Captain's Blog
Ahoy, Critterfolk!
New entry May 03
Critter Notices
New Book from a Critter Member
Awesome new book,
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPECULATIVE FICTION OPENINGS,
from a Critter member whose 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
Stayin' Alive
If you want to make a career of SF writing, STAYING ALIVE - A WRITER'S GUIDE by three-time SFWA President Norman Spinrad, published by your Critter Captain's ReAnimus Press, is an indispensable guide to the SF publishing industry by an expert.How to Write SF
Hot off the presses from ReAnimus Press! 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.)
Book Recommendation
It's like discovering a new Heinlein book:
POINT ULTIMATE
by Star Trek writer Jerry Sohl.
Announcing ReAnimus Press
If you need help making ebooks from manuscripts or print copies—or finding great stuff to read—look no further! An ebook publisher started by your very own Critter Captain. (And with a 12% Affiliate program.) [More]
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FEATURED BOOK
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Professional Members
We encourage authors and artists who are professionals in their field to join the workshop. Defintions are below for what we consider professional in various writing, artistic, and other fields.
Definifing "Professional" — Writing
For writing workshops, we define "professional" as being a full, voting member of the appropriate professional organization (or eligible to be one). For example, for science fiction writers, "pro" means being an "Active" member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. Similarly for mystery writers and the Mystery Writers of America, horror writers and the Horror Writers Association, romance writers and the Romance Writers of America ("PAN" program), and so on.
Members of the Authors Guild, Novelists, Inc., National Writers Union, Writers Guild West, Writers Guild East, etc. at the highest membership level are considered professional in the genres they have professional publications.
Generally the hallmark of such level of membership is having sold publications to highly respected publishers (e.g. Random House, The New Yorker, Paris Review, etc.) for substantial payments in advance of publication. Self-published works, royalty-only sales, or sales to semi-professional markets aren't considered as professional for workshop "pro perks" purposes.
Definifing "Professional" — Art, Music, Film, etc.
We're in the process of determining what are the best definitions in each other workshop area, and will update this page as we go. Your Critter Captain isn't an expert in these fields thus welcomes your guidance. Generally the guidelines should be similar to those for writers, such as professional-level membership in the appropriate organization (or eligibility for it), which usually revolves around making sales to highly respected places and generally getting paid well for it.
