9 Slush Pile Mistakes: A Guest Post by 2 Slush Readers

Beverly Bambury/ September 30, 2014/ authors, editing, Publishing, Submissions, Useful Stuff, writers, Writing Markets/ 1 comments

Welcome to Adam Shaftoe (slush reader for Daily Science Fiction) and Patrick Icasas (slush reader for Flash Fiction Online). I’ve known Adam for a few years now thanks to the Toronto-area convention scene and I very much admire his reviewing skills. Read his blog, people! I met Patrick only recently via my LAB•B work, and it turned out we had lots of interests in common, and I even helped him get a very well-known comic book writer on his new blog, How to Suck Less. Woo!In any case, Patrick and Adam work hard at what they do, and they have some wisdom to share with you short fiction writers. Read and learn, my friends. Read and learn. –Beverly Short fiction can be an unfair game. Though talent,

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My DetCon Schedule

Beverly Bambury/ July 17, 2014/ Book Marketing, Conventions, Publicity, Publishing/ 0 comments

Hi, all! I will be at NASFic DetCon 1 this weekend from Friday, July 18th through Sunday, July 20th. I have a couple of panels I am moderating as well as a kaffeeklatsch (kaffeeklatsch=consulting time for free if you play your cards right! ;)) North American Science Fiction Convention (DetCon) Schedule Econ 101 of Self-Publishing, Nicolet A, Saturday 11 a.m. I am the moderator, and I will be there with JF Garrard, Blake Hausladen, Patty Templeton, Christie Meierz, and Becca Price. The media is filled with news about self-publishing, but to do it properly, there is a price to pay! This panel will touch on a series of topics and give an estimate of how much things can cost: 1) The difference between traditional and self-publishing, 2) Why an editor is

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Winners Announced!

Beverly Bambury/ February 21, 2014/ Announcements, author services, Book Marketing, DIY, editing, Marketing, Publicity, Publishing, Self-Promotion, self-publishing, Useful Stuff, writers/ 0 comments

Thanks once again to everyone who entered and who shared and tweeted. Your support is fantastic and I couldn’t do this without you. This has also been a great chance to promote my non-publicity campaign services, of which there are many you can see here. Some of my favourites are social media planning and coaching, and copy editing, and even though it’s not officially on the list, I enjoy critique as well. It’s likely to end up on the list at some point. So please contact me and ask about these other services. I can work with any budget, so don’t be shy. Anyhow! here are the three winners: Karina Sumner-Smith Site | TwitterJessica Meddows Site | TwitterTeri Kline Twitter (and yes, I know the name on

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Enter Here to Win Free Consulting or Critiques!

Beverly Bambury/ February 17, 2014/ Announcements, author services, Book Marketing, DIY, editing, Marketing, Publicity, Publishing, Self-Promotion, self-publishing, Useful Stuff, writers/ 0 comments

Subscribe (and confirm–check that spam email box!) to my email list and you will be entered to win two consulting or editorial hours. You can use the time toward: Help creating your book or comic’s marketing plan A complete flash fiction critique and copy edit A full social media consultation and plan A brief critique of a novella or a partial of a novel  Website critique/planning assistance Any other publishing- or marketing-related consultation time Three winners will be selected at random from mailing list subscribers who have joined and confirmed by clicking the response link (remember it may go to a spam filter) by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, February 19th. Not sure how to join the list? Subscribe right here. Note that the

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A Promise of Better Craft in Self-Publishing (or Slow the Eff Down): Book Marketing without B.S. #10

Beverly Bambury/ February 5, 2014/ BookMarketingWithoutBS, Budget, cover art, DIY, editing, Publishing, self-publishing, Useful Stuff/ 0 comments

The other day Chuck Wendig shared a blog post he wrote entitled “Slushy Glut Slog: Why the Self-Publishing Shit Volcano Is a Problem“. You should read it, assuming that some “shit” and “fuck” aren’t going to be offensive to your delicate sensibilities, and particularly if you’re thinking about taking the self-publishing path or starting a small publisher. It’s already up to almost 200 comments, including a long one from Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords. Stick with reading it even though it’s long and it may piss you off. It’s not an anti-self-pub screed; but, a way toward a solution that elevates independent writers–and to be perfectly blunt–a number of small publishers, too. Anyway, I won’t rehash Chuck. He breaks it down so well that there’s no point in

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Amazon Exclusivity and KDP Select: Book Marketing without B.S. #7

Beverly Bambury/ December 23, 2013/ author services, BookMarketingWithoutBS, Budget, comic creators, DIY, Publishing, self-publishing, Useful Stuff, writers/ 3 comments

Book Marketing without B.S. is a weekly publicity and marketing advice column for writers and other creators who prefer a realistic, clear, and no-nonsense approach. My goal is to help you cut through the bullshit with direct, understandable advice you won’t be embarrassed to follow. Send your questions to beverly@beverlybambury.com. Once I began working independently of a publisher, I ran into an issue that I hadn’t dealt with before: exclusivity with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select program. From a publicity perspective I found it frustrating, as I have contacts affiliated with other book-buying outlets and I am unable to call on them in exclusivity situations. Why would they help with a book they can’t sell, after all? Still, I know it is more complicated

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How Far in Advance to Hire a Publicist and a Book Marketing Plan Timeline: Book Marketing without B.S. #4

Beverly Bambury/ November 22, 2013/ Author Readings, Blog Tour, Book Marketing, BookMarketingWithoutBS, Publicity, Publishing, Queries, reviews, Scheduling, Self-Promotion, self-publishing, Timing, Traditional Media, Useful Stuff/ 0 comments

Book Marketing without B.S. is a weekly publicity and marketing advice column for writers and other creators who prefer a realistic, clear, and no-nonsense approach. My goal is to help you cut through the bullshit with direct, understandable advice you won’t be embarrassed to follow. Send your questions to beverly@beverlybambury.com. Today brings another pair of related questions. The first is “How long before my book comes out should I hire a publicist?” It depends to a certain degree what you’re looking for and on how in-demand the publicist is. My business is relatively young, so six months is plenty of lead time for me, and I can absolutely work with much less if required. I’ve even done emergency publicity! Ideally, for prose novels, pre-work work

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Coming Soon: Calls for Submission Column

Beverly Bambury/ November 16, 2013/ Announcements, Facebook, Guest Post, Publishing, Submissions, Useful Stuff/ 0 comments

In the next week or two I’ll have the first of a reoccurring column aggregating calls for submission. It will be by Selene MacLeod who also administers the successful Facebook group Calls for Submissions (Poetry, Fiction, Art). If this is what you like to see, sign up for email notifications of new posts so that you don’t miss a thing!