All Entries in the "Podcast" Category
ISBW #153 – Plz read show notes first / Mary Robinette Kowal Interview
NOTE- Please read this before listening. This is a show regarding getting down about your career, and I pinpoint a lot of things that aren’t true about publishing. Upon relistening, I realize what I’m TRYING to say is the things I mention (ie, your editor putting a huge marketing campaign behind your book) aren’t guaranteed. The things I mention definitely can happen, and often do, you just shouldn’t count on them happening. Sorry for the downer of a show.
There’s one swear word in the interview with the fabulous Mary Robinette Kowal.
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Detailed show notes coming.
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ISBW #152: Sundries / David Williams Interview
I talk emotional approaches to writing, and interview David Williams.
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- 00:00:06 ISBW #152
- 00:01:07 State of the Mur: tired! Writing, cleaning, recent attendance at NASFiC. Upcoming: WorldCon and the next book.
- 00:04:08 GoTo Meeting Message
- 00:05:05 Emotional approaches to writing: being a grownup, learning. Recommended reading: Storyteller by Kate Wilhelm.
- 00:16:24 Promo: FlagShip by Flying Island Press
- 00:17:35 Interview: David J. Williams
- Autumn Rain Trilogy, and the end of a series
- Future plans
- Writing habits
- Clarion workshop experiences
- Handling differing advice
- Advice for new writers
- 00:37:03 Promo: Dragon’s Bard Eventide
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
ISBW #151 – Feedback Show
This is the first of our dedicated feedback shows, complete with a Good Cop, Bad Cop at the end of the show. You’ve been warned.
Still somewhat shaky on the “two a week” thing. Working on it. Promise.
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- 00:00:06 ISBW #151
- 00:00:40 Quick State of the Mur Update: recent attendance at the North American SciFi Con (NASFiC). Also, Mur will be at WorldCon in Australia this year, come say hi if you’re in the area/hemisphere!
- 00:02:15 GoTo Meeting Message
- 00:03:14 FEEDBACK: do you need an agent to publish your book? (“No, but.” Please also check out previous episode on what agents do); pros & cons of using a pseudonym on the internet (the writing persona vs. the day-job professional persona); risks of identifying oneself as Twitter-friend of an agent in a query given that this will also identify the author as a teenager (CKHB adds: NONE! Really. Agents do not care how old you are, they only care if the book’s good. And you don’t want to miss out on reaping the benefits of using your Twitter-friendship as a kind of “networking.” I got a second shot at an agent who rejected me first round because we later made friends on Twitter. Just sayin’.); a listener scored a book deal! ANDREW just sold his first novel to Pyr only nine months after finishing it! Rock on, Andrew; discussion of the “pebble effect” of editing as “Bill & Ted-ing”; suggested products EverNote and Fujitsu ScanSnap for scanning and using handwritten notes; listener WALTER has finished his first novel! Go, Walter!; considering different beta readers for different sections of a novel; book trailers (fun viewing: trailer for Mary Robinette Kowal’s Shades of Milk and Honey); on “making progress” for writers just starting out – contests, mentorship programs through Podiobooks.com or online writers workshops; showing and/or telling in flashbacks; Anthologize.org for formatting blogs into ebooks; voice recording as a writing tool, and enjoying editing as “leveling up”.
- 00:24:03 GOOD COP/BAD COP: bad cop as good practice for creative types to experience rejection; getting over the trauma of having a novel bring bad luck to beta readers (CKHB adds: you should absolutely write the story of the burned bad-luck book, it’s like The Ring in novel form or something…); am I an “annoying writer friend”? (Leech Fight Song!); criticism of Con attendees’ appearance, John Anealio’s awesome hair, and general abuse.
- Apology from the Good Cop.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
ISBW #150(!!): Hard Work vs Fun – Tracy Hickman/Scott Sigler Interviews
Happy episode 150! Is writing fun? Is it hard work? Can it be both?
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- 00:00:07 ISBW #150
- 00:01:31 State of the Mur: 12,000 words written in one day to meet deadline, upcoming changes in the podcast format
- 00:05:38 GoTo Meeting Message
- 00:06:26 Balancing the hard work with the fun in writing. See also: C.C. Chapman’s Managing the Gray podcast, agent Rachelle Gardener’s Good to Great blog post (re: sacrifice and training).
