sfwa – Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast

SFFMP 221: Whether Awards Are Worth Trying for, Marketing Fantasy Romance, and Being Active in SFWA and RWA

February 19, 2019 SFFpodcast Author Interview, Podcast

This week, we chatted with RITA award-winning fantasy romance author Jeffe Kennedy. She started her career writing non-fiction, shifted to romance and fantasy romance with traditional publishing, and now does some self-publishing as well. We asked her about whether awards are worth trying for, her thoughts on the professional organizations SFWA and RWA, and what she’s tried and liked for marketing over the years.

Here are some of the specific topics we touched on:

Getting started in fantasy romance before it became a thing (we debated if it’s yet come into its own).
Whether fantasy romance (secondary world/epic fantasy rather than Earth-centric paranormal romance) is a growing market now.
Tropes romance readers will expect, even if a story is SF/F.
How much “romance” has to be in a story for it to be considered sci-fi or fantasy romance?
Jeffe’s thoughts on whether authors should get involved in RWA or SFWA, the professional organizations for the romance and SF/F genres.
Awards you can enter versus awards you have to be nominated for.
Jeffe’s experience entering the RITA awards each year and having a winner in 2017.
Whether awards are worth pursuing and if they can increase readership.
Jeffe’s thoughts on blogging and social media, and her preferred platforms.
Getting reviews from book bloggers.
Joining with other authors in your genre to put out anthologies of novellas.
Jeffe’s First Cup of Coffee podcast.
Putting out content each week for readers, whether blog posts or podcasts or social media updates.

You can visit Jeffe on her website and check out the award-winning The Pages of the Mind or the first book in her current series, Sorcerous Moons: Lonen’s War.

You can also check out her First Cup of Coffee podcast.

| Open Player in New Window

Click to download the mp3.

Subscribe to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast on iTunes.

Subscribe to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast on YouTube.

Subscribe to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast via RSS.

Like us on Facebook.

Facebook, fantasy romance, jeffe kennedy, rwa, science fiction romance, sfwa, social media

SFFMP 196: Writing Tips, Selling Short Fiction, and What SFWA Can Do for You with Cat Rambo

August 28, 2018 SFFpodcast Author Interview, Podcast

This week, fantasy author and SFWA president Cat Rambo joined us on the show, and we grilled her about writing and selling short fiction, her experience at the Clarion West Writers’ Workshop, what SFWA is doing for authors these days, and her latest novel, Hearts of Tabat. Among other things!

Here are some of the specifics we covered:

How Cat got serious about writing when she quit her day job at Microsoft and attended the six-week Clarion West Workshop.
How workshops can help a writer grow.
Whether you have to worry about having your voice altered in the process.
Some of the workshops Cat recommends and what to watch out for if you’re considering a less well known one (especially an expensive one).
Her Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers where she helps new genre voices emerge via on-demand and live classes aimed at writers working in fantasy and science fiction (scholarships available for those short on funds).
Getting started with short fiction.
Tips for writers who tend to go long when they try to write short stories.
Mistakes writers make when submitting to magazines and anthologies.
How crowdfunding such as Kickstarter has made anthologies more doable.
How Cat ended up publishing her first two Tabat novels through Kevin J. Anderson’s Wordfire Press (which he talked about when he was on Episode 194 and Episode 138) and how marketing goes when working with a small press.
Some tips from her recent non-fiction publication Moving from Idea to Finished Draft.
What’s been going on at SFWA since we had MCA Hogarth on the show back on Episode 20 (more than three years ago!) and why both trad and self-published may find a membership useful.
What it takes to qualify for SFWA membership.
Benefits that come with SFWA membership and how the Nebula convention has changed over the years to have helpful panels for all.

If you enjoyed the show, you can follow Cat on her blog and check out her newest novel, Hearts of Tabat. You can also sample her short fiction in Near + Far and Neither Here Nor There.

| Open Player in New Window

Click to download the mp3.

Subscribe to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast on iTunes.

