Industry News You Probably Should Read

It's summer in NYC, so the normal slow-down in the publishing offices is happening.  But that doesn't mean things have crawled to a halt.

Last week, noted editor Alan Rinzler wrote a piece on publishers' mistakes and why those mistakes are a good thing for writers.

Of course, authors/editors/publishers Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith advocate authors having one foot in Trad and one foot in Indie.  Just watch your back with both agent and publisher contracts.

Speaking of contracts, fellow recovering attorney, Passive Guy has a series this week on reading a contract from the perspective of a contracts lawyer.  Definitely a MUST READ, folks!

On the other side of the field, author/publisher Bob Mayer talks about the elephant in the room, i.e. the all-or-nothing mindset that's afflicting some writers and how it can damage all writers.

And last week, both Bob and Joe Konrath talked about the weird definitions different writers' organizations use to establish who's a professional writer and who's not.

Well, I've been writing a magazine column for the last four years and getting paid for it.  I hereby declare myself a professional writer.

Hang in there, fellow writers, and don't forget the sunscreen!