This weekend, I was at a local author's and artists event. Other than knowing I'd have five minutes to speak, I wasn't sure what to expect. Despite the table-oriented setup, I quickly realized that it was more of a networking kind of event instead of a public-facing sales event. I didn't want to make the common indie-author mistake of trying to sell to authors, so I spent a few minutes hashing out and reworking what I wanted to say.

I'm glad I did.

I got a little carried away - this is a topic I'm highly passionate about - but these are my notes. If you know someone who is just getting into writing and being published, this is a good place for them to start knowing what questions to ask.

And maybe it was best that there were few genre writers there. For some reason, those of us in the genre ghettos seem to be more aware of pay rates and contracts than our literary brethren.

And for those of you who were there (or are reading this now) who have been scammed, AC Crispin has some good advice on what to do next.



My name is Steven Saus. I pay the bills by injecting people with radioactive stuff. For the forces of good.

Mostly.

I am an author, with fiction, nonfiction, and poetry appearing in magazines and anthologies both online and off. I am a member in good standing of both SFWA and HWA.

I am a small publisher who focuses on anthologies - mostly genre fiction, though you might be interested in 8th Day Genesis, my worldbuilding book for writers and creatives.

I also provide publishing services, including eBook conversion, digital distribution, and more.

And that brings me to my big point.

The world of publishing is changing. And that's good. It lets stories be heard that would otherwise be silenced. But it has a dark side - it lets lots of people call themselves publishers and prey on you - on us.

There are a lot of scammers out there. There are a lot of folks taking advantage of writers. And sometimes the scammers are even owned by the big New York houses.

As an author, this annoys me to no end because I want fair contracts and professional deals. As a publisher, it annoys me because their bad practices drag down the reputation of the rest of us.

Part of my mission statement is helping authors know what is fair. To know that you don't have to pay a publisher to be published, and what fair rates are for publishing services.

My contract templates are online, with plain language descriptions. I talk about what's fair on my blog, and help point people to trustworthy resources.

For example: Writer Beware and Preditors and Editors.

And questions are free. Work costs money - but questions are always free.

You do not have to pay someone else to tell your story.

Money flows toward the author.

Value flows toward the creator.

Always.

Some new stuff on the The Chronic Rift Network of pop-culture podcasts:

The Chronic Rift Roundtable: Surely You're Joking, Dr. Wertham? A recording of a panel held at the SoHo Gallery for Digital Art, as comics writers Denny O'Neil and Danny Fingeroth, cartoonist/designer/historian Craig Yoe, journalist David Hadju, psychiatrist and author Dr. Sharon Packer, and pop culture librarian/academic Carol L. Tilley examine the influence of Dr. Fredric Wertham, and his polarizing work Seduction of the Innocent on the comics industry in the 1950s and beyond.

The Cinefantastique Spotlight: Ray Harryhausen. CFQ Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons are joined by John W. Morehead of TheoFantastique.com to discuss the legacy of the late, great Mr. Harryhausen.

Dead Kitchen Radio: The Keith R.A. DeCandido Podcast Episode 31: Tales from Dragon Precinct Part 4. I read the Dru-and-Hawk story, also a vampire tale, "Blood in the Water," from my new short story collection out this month.

The Weekly Podioplex May 14, 2013. Iron Man 3 rules the box office, but Star Trek Into Darkness is about to hit. Plus new stuff on DVD and Netflix, and more from Michael Falkner.

The Cinefantastique Interview: Frank Conniff. The former Mystery Science Theatre 3000 mad scientist's assistant talks with Dan Persons about MST3K, Statical Planets, The Wonderful Pundits of Oz, and more.

You can subscribe to the network at iTunes -- either the network as a whole or to individual podcasts -- and the podcasts are also available at the Rift web site or the Rift's page on Mevio. Please comment on the forums, or leave a message at 888-866-9010, or e-mail john at chronicrift dot com, or like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter @chronic_rift.

I have now plotted out Gryphon Precinct. I need to write a short story, finish editing a novel, and probably do some revisions on The Project That Cannot Be Named (Yet) before I can actually start writing it, but I now know the plot, and it's gonna be great, if I do say so myself.

Okay, that's a bit immodest, but -- well, things are gonna get shaken up a bit. There were already two changes to the status quo in Goblin Precinct, one as part of the plot, and one at the very end of the novel, and there's a lot more shakeups to come -- along with the usual mysteries, intrigue, magick, politicking, and character stuff. We'll learn some stuff about Danthres, too.

Enough teasing. Back to the grind............

Some stuff about me from A to Z:

A - Age: 44.
B - Bed size: Double, though I try to get a King when I'm in a hotel.
C - Chore you hate: Cleaning the litterbox, which is why that's Wrenn's job. ;)
D – Domestic Animals names: Scooter (dog), Jezebelle, Rhiannon, Sterling (cats).
E - Essential start to your day item(s): Coffee!
F - Favorite color: Red.
G - Gold or Silver: Silver.
H - Height: 5'8"
I - Instruments you play(ed): Recorder, various bits o' percussion.
J - Job title: Writer/Editor.
K - Kisses or hugs: Yes, though if I had to choose, I'd go with hugs.
L - Living arrangements: A three-bedroom apartment in the Bronx occupied by self, girlfriend, roommate, and the animals named in D.
M - Mood: Generally happy.
N - Nicknames: KRAD, Bongo Boy.
O - Overnight hospital stays other than birth: None, thankfully.
P - Pet Peeves: People who don't think shit through (which, sadly, is most people). People who use "between" to refer to more than two things (which, sadly, is also most people).
Q - Quote from a movie: "I don't know, I'm making this up as I go." Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
R - Right or left handed: Right.
S - Siblings: Biologically, I'm an only child. However, Laura Anne Gilman is my sister by another mister.
T - Time you wake up: 6-8 hours after I go to sleep, whenever that is.
U - Underwear: Briefs.
V - Vegetable you dislike: Brussels sprouts, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower.
W - Ways you run late: Almost invariably due to the screwups of other people. I'm compulsively on time.
X - X-rays you've had: Plenty of dental ones, and my ankle once when I sprained it as a kid.
Y - Yummy food you make: Fried chicken, broiled lamb chops, tomato sauce (from scratch), pork braised in milk, "kitchen sink" casserole, chicken soup, some other stuff.
Z - Zoo favorite: Tigers!