- 00:14:41 Promo: Adventures in SciFi Publishing
- 00:15:55 Interview: Tracy Hickman
- New project with his wife, Laura Hickman: Dragon’s Bard Eventide: subscribe to story chapters online, get signed, numbered, limited edition hardcover at the end
- Book as souvenir of reading experience
- “Writing like the Dickens” (literally)
- Publishers as arbiters of quality, not printers of books
- Don’t undervalue yourself
- The 8 archetypal characters from Dramaticapedia, and gender roles
- 00:47:43 Promo: Did This Happen? (a family friendly, bite-sized look at history)
- 00:48:42 Interview: Scott Sigler
- Experiences with self-publishing The Rookie and The Starter
- Building his own imprint
- Experiences with traditional publishing
- Writing/marketing schedule
- The “free model” of writing
- Future plans
- Ancestor trailer
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ISBW #149 Editing – Paolo Bacigalupi / Tobias Buckell Interview
The Alchemist and The Executioness
Editing and a dual interview!
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- 00:00:07 ISBW #149
- 00:01:18 State of the Mur: new theme song from John Anealio, new podcast at Angry Robot, magazine article & work-for-hire fiction, future plans to work on new book, listening to The Alchemist & The Executioness (an Audible.com exclusive) which was co-authored by this episode’s interviewees!
- 00:04:41 GoTo Meeting Message
- 00:05:15 Editing: using outline method (one outline of how the book is, one of how you want the book to be), the “ripple effect”, being dispassionate
- 00:13:21 Promo: Did This Happen? (a family friendly, bite-sized look at history)
- 00:14:37 Interview: Paolo Bacigalupi
- Path to publication (novels vs. short stories)
- Collaboration with Tobias
- 00:14:37 Interview: Tobias Buckell
- Collaboration, inspiration, division of labor
- Benefits of video chat
- 00:48:57 Promo: Adventures in SciFi Publishing
- 00:50:10 Feedback: some negative comments for the Bad Cop; risks of breaking a trilogy into 3 time periods & genres; copyright issues for fiction based on the iPhone; Breanne Boland asks about problems with getting known for writing about writing instead of the fiction itself; Smashwords; defeating the lure of new ideas when the old idea haven’t been written yet & “mind mapping” with Xmind; upcoming blog posts about ARCs (advance reader copies) received by ISBW; the joys of listening to ISBW while on a long trip; agent representation (breadth vs. specialization); daring to that the first steps in learning the craft of writing; balancing story planning & learning with a word count goal.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
ISBW #148 Feedback / Good Cop, Bad Cop
Yes. Another unannounced break. I was editing a book. This was recorded before I took the time to edit. Lots of feedback, and Matt joins us again for a long Good Cop Bad Cop.
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- 00:00:06 ISBW #148
- 00:01:14 State of the Mur: recent technical difficulties, editing the novel.
- A thought: it does not matter how many times your story or topic has been done, it only matter who your characters are and how you execute the story.
- CKHB agrees: go check out my “That was my idea!” blog post, with video.
- Recommended reading: 45 Master Characters by Victoria Schmidt
- 00:09:10 GoTo Meeting Message
00:09:46 FEEDBACK: getting/picking a mentor; listener TIM completed his novel (yay, Tim!); donating to ISBW; writing longhand vs. typing; scenes from the POV of the villain; narrating audiobooks; basing characters on oneself; Realms of Fantasy needs subscribers; age of protagonists in YA vs. adult lit; Writers’ Confessions on Bravo Canada; a listener blogged 100 Hacks to Help You Become A Better Writer; turning off the technology; Anomaly Podcast designed a “level up” badge for ISBW; fictional vs. real cities as setting; using placeholder to return to unfinished scenes; publicly posting about rejection and the Don’t Be An Ass rule; too old to publish?; giving away nonfiction work.- 00:38:25 Promo: Can’t Stop the Serenity
- 00:39:25 GOOD COP/BAD COP: author Peter V. Brett asks what he should do with all his early “crappy” novels; losing energy because books similar to the one I want to write have already been published; how to handle a wanna-be writer leech; choosing between publishers.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
ISBW #147: Writing Tools/Liz Gorinsky Interview
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A much more … sane ISBW returns to talk writing tools and to play the fantastic interview conducted by Chris Lester of the Hugo-nominated Tor editor, Liz Gorinsky!
