December 13, 1999
Steve Lazarowitz
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Steve Lazarowitz
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Steve has been writing SF and Fantasy for as long as he can remember.
He has had modest success on the web and hopes to achieve more both on the web and off. His new Anthology is due out in January.
Steve is also the chairman of Eguild. Eguild is a union of electronic writers and artists open to all
serious e-authors, published or non. Eguild is designed to protect the
rights of e-published authors and to promote their work specifically and
e-publishing in General.
He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife, daughter and enough animals (Orea, Sheba, Peggy-Sue, Juanita, two tarantulas and many fish including Harley, so named for his kickstand) to make a grown man cry.
For a more complete version of his bio, as well as his bibliography, and links to work published online, please visit Lazarowitz's Home Page
Cybling Steve, why don't we start out this Q&A session with you telling us a little about yourself.
CyBurr Sing the Troll song
KB2PSM Gastric anomoly?
Steve Lazarowitz There's a lot to tell, but most of it would be intensely uninteresting.
Freddie To who?
Steve Lazarowitz I grew up and lived my whole life in Brooklyn. I come from a fairly large family. Five sisters. No brothers. That makes me rather selfcentered, since I was the only boy. Which is why I think everyone cares about what I think and so I write...Everyone's entitled to MY opinion [G]
Freddie Were you the oldest or the youngest?
Steve Lazarowitz Next to youngest. When I was born, it was almost like the second coming!!!
CyBurr Were you abducted?
Steve Lazarowitz No one wanted me that much :)
Cybling Steve, I just read the latest installment...
Freddie You mean you were a changeling?
Cybling of Reflections of a Recovering Servant. Can you tell me a little about this online serial?
SeaChanter [Steve has been called Red Chief at times.]
Steve Lazarowitz Reflections of a Recovering Servant is a serial that can be found on the Wandering Troll Ezine... It's one of my most convoluted works to date. The serial you're reading now, is the first of three books When it's done, the second two, will become part of a single ebook with the part already published online.
Spinner Are all three books done?
Steve Lazarowitz In my head? Yes. On paper. No.
Cybling Thanks Steve. Folks feel free to ask a question, but when I say *HOLD* that means hold up until he's answered what's already been asked.
Steve Lazarowitz Book One is done though
Spinner You have other books about to be published?
CyBurr Do Trolls have short Christmas trees?
jloewe Are you writing anything else?
KB2PSM Is convolution a drving force for much of your work?
Cybling HOLD
Steve Lazarowitz At the moment, I have a couple of projects in progress From DarkStar Publications, I have an anthology being Epublished called A Creative Edge: Tales of Speculation It's due out in January. I've seen the cover art already, have the ISBN # and I think it will be roughly on time
harbinger steve.
Steve Lazarowitz At the same time, my second anthology should be out
Steve Lazarowitz Hey Harbinger
harbinger told you i'd stop by =)
Freddie Are your new projects novels, serials or short stories?
Steve Lazarowitz It's called Dream Sequence and Other Tales from Beyond and is being published by Crossroads Publishing The funny thing is, the second anthology was only completed and submitted less than a month ago, while I'm waiting... two years for the first. And they're coming out at about the same time!
Spinner Srossroads is fast with a good book.
Cybling That is interesting Steve.
KB2PSM Does the timing of the releases concern you?
Freddie I have to agree there.
Steve Lazarowitz Well, I don't know if it's harded to sell two titles at the same time, but I'm just happy to see them at this point
di What do you look for in an e-publisher?
Steve Lazarowitz That's a great question. The problem at this point with Epublishing, is that there are so many news epubs all the time... that you don't know who's legit and who's not. In general, I try to talk to other authors that have been published by a particular epublisher and then, if I can get enough... information about their methods, payment and what have you, I feel I can trust them. I've already been stung once and have... no intention of making the same mistake again.
Cybling Folks! If you're lurking, be sure to send a "." into the chat screen or via Private Message, from time to time to avoid punting. Thanks!
