May 30, 2019
In this episode Mark chats with New York Times and USA Today
bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch about writing with
chronic health issues, contract negotiations with publishers,
mistakes that authors are making, and so much more.
Prior to the interview, Mark does a little house-keeping
regarding winners of Danny Bell's first novel from Episode 70,
reads new comments, thanks Patrons who support the show, and talks
about being in New York this week for Book Expo America.
Mark also shares a recent presentation that Michael Tamblyn, CEO
of Kobo, presented to the BISG (Book Industry Study Group) in late
April.
This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . .
You can learn more about how
you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems
around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.
In their conversation Kris and Mark talk about:
- Kris's recent move and the discoveries made in relation to a
book she recently released called WRITING WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS
- How Kris's entire life has revolved around exercise and writing
and that likely made a positive difference for her despite huge
health challenges that she faced, and potentially is what might
have kept her alive
- The realization that Kris made only recently that she had never
learned how to rest
- The way she utilizes running and walking to benefit her
writing
- How Kris's training in radio automatically activates her
"critical voice"
- The rotating playlists Kris uses when running (often ones that
have to have a really good beat)
- The move from 5000 square feet (with offices across the house
from one another) to 1600 square feet (and a shared office) and how
Kris and her husband Dean manage their own unique writing
spaces
- The value for writers in understanding the way that different
editors approach a piece of writing
- Breaking down the myth that there's a single book (or story)
out there that everyone will love
- What "reader cookies" are and how they can play upon an
editor's personal preferences
- A look at "anti-reader cookies" - element or content in a story
that an editor hates or will refuse to read
- How Ray Bradbury practiced writing a short story a day
- The concept of "writing into the dark" when creating your first
draft and how that plays into the fact we have been consuming
stories since we were pre-verbal
- How, with so many tasks, deadlines and balls in the air, Kris
decides what writing project to work on next
- The importance of growing as a writer by writing about things
that stretch or challenge her
- How Kris's book DEALBREAKERS helped Mark negotiate a much
better contract with his publisher
- The choice of "walking" which writers always have when being
presented with a publishing contract
- The three big things that Kris sees that indie authors are not
doing correctly: Following Trends, Burning Out and Neglecting their
Personal Lives/Families/Health, Following the Scams (that promise
seemingly impossible results)
- The free content that Kris shares (both fiction and
non-fiction) on her website on a regular basis, and the origin for
both
- The value of networking and personal connections made during
in-person workshops (both the craft workshops as well as the
business workshops)
- The "no politics" and "no religion" rules that Kris and Dean
operate within for their workshops (which allows writers to bond
regardless of their political or religious biases
After the interview, Mark reflects upon one of the things Kris
said regarding taking a workshop when it's in town as opposed to
removing yourself from your regular schedule/life, and why the
travel/removal of one's self from day to day life for such a
learning/bonding experience can be valuable.
Links of Interest
Kristine Kathryn Rusch is a New York Times and USA Today
bestselling author. Kris writes in almost every genre and her
novels have made bestseller lists around the world and her short
fiction has appeared in more than twenty best of the year
collections. She has won more than twenty-five awards for her
fiction, including the Hugo, Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov’s
Readers Choice award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers
Choice Award.
Kris also has an extensive history in publishing and editing,
having been the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science
Fiction as well as co-publishing the original Puuse Magazine with
her husband, Dean Wesley Smith. The two now run WMG Publishing,
which publish a revised version of Pulphouse, the Fiction River
anthology series and many other projects, along with running
publishing workshops both online and in person.