filed under: featured, free nonfiction, Freelancer's Survival Guide, On Writing, Recommended Reading
The Business Rusch: Sea Changes
The Business Rusch: Sea Changes Kristine Kathryn Rusch A lot of readers have commented on my blog posts of the past two weeks. For those of you who missed this while on spring break or family holiday, I wrote about some discrepancies I found in royalty statements. I checked with other writers and publishing professionals and discovered that these discrepancies weren’t unusual. I wrote about that the first week. The second week, I updated everyone on the progress made on the royalty statement front. My blog design tracks the most-read posts. If you look at the first page of my website, you’ll see that last week’s post is number one, with the previous week’s as number two. Thousands of people have read these two posts. Most have not contacted me directly, although … Read entire article »
Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, Freelancer's Survival Guide, On Writing
The Business Rusch: Royalty Statements Update
The Business Rusch: Royalty Statements Update Kristine Kathryn Rusch This morning, I got another royalty statement. This one came from a medium-sized national publisher, not one of the erroneously named Big Six. I stared at the statement in shock. After the week I had just experienced, I forgot that royalty statements could be accurate and informative. Now, honestly, I haven’t audited this company: I have no definite proof that the statement is accurate. But the book sales were in line with information I had gotten from booksellers, BookScan, and other sources. And the e-book sales were exactly as expected, maybe even a bit higher than expected, given the fact that this e-book was only available on one site, and the e-book outsold other (shorter) stories in the same series. Honestly, all of that information … Read entire article »
Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, On Writing
Mid-Month Novel Excerpt: Simply Irresistible
Once per month, I’ll publish an excerpt of one of my novels, and I hope you’ll be intrigued enough to buy the rest of the book. I began this practice in February. Unlike the free fiction I put up every Monday, the novel excerpts will remain on the site. If you want to read the opening to the previous two novels, click here. This month, I’ve excerpted Simply Irresistible, one of my Kristine Grayson novels. The novels are marketed as romance, but at their heart, they’re light fantasy. This is the first in the Fates series. I hope it will wet your appetite, not just for this book, but for my other Grayson novels as well. You’ll find ordering information at the end of this post. Here’s the back cover … Read entire article »
Filed under: Book Excerpt, featured, free fiction
The Business Rusch: Royalty Statements
The Business Rusch: Royalty Statements Kristine Kathryn Rusch Imagine this: Pretend you run a very large business. The business has a lot of built-in problems, things not easily fixed. You’re aware of the problems and are trying to solve them. A decade ago, you actually had hope you could solve them. It will simply take time, you thought, but back then, your business was a leisurely business. Back then, you had no idea that the word “leisure” would leave your vocabulary and never return. In that decade, your business has changed dramatically. Your corporate masters sold out to large conglomerates, so now you can no longer point to your small but steady profit as normal for your industry. The conglomerate doesn’t care. All the conglomerate cares about is quarterly profits, which should rise … Read entire article »
Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, Freelancer's Survival Guide, On Writing
Recommended Reading: February 2011
I got a lot of reading done in February, and I’m not sure how. I was writing every minute I could and I also co-taught a workshop with Dean, Denise Little, and John Helfers. Did lots of reading there, but you won’t see those stories until they hit print. Very good stories they were too. What amazes me is how much I read and discarded in February as well. I started a lot of books and didn’t finish them. Some of that comes from sampling on my Kindle, but some of it comes from the fact that when I return to a book, I realize I was bored or I had been arguing with it between sessions (thinking, say, no one would do that). Even so, I still ended … Read entire article »
Filed under: featured, free nonfiction, On Writing, Recommended Reading
Wickedly Charming Excerpt
I just discovered that Sourcebooks is offering a free excerpt of my upcoming Kristine Grayson novel, Wickedly Charming. You can find the first three chapters on CasaVIP Exclusive Content portion of the website. Enjoy! … Read entire article »
Filed under: Book Excerpt, Current News, featured, free fiction