Cybling Steve, you've told us that your two anthologies A Creative Edge: Tales of Speculation and Dream Sequence and other Tales from Beyond
Freddie I know what Steve's talking about with e-publishers...
KB2PSM With these less reputable epublishers is there a concern abiut theft of material or just a loss of money?
Freddie I was burned by the same one.
Cybling are coming out at about the same time. Can you tell us a little about what's in those anthologies?
harbinger whatever happened to alaric swifthand? =)
Steve Lazarowitz Both anthologies contain sixteen stories. Most of my older work is in A Creative Edge. Except for one older story, which appears in Dream Sequence. My older work tends to be longer and more....deep. my newer work seems to be more fun and shorter. Both anthologies contain science fiction, and fantasy short stories. Some border on horror as well.
KB2PSM With these less reputable epublishers is there a concern abiut theft of material or just a loss of money?
di The Association of Electronic Publishers have been trying to set standards for the e-publishing trade. How do you feel they are doing? Are they making an impact? IYHO?
Steve Lazarowitz Well, there's a concern of not being paid for sales and then not being able to sell the book anywhere else. There's a concern of an epub not promoting your book, or having it available.
jloewe Sorta like MP3?
Steve Lazarowitz This is a reflection on the author sometimes, to the public at least.
Freddie That's why we need an organization of our own.
Spinner E-pubs don't have the piracy problems of MP3. The market is different.
KB2PSM I imagine that for the money, some epubs will put anything out there...does this water down the reputation of e-writers as a whole?
Steve Lazarowitz One of the biggest problems facing epublishing today is the lack of standards some epublishers have.
Freddie From my experience, the quality of e-authors is pretty high
Steve Lazarowitz The legit one's Freddie, but I can tell you a horror story about one of them. I know an author that isn't all that bad, but she hasn't a lot of experience and her work is what you would call amateruish. Which doesn't mean that it's bad...she needs a bit more experience
Spinner practice.
Steve Lazarowitz She sold a book to an epublisher, which I picked up through amazon.com It wasn't bad, but it was by no means pro. The book on CD cost 16 dollars. The author received .33 / copy sold.
Spinner Oh, dear!
Steve Lazarowitz The epublisher could sell ten copies to her friends, make a quick hundred bucks, give her $3.30 and be done with it. But the contract... stipulated that she wouldn't receive a check until she had $50 in royalities coming to her.
Freddie That's awful.
Steve Lazarowitz Now you have a bad ebook, that I've paid 16 dollars for, that the author never saw a sent of.
Spinner That's robbery
di That is not unusual in print. Do you think that the Association of Electronic Publishers have made an impact on the e-pub'ing trade?
Steve Lazarowitz But it would have been published no matter how bad it was, because any author can sell ten or twenty copies to friends and family If you bought this ebook first, would you try another? See the problem?
Freddie I sold 70 copies of my first title that I know of. To strangers.
Cybling Folks! If you're lurking, be sure to send a "." into the chat screen or via Private Message, from time to time to avoid punting. Thanks!
Spinner AEP tries, but by their own rules, they're too restrictive to help out new authors. the year membership is a problem.
Steve Lazarowitz Hey Howard!
Howard hey there !
Steve Lazarowitz That's Howard!!! LOL!
jloewe Hi GOT
Freddie Isn't AEP for publishers rather than authors?
Howard N2GOT here
Steve Lazarowitz It is. Yes, it is Freddie.
Spinner it's for publishers, but the intent is to aid readers and authors to find good ones.
Freddie I do respect the AEP, for very personal reasons.
di When we interviewed them, they were trying to set standards for epublishing, I just wondered if they had followed through.
Spinner the year before a publisher qualifies for membership puts most of the good ones still outside.
Steve Lazarowitz They are still the best organization for checking out epublishers That is a flaw, however.
Spinner 3MPros works pretty well.
Steve Lazarowitz Then again...part of that slack is going to be taken up by Eguild.
Freddie As far as the AEP following through, they expelled one publisher for unethical practices.
