Birthday gifts for subscribers + an essay, earning out, & banned books week
You get a gift and you get a gift! An essay by yours truly; earning out calculator; Substack tips; SFF webinars; banned books week; public domain questions; more AI problems; egg lemon soup
Greetings readers & writers,
It’s that time again! That time when the leaves begin to change, the air begins to cool (theoretically) and we celebrate this here newsletter’s anniversary. I can’t believe it’s been four years. Since last October, this newsletter has grown by 25%, released 20 issues (including this one), six of which were interviews with authors.
The continuation of this newsletter is due, in larger part, to you and your continued enthusiasm. Several hundred of you read this newsletter every month and for that I am continuously awed and grateful. And to say THANK YOU, I have some birthday gifts for you:
My first gift to you all: my essay + recipe, “Grains of Truth,” published in Sarah Gailey’s delightful newsletter, Stone Soup. This essay has been a long time coming, both in me writing it and in it being published (it was accepted back in January!) so it is extra-specially delightful to bring it to you now. You’ve heard me mention this recipe before, if you’ve been a long time reader, but the essay gives a little context (and sensory detail). If you’re not a subscriber to Stone Soup, I highly recommend checking out the other Personal Canon essays.
My second gift to you: a FREE seasonal bonus zine! It’s got exclusive book recs, a recipe, a poem, and marketing tips for this fall. I’m hoping to make one every season, we’ll see how it goes. For now, to get ahold of a copy, all you have to do is share Books, Marketing & More with a friend or via your favorite social media site and it will land right in your inbox. It also gets you closer to some other referral bonuses and to gift #3 below.
My third gift to you: a drawing for a free 40-minutes consult! We can talk about your writing goals, marketing plans, or our favorite tea and recipes. To get in on this, complete at least one of the following by 10/27:
Share this newsletter (and snag that free zine!)
Subscribe because a friend referred you
Comment on this post about what keeps you subscribed here
Lots more coming your way, so thanks for continuing to read and being part of this community!
Back at Grub Street!
Where the Literary & the Speculative Meet: Re-defining Genre
December 9th | 10:30 AM Eastern | Zoom | Register here
“Fantasy is a tool of the storyteller,” says Neil Gaiman. Whether it’s a touch of time travel or an interstellar war, “speculative” writing is storytelling that breaks the rules of our world. Together we’ll explore definitions and examples of speculative and literary writing and how they overlap; how publishers uses these terms to classify books and authors; and the perils of genre gatekeeping.
Writing/Marketing Resources
It’s really hard for writers to get a sense of what their sales numbers need to look like in order to “earn out” their advance! Author Hana Lee has simplified the process with her “When Do I Earn Out?” calculator. Read more about why she built it here.
Talking about newsletter growth, Bookstacker
of shares Six Lessons from Hitting 6,000 Subscribers to her book recommendation newsletter!Sci-fi/Fantasy publisher Orbit is hosting a series of FREE webinars on writing SFF, featuring their extensive stable of creative and bestselling authors, including James S.A. Corey, Brent Weeks, and Ann Leckie, to name a few of the star-studded presenters.
There’s been a bit of a hiatus from interviews, but this month we’re back! We’ll be hearing from the “queen of the bold, exciting space romp” (Tor.com) Valerie Valdes, author of Where Peace is Lost and co-editor of the award-winning sci-fi podcast, EscapePod.
Industry News
This week is Banned Books Week in the U.S. According to the American Library Association, “Censors targeted a record 2,571 unique titles in 2022.” Find out how you can get involved in fighting censorship: ALA | Freedom to Read | PEN America
Bill Willingham, creator of the Fables comics series, declared that, due to an on-going conflict with DC Comics, he is officially releasing the series into the public domain {These Foolish Games}. DC Comics contests this {Popverse} and many folks question how feasible this actually is within the rules of copyright law {Comics Lawyer}.
The Atlantic did a deep dive into the books behind the dataset of Books3 {gift link} and, using their database, many authors found out that their books are being used to train AI. The Authors Guild has compiled resources for authors in this position.
Amazon restricts authors from self-publishing more than three books a day after AI concerns {The Guardian}
Soup
In honor of Stone Soup publishing my essay, I thought I’d share one of my favorite soup recipes: Avgolemono. I’ve always loved this creamy Greek egg lemon soup, but put off making it myself because I was afraid it would just turn into wet scrambled eggs. But it’s not nearly as tricky as it seems, I promise! My sister found and shared this easy recipe (though I usually make it with chicken/chicken broth and a bit less dill) and I’ve never gone back. It’s even better day two.
Make yourself a big bowl of something warm and comforting. Enjoy the crisp, fall air. And don’t forget to share this newsletter with a friend to get some sweet, free gifts!
~Allison
Writer & Marketing Coach
Keep Writing, Keep Connecting! Substack | Facebook | Website | BlueSky
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This newsletter reminds me to make marketing a priority and inspires me with ideas to try out. Thanks for the work you do in curating it.
I subscribed after reading the piece in Stone Soup. I'm glad to be on the list!