Douglas Smith's blog

As I mentioned earlier, I was one of the author presenters this weekend at INSPIRE!: The Toronto International Book Fair. Yesterday, I had the great pleasure to be on a panel on the Spark Stage at the TIBF with friends and fellow writers, Julie Czerneda and Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, and got the chance to meet Ottawa writer, Andrew Barton, who ably moderated our panel on "Science Fiction: The Future Ain't What It Used to Be." We had a lively and fun discussion with plenty of interesting questions from a packed crowd. Here's a pic of the panel in progress taken by Crystal Huff, who was at the Fair promoting the Helsinki 2017 WorldCon bid.

Before and after the panel, I signed books and helped staff the SFWA booth with fellow SFWA authors from our panelists and other SFWA authors. Here's a photo of the motley crew. Left to right, that is Stephanie, Julie, me, our Canadian SFWA rep, Ottawa writer Matthew Johnson, and Andrew. Not in the picture but also staffing the booth all weekend was Jaym Gates, the SFWA Communications Director. Thanks to another writer friend, Mike Rimar, for taking the photo, and a special thanks to Matthew for coordinating the SFWA booth on behalf of all of us.

Earlier in the day, I managed to catch William Gibson being interviewed about his latest novel, The Peripheral, on the main stage. All in all, I was quite impressed by this inaugural TIBF. Everything was professional and well organized. The volunteer staff were consistently friendly, enthusiastic, and helpful, both for the panel and through the entire weekend. I look forward to another TIBF in 2015.

As I mentioned earlier, I was one of the dozen authors invited to read at the inaugural Hydra's Hearth reading series in Toronto this weekend. Here's a pic of me during the reading. I read this past Friday night from my current work-in-progress, a young adult urban fantasy novel.

Thanks to the organizers for the invitation and to SFContario for hosting the readings this year. And thanks to everyone who turned out and for your feedback after. Much appreciated.

Another short notice post about an upcoming appearance. I'm one of the author guests at another inaugural literary event this weekend, the brand new Toronto International Book Fair. Yes, it's a busy weekend.

I'll be at the SFWA booth (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America) (booth #118) from 2-4pm on Saturday November 15, signing my books. I'm also on a panel with Andrew Barton, Julie Czerneda, and Stephanie Bedwell-Grime from 5-6 pm on Saturday on the Spark Stage (SW corner of the TIBF area). 

The panel is titled "The Future Ain't What It Used to Be" and we are supposed to be discussing:

"Despite the amazing technological advances of the last fifty years, our world looks very different from the future predicted by science fiction. This panel asks the question of what role SF writers play in predicting and preparing us for the future."

All of us on the panel will then be signing our books at the SFWA booth (#118) after the panel from 6-7pm. The TIBF is being held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (North Building), 255 Front Street West, Toronto. 

I hope to see you there. If you're attending, please drop by the SFWA booth while I'm there or attend the above panel or the signing after. Hope to see you there!

Short notice, I know, but I'll be one of the dozen authors who will be reading at the inaugural event in the new Hydra's Hearth Reading Series. From the organizers:

Through the generosity of a grant from the Toronto Arts Council, The Science Fiction and Fantasy Society of Upper Canada is pleased to present “The Hydra's Hearth.” The Hydra’s Heath is a reading series that will present 12 of Toronto’s finest science fiction and fantasy authors in an warm and interactive setting located in SFContario 5’s function space. This reading series will be open to the public. The series will be held in conjunction with SFContario 5, November 14-16, 2014, at the Ramada Plaza Hotel, 300 Jarvis St, Toronto, ON.

I am reading tonight, Friday November 14, from 8-9 pm. See above for the location. Given that I have an hour, I'll probably read from a couple of things, one of which might be my current work-in-progress, a YA urban fantasy. Hope to see you there!

