Critters News & Notices
Books from Critters!
Check out Books by Critters for books by your fellow Critterfolk, as well as my list of recommended books for writers.
How to Write SF
The Craft of Writing Science Fiction that Sells by Ben Bova, best-selling author and six-time Hugo Award winner for Best Editor. (This is one of the books your ol' Critter Captain learned from himself, and I highly recommend it.)
(Also via Amazon)
New Book from a Critter Member
**NOW IN
PRINT EDITION
TOO!** Awesome new book,
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPECULATIVE FICTION OPENINGS,
from a Critter member who's unearthed a shard of The Secret
to becoming a pro writer. Really good piece of work.
"...if you're at all concerned about story openings, you'd be nuts not to read what Qualkinbush has to say." —Wil McCarthy, author of BLOOM and THE COLLAPSIUM
Interviewed!
I was interviewed live on public radio for Critters' birthday, for those who want to listen.
Free Web Sites
Free web sites for authors (and others) are available at www.nyx.net.
ReAnimus Acquires Advent!
ReAnimus Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of the legendary Advent Publishers! Advent is now a subsidiary of ReAnimus Press, and we will continue to publish Advent's titles under the Advent name. Advent was founded in 1956 by Earl Kemp and others, and has published the likes of James Blish, Hal Clement, Robert Heinlein, Damon Knight, E.E. "Doc" Smith, and many others. Advent's high quality titles have won and been finalists for several Hugo Awards, such as The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy and Heinlein's Children. Watch this space for ebook and print editions of all of Advent's current titles!
Book Recommendation
THE SIGIL TRILOGY:
The universe is dying from within...
"Great stuff... Really enjoyed it." — SFWA Grandmaster Michael Moorcock
Announcing ReAnimus Press
If you're looking for great stuff to read from bestselling and award-winning authors—look no further! ReAnimus Press was founded by your very own Critter Captain. (And with a 12% Affiliate program.) [More]
Affiliate Program
My ebook publishing company, ReAnimus Press, now has an Affiliate program, where you earn 12% for sales you refer. Since the authors earn more from direct web site sales we want to share. :)
Book Recommendation
I wholeheartedly think you'll like this book ("Biff America" - humor) and want to recommend it to you.
Free Books
I've got five review copies of my newest ebook, A PRIVATE MUTINY and of the Vonnegut/Catch22-esque SIDE EFFECTS available for those who'd like one.
Survey!
Please take the Ebook reader poll - have you tried one recently? (and tell others)
Congrats to the Critter Nebula winners!
Major congratulations to Rachel Swirsky and Eric James Stone for winning in the Novella and Novelette categories! How awesome is that?
$fri1 Freebie Friday!
Free ebooks on Fridays... $fri2 :) [More]
Ebook Loading Tutorial
Don't be shy in the Critters Store! It's easy to load ebooks onto your reader.
Spammers, oh spammers
Been getting reports of a spammer who joined the site, so do ignore any oddball "agent" solicitation you get in place of a critique. I'm just back from out of town, and then had a death in the family, so I'm catching up on things as rapidly as I can. Sorry for any delayed reply from me!
New— Critters Members' Store!
Buy ebooks and music from other members — and sell yours — with a share to the fund drive: Visit the Critters Members' Store
Making an Ebook for Kindles and iPads and Nooks, Oh My!
Just wrote a little "how-to" guide to help.
Sales Survey
How much are authors earning on book deals? Share your data.
New RSS Feed
For your enjoyment: RSS
Help Build A Diplomacy Database
New feature — help revise undiplomatic phrasings.
While few, the most common theme in complaints I get in Critters relate to undiplomatically phrased critiques. Usually there's a nugget of meaningful information in there, but phrased poorly.
So what I'm trying as an experiment — y'all know I like experiments — is asking authors to give more data about undiplomatic critiques when they fill out the critique ratings form (a link at the bottom of each critique) and help me build a database of these, by sharing problems they found and rephrasing them so they'd share the same content but phrased more diplomatically.
Check out the ratings form when you get a critique and let me know what you think. Thanks!
What Can Publishers Do For Authors in a Mostly-ebook World?
Credit Sharing Between Workshops
It's now possible to share credits!
New Workshops
Woohoo! To celebrate the site's 15th anniversary, I've opened up the rest of the workshops — there's one for everything! Please check them out and especially please announce them around.
Tried an ebook reader?
Take a quick survey: Have you tried an ebook reader recently under realistic, comfy reading chair conditions?
Captain's Blog
Check out the new Critter Captain's Blog. Thoughts on Critters, publishing, and life in general.
Critters Store
For books, magazines, and many other can't-live-withouts, check out the new Critters Store...
Random Character Generator
Drop by the random character generator if you need some ideas.
New Workshops & Forums!
Non-fiction writing workshop and Mystery/Thriller are open for beta testing — sign on up! And check out the new forums!
New workshop!
Woohoo! First new workshop is open for beta testing. Survey says your #1 wish is a... (drum roll) Literary & Mainstream Fiction workshop. Try it, let me know of any bugs.
Uh, DeKalb, not Waukegan
Oops, I was told wrong... looking for someone near DeKalb. :) Do any of you out there in Critterland live ner DeKalb?
Minion Needed
Help request — I need a graphic image...
Expanding Critters?
I've long planned to offer workshopping in more genres, both writing and in other creative areas. But there are lots of options how to do that... Please share your thoughts here, so I can keep them in one place. Thanks!
NEW: What new genres should I add first? Survey here...
Bugs?
I'm working on the site, so let me know if you encounter anything that isn't working right (broken links, forms, etc.). Helpful if you send me the URL as well. Thanks!
Notices Layout
So, lookie, I've moved the notices over here because of popular demand. Hope you like. Don't forget to look at them though!
Free Ads for Your Stuff
Many Critterfolk have asked if they could advertise their books, stories, etc. on Critters. I know how important it is to get the word out — and how hard that is — so I decided heck, let's try it as a benefit of active membership. Read more...
The State of The Future?
What are your thoughts about the future (as in, "The Future")? Is the future healthy or are people burned out on it? Share your thoughts...
Ebook Pricing
The e-book pricing survey results are in! Read more...
As a result I'm doing an experiment to test the variable pricing, "Pay As You Like It" model. Read more...
Vote for Your Favorites!
I've launched a poll / reading list for your all-time favorite books, short stories, poems, poets, & authors, in each genre. Please vote and share the link. The more votes the better the scoring gets. Vote here...
Wishes for the Future
What do you want the future to hold? World peace? Self-driving cars? Share your dreams of the future, big or small, on the Wishes for the Future forum. What would you love to see? (It's part of my critique.org/forums site. Meant to be fun, and it's anonymous, so don't be shy!) Self-driving cars? World peace? What else?
Nicer Manuscript Formatting
Make italics and bold "real" instead of _this_, & other features for easier reading and critiquing. Read more...
Babel Story - Collaboration
I've restarted the "Babel Story Collaborative Fiction" project (fun, "wiki"-like project where members work together to create stories)
Visit the "Story Idea Seed Garden" to share or get ideas for stories.
Take our Survey...
Please take our survey on reading and writing habits for information and fun... It's open to the public, so please spread the word so we can collect the most accurate data.