Steve Lazarowitz Eguild is a union of electronic writers and artists. For the time being, I happen to be the chairman.
Spinner 3MPros checks contract, editing and royalty payment amount and payment before admitting an e-pub
Freddie And is open to all e-authors, artists too.
Steve Lazarowitz The purpose of Eguild is to protect E-author and E-artist rights, to promote their work specifically and e-publishing in general.
Freddie E-Guild is open...
Steve Lazarowitz E-Guild officially opens on January 1st, midnight on the international dateline At which time, a president and steering committe will be elected~
Freddie We badly need an organization like this
Cybling Thanks Steve, can you tell us how EGuild proposes to protect the authors?
Freddie Sorry.
Steve Lazarowitz Several ways Jan.
jloewe Have you written any Non-Fiction?
Steve Lazarowitz First and foremost is education.
Spinner Eguild hasn't officially opened yet, but already issued a publisher warning or two.
Steve Lazarowitz We will tell authors and artists what to look for when negotiating a contract, what are reasonable times to wait for you book to come out... which epubs are taking far too long to get back to authors...which practice questionable business practices...that kind of thing. We also will be establishing a legal defense fund at some point, to help authors that have been taken advantage of... and also, we will offer advice on the best and worst epubs to deal with .
harbinger Is Eguild a NotForProfit?
Freddie Contracts is a very important issue. There are some horrible ones out there.
Steve Lazarowitz Eguild is not for profit, yes.
harbinger Where is it deriving its funding from, Primarily?
Steve Lazarowitz It's a service to eauthors and eartists.
di Is this for e-publishers of novel lenght, or will zines be included?
Spinner the full name is Electronic Authors Guild International, but that's rather long to type
Steve Lazarowitz At this point, it's not, but dues will be instituted soon and we have several other funding ideas that will go into effect soon.
Cybling
jloewe asked earlier.... Have you written any Non-Fiction?
Freddie All e-authors and artists are welcome are they not?
Steve Lazarowitz Any person serious about epublishing is welcome to join Di, even if you've never been published. It's for people that take epublishing seriously
Spinner Cover artists?
Steve Lazarowitz Yes, them too :( :)
Freddie Writers for ezines?
di No, what I am asking is will the Eguild be looking only a novel lenght pub'ers, or at zines also (I am concerned with zines that post stories forever effectively killing the cpyrt.)
Steve Lazarowitz ANY writer serious about Epublishing. that means all of them :)
Spinner Not just published?
Steve Lazarowitz Eguild isn't looking at anything Any author or artist, published or not, can join. We are looking for people that are serious about publishing .
Cybling Okay...in that last flurry a questions...I think one or two may have been lost.
Freddie You mean electronic authors and artists, don't you?
Steve Lazarowitz Yes, Freddie
Steve Lazarowitz I can't type and chew gum at the same time. I lost all of them [G] .
Cybling Let's start with Di...could you repost Di?
di I am concerned with zines that buy rights to post "forever." That effectively kills the copyright. Will you be looking at zines and advising members?
Steve Lazarowitz Any organization that steps on the rights of a electronic author or artist, will have to answer to Eguild! Ezine or full length, it doesn't matter. E-authors and e-artists need to unite, because there's a LOT of horror stories out there.
di Thank you
Cybling Okay...did anyone else feel they needed follow up on their questions?
blindside Someone asked earlier if Steve wrote non-fiction.
Cybling Yes, thanks Blindside. Steve?
Steve Lazarowitz Yes, I have. In fact, I've had a couple of regular columns on the web, at different points... Which allows me to introduce two very good friends of mine that are here tonight.
harbinger [hides]
Steve Lazarowitz First is Harbinger, who is really Brenden. Brenden was the head honcho at Dragonsclaw.net, the first place to EVER publish my work online.
harbinger ya, who would have known, eh steve? =)
Steve Lazarowitz It started with the Adventures of Alaric Swifthand, but my first nonfiction column, view from the Parapet also appeared on DC as well. Unfortunately, Dragonsclaw is no more. The second person, is called Blindside...but he's really Jon Hodges He was the editor of Exodus and Conflicting Spectrums and took over Parapet, after Dragonsclaw. Took it on, I should say. The column ran for 16 issues altogether and it can all be found on my webpage as we speak. But the newest incarnation of Parapet... is going to be something VERY different. It's going to be in a new Ezine Called Vacancy, by the very same Jon Hodges. And readers will be able to hear me read the column through the magic of real audio.