Subscribe to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast on YouTube.

Subscribe to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast via RSS.

Like us on Facebook.

anthologies, cat rambo, fiction magazines, selling short stories, sfwa, short fiction, wordfire press

SFFMP 170: Keeping an Older Series Selling, Nebula Awards, and What SFWA Can Do for You

February 20, 2018 SFFpodcast Author Interview, Podcast

On this week’s show, military science fiction author and retired Marine colonel Jonathan Brazee joined us. We talked about the wisdom of sticking to one genre and writing a series and spinoff series all in the same universe, and how that can help with marketing. It doesn’t hurt to be prolific, either! We also talked about SFWA, where Jonathan is the Chairman of the Education Committee and doing a lot to help indie authors inside of the organization.

Here are some more specific details of what we covered:

Jonathan’s road from his first published short story in 1978 to being a full-time indie author of more than thirty novels of (mostly) military science fiction.
Why he recently decided to accept a traditional publishing contract.
The wisdom of focusing on one genre, for the most part, and building a universe where multiple series intersect with each other and can each work to lead readers into the universe as a whole.
Some tropes in the military SF genre that authors would be wise to pay attention to.
Whether it’s harder now to break into military SF than it was a few years ago.
How Jonathan got involved with SFWA and why authors may want to consider joining if they qualify.
The networking benefits of going to conventions and getting involved as a panelist.
Being nominated for the Nebula awards.
What forms of advertising Jonathan is using now that are working for him.
What he’s doing these days when he launches new books.
The importance of setting realistic expectations and realizing it’s probably going to take more than two novels if you want to make a career of writing.
The types of covers Jonathan likes for his military SF and why he’s thinking of redoing some of his early ones.
How he keeps his older series selling years after he’s completed publishing them.
Advertising older books in a series when it’s time to release a new installment.
Keeping in touch with one’s fans and realizing how much your work can mean to some people.

As we mentioned in the show, Jonathan is one of the nebula award finalists in the novelette category with his story, “Weaponized Math.” If you’re interested in reading it, you can find it in the 99-cent Expanding Universe: Volume 3. You can also find the rest of his titles on Amazon.

If you’re a member of SFWA and want to vote for the nebulas this year (or if you just want to read the stories), you can find the list of the 2017 nebula award finalists here.

| Open Player in New Window

Click to download the mp3.

Subscribe to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast on iTunes.

Subscribe to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast on YouTube.

Subscribe to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast via RSS.

Like us on Facebook.

jonathan brazee, marines, military sf, nebula awards, science fiction, series, sfwa

SFFMP 20: SFWA for Indie Authors and Making Money from Patreon and Kickstarter with MCA Hogarth

March 3, 2015 SFFpodcast Author Interview, Podcast

You may have heard that the SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association) is now allowing small press and indie authors in, so long as they’ve made the earnings requirements. We invited MCA Hogarth onto the show to talk about some of the changes and what they mean for indies, as well as why you might want to join.

After that, we talked a little about marketing, but Lindsay was curious about some of the extra ways MCA is making money from her work, so we also jumped into Patreon, Kickstarter, Paypal tip jars, and coloring books!

Here’s a list of what we hit on:

The SFWA, which has been around for 50 years, is now accepting small press and indie authors.
What does the organization offer and why might authors want to join? (Networking, invitations to anthologies, legal help, and more.)
What are the requirements to join?
Can you join if your book had a successful Kickstarter campaign?
Social media for marketing — Twitter, LiveJournal are MCA’s preferred spots.
How she uses her mailing list and how often she sends newsletters
How she’s making money with Patreon
How she’s making money with Kickstarter — she’s run 8 campaigns and even written a book: From Spark to Finish: Running Your Kickstarter Campaign.

If you would like to learn more about MCA Hogarth, you can follow her on Twitter or Livejournal, and be sure to check out one of her more popular novels, Mindtouch.

You can also check out this article about her in Publishers Weekly: Blazing the Self-Publishing Path.