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CMAP #16: Book Title Blues

So a couple of months ago I handed in a new novel (it won't be out until the second half of 2020--these things have a long lead time). And it occurs to me that it's probably worth discussing book titles...

Lessons learned: writing really long fiction

So, about a decade ago I wrote an essay on this blog about the writing of the Merchant Princes series (at that point, six slim novels—the Empire Games follow-on trilogy wasn't more than a daydream back then), in which I...

New Book Week!

This is your cursory scheduled reminder that I have a new book out this week, on both sides of the Atlantic: Dark State (follow that link for purchase links and info on how to get signed copies). Questions I get...

Announcing UK Audiobook Titles

I think I mentioned this last year, but it bears repeating: my UK publisher, Orbit, have been working on bringing some of my books out in Audiobook formats. (For licensing reasons, the US audiobook versions aren't sold in the UK.)...

Brief commercial interlude

Because I get asked this a lot ... the US Audiobook edition of "The Annihilation Score" has finally materialized. (Actually, it dropped a week or so ago but I've been flailing around in the guts of a novel and too...

CMAP: "Why can't I find audio editions of your books in the UK?"

(Updated December 2017) I get asked this question a lot, so I'm going to answer it once, definitively, here on the blog: where are the UK audiobooks? (More specifically: "The Atrocity Archives" and "The Jennifer Morgue" were released as audiobooks...

CMAP: Short stories, what are they good for?

Q: What constraints dictate the length of works of fiction? A: Same as any other product: money and time … The most familiar form of fiction in the English-language publishing world, today, is a stand-alone bound book containing a novel....

Minecraft, The Sims, And The Future Of Filmmaking

What does the future hold for movies? That's a topic that has eaten more column inches than Scottish Independence, the Kardashians and Bitcoin combined. But whenever I hear it, I can't help but think that the writer is asking the...

CMAP: "Why do you use Microsoft Word?"

(Another in the irregular "Common Misconceptions about Publishing" series of essays ...) You already know I hate Microsoft Word. But it takes actual exposure to generate such a volume of bile, and you probably won't be surprised to learn that...

Crib Sheet: Saturn's Children

Back in the mists of time (this would be circa 2006) I wrote "Halting State". And because the pitch sounded a bit risky, my editor at Ace said, "we'll take it—on condition it's half of a two book deal, and...

Crib Sheet: The Jennifer Morgue

(As with "The Atrocity Archives" I need to refer you first to the essay I wrote, by way of an afterword, which is included in the book. This crib sheet is about all the other stuff—think of it as metadata...

Things publishers can't do (yet)

(Caution: here lies crazy speculation. For a backgrounder, the casual reader should probably read my Common Misconceptions about Publishing series of essays; otherwise you're going to fundamentally misapprehend what I'm talking about.) Trade fiction publishing is a supply chain business....

"We're going to need book covers. Lots of book covers!"

We get book covers. We even get new book covers! Lots of new book covers! Which gives us a chance both to show off new books and to examine just how different publishers in different markets approach the art of...

Still under siege

I'm still being attacked by that novel, which is intensely frustrating because I'm forcing myself to ration keyboard time to 2000 words per day due to the repetitive strain injury. (If you're down with Rule 1, "don't die", then Rule...

Swirling/writing (3): When I Was Stephen King

So, I heard a multitude of heads following off when I posted Chris Priest's admonition to print off the first draft and delete all electronic copies... I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only...?" Er, I...

CMAP #9: Ebooks

There is no topic in the publishing industry this decade that is the source of as many misconceptions, superstitions, lies, plausible untruths, and idiocies as ebooks. Ebooks generate more email to my from my readers than just about any other...

CMAP #8: Lifestyle or Job?

Misconceptions abound, and not only about the publishing industry. In this posting, I'm going to talk a little bit about what it is to be a commercial fiction author. Most people have a very romanticized view of what it is...

Common Misconceptions About Publishing

UPDATED (22-November-2013) A while back I did a series of postings on the topic of Common Misconceptions About Publishing. Here they are: The publishing industry, and how it's structured How books are made What authors sell to publishers Territories, translations,...

CMAP #7: Miscellanea

(This is a round-up of miscellaneous useful information rather than a structured examination of a specific widespread misconception about publishing.) How much are SF/F novelists paid? A few years ago, Tobias Buckell got curious about this question and ran an...

CMAP #6: Why did you pick such an awful cover for your new book?

(I'm going to try and keep this one brief ...) Many readers hold the charming misconception that authors not only write their books, but are responsible for the size, shape, texture, flavour, and appearance of the finished physical object. (We're...

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