Cybling What topics did you deal with in your column Parapet? Can you give us an overview?
Steve Lazarowitz Parapet was always a forum for me to say anything I damned well pleased....and I did. I spoke about how role playing games have such a bad reputation with some people...about religion and faith, about death, about silence...
blindside No joke.
Steve Lazarowitz about magazines..about the afterlife...about growing up in isolation. The most personal column I ever wrote was called "Science Fiction saved my Life" and it was... published as part of the Parapet column, which can be accessed from my webpage
Cybling Thanks Steve.
Cybling You spoke about The Adventures of Alaric Swifthand in the past tense. I'm assuming this serial is at a close and can be read... in its entirety somewhere as well?
harbinger Erm - Please tell me alaric wasn't lost when we lost Dragonsclaw....
Steve Lazarowitz Actually, Alaric can't be read at all at this moment. However, there is good news. I'm currently working on Alaric Book 3, which will be published in a single volume with the first two, possilby as early as this spring.
harbinger ah.... you working on any other columns on the side, steve?
Steve Lazarowitz I'm negotiating with more than one company fo the rights, so I can't say who will bring it out
Steve Lazarowitz I actually do have another Parapet like column coming out soon. It's called Sahara Ice (thanks for the name Freddie [G]) and it's going to be more of the same. Me rambling. More news when I know where it will be.
Cybling Thanks Steve.
Steve Lazarowitz Mr Pitt!!!! My good friend SNJ Pitt writes the Column voices from the Pitt for The Wandering Troll Ezine
SPitt evening great friend
Steve Lazarowitz This is a great column and it reminds me a lot of parapet, except that parapet was written by someone comparitively sane!!! [G.
Cybling Steve, I don't think we've touched on Time: An Introduction yet. Can you tell us a little about that?
Spinner So you're planning on having novels, as well as anthologies purblished soon?
Steve Lazarowitz
SPitt I resemble that.
Steve Lazarowitz Absolutely. Two on the way.
harbinger Steve - are you trying to tell us that you are sane?
Steve Lazarowitz Compared to Mr. Pitt.....yes!!!!
harbinger um.... if you say so =)
Spinner What's your newest 'dream' book, the one you've just begun to want to write?
Steve Lazarowitz Okay, my newest dream book is still a dream because I haven't had time to do the research. I don't have a name for it yet, but I'm really excited about it. It goes deeply into the islam culture of about 1000 AD and it's about a machine that lets you look at your past lives.
Cybling Steve, I don't think we've touched on Time: An Introduction yet. Can you tell us a little about that?
Steve Lazarowitz Time: An Introduction is one of the oddest short stories I've ever written... It's about a world that existed for a long time, that had never invented the concept of time... and what happens to them, when it finally comes to them. This story will appear in the winter issue of Twilgiht Times Ezine which should be out in January
Spinner So you're planning on having novels, as well as anthologies purblished soon?
Cybling I'm assuming you mean epublished or pulp, Spinner?
Spinner Y
Steve Lazarowitz I have two novels lined up. The Adventures of Alaric Swifthand is the first and Reflections of a Recovering Servant is the second. actually, I'm also in the middle of my first... science ficiton novel, called Confronting the Void. it's about the invention of the first faster than light drive and the unexpected complications of travelling at that speed
Cybling Excellent. I'm looking forward to this.
Steve Lazarowitz Me too!!! [G]
Cybling Steve, why if SF saved your life is this your first SF novel?
Steve Lazarowitz Because I write predominantly fantasy, though I was a science fiction fan first. You should actually really read that article, it's one of my best
Cybling Can you give us a URL for that or is it linked on your website?
