Photo courtesy of Wayne Rambo. As this final week of the year has ground past, I’ve been spending time drawing up my plans for next year, some of which involve this blog and website. I figured I’d clue you in on some of the upcoming posts.
As part of the website revamp, I’ll be posting some stories and nonfiction stuff on this blog. My aim is to consolidate it all in one site, so there will be a wide variety – including my first published poem! At the same time, look for more regular posts, including posts building an overall 1000 Recommended Fantasy Books Reading List, writing advice, publication news, give-aways, and sundry cat pictures as I take advantage of WP’s capability for scheduling posts. I’ll be introducing new pages as I arrange them on this site, such as this Zalanthas page.
I’ll be working on including more images, but expect more podcasts and video entries as well as I convert more of the collection stories to audio as well as doing some podcasting for other sites.
Want access to a lively community of writers and readers, free writing classes, co-working sessions, special speakers, weekly writing games, random pictures and MORE for as little as $2? Check out Cat’s Patreon campaign.
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"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."
~K. Richardson
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Using SFWA Effectively for Book Publicity
People sometimes ask whether or not the membership fee for the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America is worth it. I think it is, but mileage will vary. That mileage is certainly dependent on how effectively you use it. So here’s a sample action plan I’m putting together for my next book.
4-6 months ahead of time
Look to see what upcoming events, such as local reading series, conferences, and conventions work with your schedule. For example, if your book were being released in May, you might want to supply some ARCs for the Nebula Conference swag bags. Or if you’re in the Pacific Northwest area, you might contact the local organizers of the readings series in order to set up a reading.
Look at the SFWA boards to see if there’s any upcoming cooperative efforts you might become part of, or propose your own, along the lines of “Hey, I’ve got a book coming out on this date, anyone else got something coming out around then that wants to coordinate publicity?
If you’re doing that cooperative effort, make sure all your items are lined up!
The day of the release
Make sure you say something on your personal thread in the Discussion Forums so people know to spread the word! Give them as many resources to do so as you can, such as supplying a graphic or a pre-composed tweet.
Tag @SFWA in a tweet or two to get them to RT it.
After the release
Keep an eye open for the next SFWA Storybundle; they appear every six months or so.
Make sure there are copies in .mobi, .epub, and .pdf forms in the appropriate forums on the discussion boards if you want members to be able to read it when thinking about making Nebula nominations.
Nattering Social Justice Cook: Be Kind to Yourself
Being a little silly sometimes is also good for one’s mental health.Gail Z. Martin has organized the #HoldOnToTheLight campaign, and when she asked me about participating, it seemed important to add another voice. Here’s what the campaign is:
More than 100 authors are now part of the #HoldOnToTheLight conversation! Our authors span the globe, from the US to the UK to Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Even more exciting is that as the campaign picks up traction and visibility, more authors want to join, meaning a growing, vibrant dialog about mental wellness and coping with mental illness.
#HoldOnToTheLight is a blog campaign encompassing blog posts by fantasy and science fiction authors around the world in an effort to raise awareness around treatment for depression, suicide prevention, domestic violence intervention, PTSD initiatives, bullying prevention and other mental health-related issues. We believe fandom should be supportive, welcoming and inclusive, in the long tradition of fandom taking care of its own. We encourage readers and fans to seek the help they or their loved ones need without shame or embarrassment.
We’ve also been talking with conventions to encourage them to add, expand or promote their panel programming about mental wellness issues. ConCarolinas, GenCon, Capricon and ContraFlow have let us know that panels are in the works for 2017, and both Capclave and Atomacon are looking at options!
In knocking around this world, one of the few things that has sunk in well enough to make it a daily maxim is this, “Be kind to yourself, because you can depend on yourself.” Build a treat into your day that is aimed at increasing your happiness in some small way: lunch outside, a long walk, that book on Amazon you want every once in a while.
We all have a shitty time of it sometimes — maybe it’s something we live with all our lives, or something that intrudes and sends us for a total, utter loop: the event that causes PTSD, the relative with a terminal illness, some terrible loss beyond words that we carry around like a permanent gut-punch.
I’ve found that writers excel at angst and guilt, at worrying at 2 am over whether or not they stuck their foot in their mouth (human nature being what it is, the answer is sometimes yes), at being anxious and projecting futures far out of proportion to actuality in their degree of horror.
They’re also tough on themselves, holding themselves to sometimes impossible standards, trying to hit goals that are unreasonably grandiose or demanding. Writers need to cultivate a willingness to accept themselves as they are. Sometimes that means forgiving yourself and the illness you live with, to not just knowing yourself but being comfortable with yourself.
Be kind to yourself, because you’re the person you’ll be living with for the rest of your life. Be a good roommate, one who leads by example and keeps the place neat (or at least livable, since mileage varies.) Don’t go off on guilt trips that leave you stranded in the Land of Panic.
For me, that involves taking care of my physical health, since often your body affects your mind. I started eating a cup of plain Greek yogurt for breakfast every morning a few years ago, and found it keeps me cheerful, energetic, and a lot more stable mood-wise. At the same time I started striving to walk at least a few miles every day and found that a mood elevator as well.
I don’t by any means intend to say that this is the only way to assist with your mental health. But being kind to yourself is a fundamental way to do, no matter how it manifests. And in these days when politics leans harder and harder towards rhetoric of violence, we must be prepared to model compassion, to model unflinchingness in the face of bullies in the defense of the weak, even when the weak one is yourself.
This is why I tell my students not to punish themselves for not hitting their word count, but to reward themselves when they do. That’s a basic way of approaching it, and like many basics, it can have a profound influence.
So give yourself a treat today. Go ahead. You deserve it.
And to fill in the cookery part, I will provide the recipe for the muffins I make for my household, which make for a nice mid-morning snack providing fiber, protein, and a touch of sweetness to make them hit the spot.
It’s also versatile; you can add or subtract stuff to cater to individual tastes as long as you don’t go too far outside the wet to dry to fat proportion. The recipe’s based on the Orange-Scented Corn Muffins recipe in Breaking the Food Seduction by Neal Barnard.
Mid-morning Muffins
Makes 12 regular-sized muffins
Equipment needed: 2 mixing bowls, a mixer or blender for blending the wet ingredients, a way to zest the citrus fruit if using it, an oven, and a muffin tin.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mashed silken tofu
1/2 mashed banana (The riper the better, other fruit can be substituted.)
1/2 cup orange juice (Or other fruit. This is adding sweetness + liquid; keep that in mind when substituting.)
1 T oil
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1 T orange zest (Or lemon/grapefruit/lime is nice too. This is optional but highly suggested.)
1 t cinnamon (1/2 t cardamon is also pleasant. If you’re doing lemon zest, try rosemary instead of the cinnamon for a more savory version.)
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
Optional adds: a handful of chopped up dried fruits, nuts, or sunflower seeds, a couple of spoonfuls of jelly or jam, 2 T honey/agave or 1/2 t stevia, 1/4 c chia or poppy seeds.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Oil/mist/whatever 12 muffins cups with nonstick oil or butter (coconut oil is nice).
Blend tofu, banana, juice, and oil until smooth and creamy.
Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix in wet mixture until moist but don’t stir very long, just enough to get stuff combined.
Spoon evenly into muffins cups.
Bake 20-25 minutes.
Remove from oven and loosen muffins in the cups, turning them on their sides to cool. Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel. After 5 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack or waiting hands.
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