FYI, here is the entire list of authors who will be appearing and their scheduled reading times:

Fri 7 PM Karl Schroeder

Fri 8 PM Douglas Smith

Fri 9 PM Derwin Mak

Sat 11 AM Madeline Ashby

Sat 12 PM David Nickle

Sat 2 PM Hugh Spencer

Sat 3 PM Eric Choi

Sat 4 PM Robert J. Sawyer

Sat 5 PM Peter Watts

Sun 11 AM Michelle Sagara West

Sun 12 PM Lesley Livingston

Sun 1 PM Alyx Dellamonica

 

I've been busy busy busy lately and am way behind in posting here. And I'm especially late in linking to an interview that fellow author Lawrence M. Schoen did with me on his website. 

I first met Lawrence over ten years ago when we both had stories in the SF anthology, Low Port (editors Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Meisha Merlin, 2003). We met at the WorldCon that year at the signing table for the launch of the book. It was my first WorldCon and my first group signing. I had a lot of fun and will always have fond memories of that antho. Sharon and Steve were great to work with, plus my contribution to the antho, my story "Scream Angel," went on to win the Aurora Award in 2004.

Back to Lawrence. In his many of his stories, his protagonist is a gourmand. So a few years ago, he started a unique and very cool feature on his blog where he invites other authors to share their recollections of their most memorable meal. The interview series is called "Eating Authors," and Lawrence was kind enough to invite me to contribute.

Here's the link to my interview. Lawrence, thanks for the invitation!

The multiple award-winning author and editor, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, gives a shout-out to my new writer's guide, Playing the Short Game: How to Market & Sell Short Fiction, in her August 2014 Recommended Reading List.

Here's what Kris had to say about the book, for which she wrote the introduction:

I don’t always plug books that I’ve written introductions for ... I might like them, but I might not love them enough to recommend to you.

Doug wrote an indispensible book for those of us who love to write short fiction. He includes indie publishing, and a lot of traditional publishing tips. ... [Doug is] one of the best short story writers in the business, and one of the best at the business of short story writing. I learned a few things from this book, and sometimes I think I’ve seen it all.

So, if you have any interest in writing short fiction, or you’re already making a living a short fiction, take a peek at this book. It’s wonderful.

Thanks, Kris!

If you'd like to pick up a copy of the book, it's available from my bookstore and at all major retailers. A description of the book's contents along with full buying links can be found here.

I also wanted to mention and recommend two courses that novelist, short story writer, and editor Nina Munteanu is teaching in the fall in Toronto:

Creating Science Fiction (George Brown College)

Learn about what is involved in writing science fiction and getting it published. Explore the essential tools used in this genre (including world building, research and plot approaches), and work toward a publishable original work by learning to generate and follow through with premise, idea and theme.

SF Writing Master Class (University of Toronto)

This 12-week workshop-style course will provide extensive opportunity to develop your in-progress science fiction novel and to gain a deeper understanding of world-building, dramatization of premise, and integration of character with setting, theme and plot.

I hope you'll check these out as well as my course. Nina will help you improve your craft of writing, and I will help you sell what you write.

A reminder that I’ll be teaching a course this fall at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies. The course is called "Playing the Short Game: How to Market and Sell Short Fiction." It's part of the certificate program that the U of T offers in their Creative Writing program, but it's a stand-alone course as well, and you don't need to be working towards the certificate.

The course is based on the popular blog series that I did in 2012-2013 for Amazing Stories. My upcoming book, also titled Playing the Short Game, to be released Sept. 1, will form the textbook for the course. 

If you write short fiction, this course will teach you how to sell more of what you write and to do it consistently, as well as teach you how to use your short fiction to build a career as a writer.

The course will be taught at UofT's downtown St. George campus, and will run for ten weeks on Wednesdays, from October 1 to December 3. Registration is now open:

Registration link for the course

Even if you aren't interested, if you know of a short story writer in the Toronto area who might be interested, please feel free to forward this information to them.