Steve Lazarowitz http://www.sff.net/people/nagennif . It's also linked from cybling, of course
Steve Lazarowitz Another thing I wanted to touch on was the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll.
Cybling Danka. Yes please do tell us about Preditors and Editors Reader's Poll.
Steve Lazarowitz As far as the poll goes, I'm doing rather well, considering the upsurge of categories and people this year. Reflections of a Recovering Servant is currently in eighth place and I'm the #8 author as well. My short story A Creative Edge is in fifth place.. of course you can't put too much on this poll. Last year, I did have the #1 short story, butthe #6 short story...also mine.. never appeared in print and I certainly didn't ask anyone to vote for it!!!
KB2PSM Do you believe that your interests in sci-fi/fantasy writing was instilled by your interests in RPGs?
Steve Lazarowitz No KB2PSM. When I got into SF and fantasy, there WERE no Roleplaying games.
KB2PSM so this predates your D&D days as ateen?
Steve Lazarowitz Yes KB2PSM, my interesting in SF waaaay predated my RPG days.
Spinner Give us the URL for the poll please.
Steve Lazarowitz http://www.sfwa.org/prededitors/perpoll.htm That's the poll
KB2PSM Steve, since you still play RPGs, some of your own design, do you ever use them to play out themes for your publications?
Steve Lazarowitz Great question KB.
Steve Lazarowitz Yes, I do and Reflections of a Recovering Servant is loosely based on a doublestar game
KB2PSM great!
Steve Lazarowitz Doublestar is similar to Dungeons and Dragons, but it's a game of my own creation
KB2PSM of which a few of us have the pleasure of playing.
Howard looks like a fun game
Steve Lazarowitz And old fashioned RPG. Dice and paper. I wrote a 118 page players handbook for it. Yes, I do see a couple of my players here
blindside In case anyone wants to keep up with your writing and publishing, do you have a newsletter for interested parties?
Cybling Great question...thanks blindside.
Steve Lazarowitz [G] You go Jon!!!!
blindside (:
Steve Lazarowitz Yes, I do have a newsletter. just nip on over to my webpage, email me and ask to subscribe. that's all there is to it
Cybling Excellent!
Steve Lazarowitz Jon Rocks!
Cybling Okay folks...if there are no further intense questions...
Cybling Folks, we're going to close the log now and go to open chat with Steve...kinda a coffee klatch sort of thing... but first a couple of announcements. One of Steve's friends, Susan Sizemore is scheduled to be out here to chat on the 10th of January. Come out to see her. You can join our email schedule list by going to http://www.cybling.com/email.html
Steve Lazarowitz She rocks too!
Cybling And we'll be having chats every week night from now on. Check out our chat schedule at...
Cybling http://www.cybling.com/
Cybling Let's give Steve a well deserved round of applause!!!
Steve Lazarowitz Along with a log of this chat...coming soon!
Techyo And Sundays. [G]
* JanCyberC applauds Steve.
Techyo Clap clap clap
JELEINEN .
jloewe speech speech
SPitt clap clap brb
blindside [fox whistle]
Techyo YEAH steve is the man!!!!!!
Steve Lazarowitz Thanks for coming everyone!
KB2PSM Hoo hoo hoo!
Howard CLAP CLAP
JanCyberC Steve, do
you have anything being published in a non-internet forum?
Nagennif At the
present, two of my short stories are slated for print magazines.
One will appear in the premiere issue of a new magazine called
The Cooperative, where every story is written by two authors. I
wrote that one with Marcie Lynn Tentchoff. The second is a very
odd fantasy piece called Time: An Introduction which will appear
in an upcoming issue of 69 Flavors of Paranoia
JanCyberC Thanks
Steve....You're involved in editing on the internet as well,
aren't you? Can you tell us more about that?
Nagennif I'm the
SF/fantasy editor for Twilight Times Books. TT Books is a newer
epublisher, but it has an awful lot of talent knocking about.