- 00:00:06: ISBW #147
- 00:00:43: State of the Mur: working on the administrative side of writing lately — selling novella (Marco and the Red Granny: 27K words) to Hub, getting agent comments on novel-in-progress (Codename: Project Underground), attending Create South in Myrtle Beach, trying to balance flow of ideas with ability to write them…
- 00:04:23: GoTo Meeting Message
- 00:04:57: Writing Tools: the lament of the office-supply junkie, and the basics you really should have.
- 00:19:51: Promo: The Leviathan Chronicles
- 00:22:07: Interview: Liz Gorinsky, Hugo-nominated Tor editor (conducted by Chris Lester):
- What an associate editor does
- Steampunk
- Trends
- 00:59:20: Loose ends (feedback in the next episode) & contact info
Here’s where you can learn more about Metamor City, Chris’s award winning project.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
ISBW Metacast #1
Really? I’ve never done a Metacast before? In FIVE years? Maybe it was called a “special” cast. I dunno.
Regardless! I talk about what happened in May, what I’ve been up to, and assure you that the podcast is back and going nowhere anytime soon. We return to calm, clean, solo podcasting here.
Note- I did mention that the interview with Gail Carriger is “coming up” – I had planned on releasing the meta cast before ISBW #146, so that’s why I said that.
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ISBW #146 – EXPLICIT – Live from Balticon, with John Anealio, Gail Carriger, and Matt Wallace
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This is live from Balticon with return guest Gail Carriger (@gailcarriger), songwriter John Anealio (@johnanealio), and Bad Cop Matt F. Wallace (@mattfnwallace). This is not safe for work or kids. We are explicit here. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
(NOTE- at the beginning when I flub the show number, I whine that I haven’t even been drinking, but because my audience was laughing at me, all you hear is “been drinking.” I promise I was sober for this one.)
(Note, ISBW still does not advocate the harming of anyone. That’s all Matt.)
- 00:00:10 ISBW #146, explicit content warning
- 00:01:26 GoTo Meeting Message
- 00:02:20 I Should Be Writing ANTHEM by John Anealio at SciFiSongs.blogspot.com
- 00:05:58 Live from Balticon with Gail Carriger and Matt F-n Wallace.
- about Cons (writer POV vs. fan POV)
- future plans
- additional benefits of the author-agent-editor relationships
- 00:24:14 Musical interlude #2: George R.R. Martin is Not Your B—- (inspired by the now-famous Neil Gaiman blog post)
- 00:30:57 Good Cop/Bad Cop (with Gail weighing in as she sees fit): marketability of SciFi poetry; chairing a panel in the hopes of getting more readers; putting short stories on one’s blog or Smashwords while submitting to paying markets; getting paid for someone else to write an article based on one’s blog; are stories told for others or to others?; how do you distance yourself from your work in order to survive criticism?
- Related plugs for those brave enough to submit to the Bad Cop in person:
- Suppertime Sonnets
- Michael Spence has been published in Sword and Sorceress #25
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Jonathan Coulton and the Forced March (An ISBW Audio Treat)
I got a chance to interview Jonathan Coulton before his Raleigh show last Friday. I hadn’t talked to him since ’07 when he came through town backing up John Hodgman, and he was the opening band for Paul and Storm. Things have changed a bit since then.
I asked him about Thing a Week, when he was making a song every week for a year, and how it affected him. I was going to blog about it, but then I thought, why not just drop that snippet of the interview into the feed? (the interview was not for ISBW) So here it is. Nothing shiny, not an official show, just four minutes of me, JoCo, and the forced march.
(We were backstage during the Paul and Storm opening act, hence the music in the background.)
This did influence my views about my WIP, and I’ve been writing more this week. Thanks, JoCo. I don’t want to think about writing every day. I want to think of it as a forced march. Forward, always forward.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