Course Description

A wealth of courses and books exist to teach you how to write stories. But what happens when you've finished writing? Do you know how to sell what you've written?

In this course, you will learn everything you need to know to sell your short stories to professional markets and to build a career as a short fiction writer.

The Fundamentals: The different types of writers. The benefits of short fiction. Rights and licensing.

Selling Your Stories: Knowing when it's ready. Choosing markets. Submitting stories. Avoiding mistakes. How editors select stories. Dealing with rejections. When to give up on a story.

After a Sale: Contracts. Working with editors. What your first sale means. Dealing with reviews.

A Writer's Magic Bakery: Selling reprints. Foreign markets. Audio markets. Selling a collection. The indie option.

Becoming Established: Leveraging your stories. Discoverability and promotion. Career progression in short fiction.

~~~

I guarantee that this course will give you the knowledge and tools you need to fully understand the business side of being a short fiction writer. I hope to see you this fall.

And here again is the registration link:

Registration link for the course

No, not Mendelssohn's 4th (didn't know I had culture, did you?). My short SF story, "Symphony," will appear in an upcoming "SF and Music" issue of the Italian magazine, Quasar, likely this fall.

Earlier this year, Quasar published my Aurora-winning story, "The Walker of the Shifting Borderland," and I'm thrilled to be appearing in the magazine for the second time. This will be my fifth publication in Italian.

"Symphony" first appeared in the Canadian literary magazine, Prairie Fire, in 1999, where it won second prize in the magazine's SF contest to commemorate Canadian SF writer, A. E. van Vogt. The story was a finalist for the Aurora Award in 2000.

If you'd like to read "Symphony," it's included in my collection Chimerascope and is also available as a stand-alone ebook.

I am thrilled to announce that I have a new book coming out in September, my first non-fiction project. 

If you follow this blog, you'll remember that I wrote a 32-part blog series for Amazing Stories from 2012-2013 aimed at helping writers learn how to best market and sell their short fiction. I have now repackaged those posts into a book titled Playing the Short Game: How to Market Sell Short Fiction.

The book is completely updated and reorganized, with new material not in the blog series, plus an introduction from multi-genre, multi-award winning writer and editor, Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Here's an extract from Kris's intro:

Douglas Smith is the best person to write this book. ... He’s one of the few people who has probably published more short fiction than I have, and in more countries, and more high-paying markets. He loves the short story as much as I do, and he’s good at writing them.

He’s just as good at the business side of the profession. He knows more about marketing short stories to other countries than I do. He understands how to manage short fiction contracts very well. He’s up-to-date on 21st century publishing practices, and he has a toughness that the best business people need.

We short story writers have needed a book like this for decades. I’m glad Doug decided to write it. Read and reread this volume. Because you’ll learn something each time you do. And take Doug’s advice. It’s spectacular.

Don’t take my word for it. Turn the page and dive in. By the time you’re done, I’ll wager you’ll be recommending this book to your writer friends—just like I have.

—Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Thanks, Kris!

Playing the Short Game will be coming out this September, but you can pre-order it now at a reduced price from select sites listed below.

Now, here's a summary of what the book covers.

About the Book

Take your first step to becoming a professional short fiction writer—Buy this book!

In an engaging and conversational style, award-winning author Douglas Smith teaches you how to market and sell short stories—and much, much more:

The Fundamentals: The different types of writers. The benefits of short fiction. Rights and licensing.

Selling Your Stories: Knowing when it's ready. Choosing markets. Submitting stories. Avoiding mistakes. How editors select stories. Dealing with rejections. When to give up on a story.

After a Sale: Contracts. Working with editors. What your first sale means. Dealing with reviews.

A Writer's Magic Bakery: Selling reprints. Foreign markets. Audio markets. Selling a collection. The indie option.

Becoming Established: Leveraging your stories. Discoverability and promotion. Career progression in short fiction.

Buying Links

Buying links (ebook trade paperback)