Kristine Kathryn Rusch » free nonfiction
Recommended Reading List: February 2012
February went by much too fast. I got a lot of reading done, but not as much as I expected. I was (and still am) on an urban fantasy kick. I’m finding that most of what I read is predictable and easy to skim, even series that I read all the way through. I’m not recommending most of it, sadly, because while it is giving me brain candy, I can barely remember what I read. I also read a lot of student manuscripts, most of which were excellent. If the students let me know when and where the manuscripts that I liked are published, I’ll let you know in future lists. However, everything I’ve listed below are things that I can remember and have greatly enjoyed. So here’s what I read in … Read entire article »
Filed under: featured, free nonfiction, On Writing, Recommended Reading
A Couple Mid-Week Updates: A Business Post
As I prepare for this week’s blog, I feel the need to address a couple of things that I will not write about on Thursday. First, I got a lot of hate mail and vile comments last week for my blog post, all because I told people to learn business, understand the issues they’re complaining about, and then, if those issues matter to them, to take action. Well, apparently a lot of folks seem to think writing on another writer’s blog is action. It isn’t. It’s a waste of phosphors. Fortunately, Mark Coker of Smashwords.com doesn’t think that writing on someone else’s blog is action. He has been taking very strong action on the PayPal mess for the past few weeks. He blogs about it on the Smashwords site, but more importantly, he … Read entire article »
Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, On Writing
The Business Rusch: You Asked For My Opinion…
The Business Rusch: You Asked For My Opinion… Kristine Kathryn Rusch That soft repetitive thudding sound you hear as you log onto your favorite websites? That’s the sound of writers scurrying in a rush to weigh in with anger and fury over this week’s latest crisis. Actually, that’s not fair. The crisises have come so hard and fast this year that the anger and fury change direction every three or four days. Barnes & Noble might spin off the Nook division! (Anger and fury!) IPG has removed its books from Amazon! (Anger and fury!) PayPal says it won’t work with sites that sell certain kinds of erotica! (Anger and fury!) Never mind that most writers have no clue as to what’s really going on with these various business decisions. Someone told these writers that … Read entire article »
Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, On Writing
The Business Rusch: Competition
The Business Rusch: Competition Kristine Kathryn Rusch Just a few years ago, traditional publishers had a monopoly. They controlled the distribution of books. This meant that the publishers dictated terms to booksellers and they dictated terms to writers. What resulted was what happens whenever anyone controls a marketplace: lots of nasty business practices, lots of unfairness, and lots of take-it-or-leave-it ultimatums. Those of us who got our start in traditional publishing turned ourselves into strange pretzels as we tried to survive the craziness. We put up with behavior that we wouldn’t tolerate in our personal lives, closed our eyes to the damage that we couldn’t stop, and did our very best in a bad situation. Traditional publishers never got in trouble for their monopoly because they studiously avoided working in tandem—Random House did not … Read entire article »
Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, On Writing
