Kristine Kathryn Rusch » Freelancer’s Survival Guide
The Business Rusch: One Phone Call From Our Knees
The Business Rusch: One Phone Call From Our Knees Kristine Kathryn Rusch In 2009, Mat Kearney came out with a song called Closer to Love, which is, apparently, a favorite of the DJs on the station I listen to. It still plays in rather heavy rotation for an older song, and I hear it at least once a week. The song isn’t one of my favorites, but it has a line that stops me every time I hear it, because it’s so true. We are, as Kearney states, just a phone call from our knees. Dean and I have had those calls throughout our lives together—when my father died, when Dean’s stepfather died. The calls that just take your every day life and turn it into a completely new life, one that changes things … Read entire article »
Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, Freelancer's Survival Guide, On Writing
Surviving The Transition: How Writers Can Thrive In The New World Of Publishing
Last year, I wrote a series of posts on how writers of all stripes can survive the transition from the old world of publishing to the new world of publishing. I’ve updated the posts and compiled them into an e-book called Surviving The Transition: How Writers Can Thrive In The New World Of Publishing. This book is for established writers, new writers, writers who want to stay in traditional publishing, and writers who never want to join traditional publishing. Here’s the cover blurb: Most writers run their careers the same way they did in the 1990s. But publishing has changed so much since then that any writer who works on the old model will no longer make a living. In this short book, international bestselling writer Kristine Kathryn Rusch shows you how to think … Read entire article »
Filed under: Business Rusch, Current News, featured, Freelancer's Survival Guide, On Writing
The Business Rusch: Sneaky Growth
The Business Rusch: Sneaky Growth Kristine Kathryn Rusch My website crashed just over a week ago, through no fault of my own. My ISP had a catastrophic server meltdown that took more than 36 hours to fix. I had a startling realization in those 36 hours. This website has become an important part of my business. Now, to many of you, that’s a well, duh. You’ve been coming here faithfully every Thursday for nearly three years. Some of you come for the free fiction on Monday, and the novel excerpt that appears in the middle of the month, and the recommended reading list. Many of you show up every time I make a short post or put up an announcement. I appreciate that. I didn’t really realize, however, how big this website had grown until it … Read entire article »
Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, Freelancer's Survival Guide, On Writing
The Business Rusch: How To Make Traditional Publishing Writer Friendly
The Business Rusch: How To Make Traditional Publishing Writer-Friendly Kristine Kathryn Rusch A few weeks ago, Sebastian Marshall raised eyebrows throughout the writing community by writing an open letter to Carolyn Reidy, CEO of Simon & Schuster. Marshall identifies himself on his blog as a former entrepreneur who wants to become “the most skilled strategist of our era.” He freelances, and sold S&S his first book in December of 2010 for a $65,000 advance. The book—which is a business book—had a due date of July 1, 2011. The contract called for payments in three increments. A third on signing, a third on acceptance, a third on publication, but no later than a year after acceptance. Standard stuff. For those of you who aren’t familiar with publishing, this isn’t a large advance, especially considering the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, Freelancer's Survival Guide, On Writing
The Business Rusch: The Writer’s Guide To Evaluating A Traditional Publishing Company
The Business Rusch: The Writer’s Guide To Evaluating A Traditional Publishing Company Kristine Kathryn Rusch About once a week, I get an e-mail from someone asking me to recommend a traditional publisher for them. I can’t, not because I don’t believe in traditional publishing, but because I have no idea what that person wants in a publisher, what that person is currently writing, and what’s going on within all the different traditional publishing houses. That ain’t my job. My job is to manage my own career, and to know the things relevant to the writer that I am. Nothing more. I also get letters asking me about my experiences with the various traditional publishers. Sometimes I can answer those letters. Sometimes I can’t, usually because my experiences are more than two years old, and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, Freelancer's Survival Guide, On Writing
Freelancer’s Survival Guide: Giving Up On Yourself
I am in the process of adding some chapters to the Freelancer’s Guide, and updating a few others. This one has bothered me for nearly a year now, so I’m happy to redo it. Here’s the revised chapter that will go into the second edition of The Freelancer’s Survival Guide. Freelancer’s Survival Guide: Giving Up On Yourself Kristine Kathryn Rusch Amazing the difference eighteen months make. I first wrote the posts entitled “Giving Up On Yourself (Parts One and Two)” in June of 2010. But as we head into 2012, I realize that some of what I wrote is out of date. I’ve revised this section and it will eventually go into the second edition of the Freelancer’s Survival Guide. The core information is the same but the outdated information is now gone. I initially … Read entire article »
Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, Freelancer's Survival Guide, On Writing