Lida Quillen is the head honcho there for one and there's some
great books already slated. One is called the 13th Magician by
Patrick Welch and it's phenomenal. Editing has certainly cut into
my writing time, but what a great experience it is for me.
JanCyberC Thanks
Steve. I'm curious about something we discussed a little the
other day. You recently joined the SFWA. They still seem to be
discussing whether or not to accept online publication of a story
to fill their requirements for membership. How did you join?
Nagennif Actually, the
SFWA has voted to allow epublished authors into their ranks, but
since they have yet to actually establish guidelines it's rather
difficult to navigate that channel. I joined as an affiliate
member, based on the reviews I write for SFSITE and my editor
status at TT BOOKS.
JanCyberC Thanks
Steve...okay ... My final question before we open the chat up.
Can you tell us a little about your fantasy serial, "Reflections
of a recovering Servant."
Nagennif Ahhh. this is
one of my favorites. I started this as a favor to Jason Laseman
who edits the Wandering Troll Ezine where it appears, but the
story has just taken off. The main character is a servant,
falsely accused of raping another servant and impregnating her.
In the first part of the serial, he is sentences to be beheaded.
He has another conflict, which is this... Once he is "free" or
rather a fugitive, he finds he has to continually battle his need
to serve. This makes life very difficult for him. Btw...All of
these on line zines can be access by links from my webpage, which
I'll give toward the end of the interview.
JanCyberC Thanks so
much Steve. Folks...thanks for coming out this evening to chat
with Steve.
Patricia Hi, all, are
you giving Steve a bad time yet?
Nagennif Not yet
Patricia [G]
JanCyberC And there's
also a link to your homepage on your Cybling link page... at
http://cyb
ling.hypermart.net/artists/steve.html
DKStories Hi, Steve,
it's D.K. Smith.
Nagennif Hey DK.
DKStories How's it
going?
JanCyberC
Folks....please let Steve answer one question before asking
another... Thanks!
DaDuke ::waves his
hand to ask a question::
JanCyberC Ask
away!
DaDuke Steve, what are
your current writing projects?
Nagennif Aside from
the aforementioned fantasy serial, I'm working on an anthology of
short stories for Twilight Times Books
Nagennif I also have a
few other items that are slated to appear on the web, or have
just appeared
Nagennif One of my
favorites is a short story that I wrote called Brand Awareness,
which will appear in a brand new ezine soon.
DKStories Which
one?
Nagennif The name of
this zine is Planet Relish and as far as I know, it's unique.
DaDuke Kewl!
DKStories Who runs
it?
Nagennif It's the only
speculative fiction humor zine on the net.
Nagennif it's run by
Mark Rapacioli...did I spell that right Mark?
Wrapper2 yep
Nagennif Anyway, it's
got some real talent behind it and it can be found at
www.planetrelish.com
AngieT -----------hand
raised :) Can you tell me the significance of "finnegan",
nagennif?
N2GOT good
question
Wanderer ya what's
behind that?
Ewok42 yea
Nagennif LOL! Glad
you noticed....Nagennif is Finnegan spelled backwards and it's
named after...
DaveK Steve grew up
wanting to be an ambulance... :)
DaDuke ::slips from
the room to tend to his 101 degree temperature:: I'll talk to
you later Steve.
Wanderer lol
JanCyberC Goodnight
DaDuke!
Nagennif a star trek
character from the original Trek series, that I liked quite a
lot. He was only in one episode. ...
Nagennif I used the
name as a D&D character about twenty years ago and it just sort
of stuck with me.
Wanderer a true
trekkie huh?
Nagennif I used to be
more of a Trekkie.
Wanderer that sickens
me steve
Nagennif That was when
I had time to watch tv [G]...If you ask me the best thing a
writer can do...
Wanderer hehe
Nagennif Is to sell
his TV. Get rid of it. It drains you and leaves you with no
time.
JanCyberC LOL
SeaChanter You ever
sleep? :)
Nagennif No.
Wrapper2 --- waves
hand
JanCyberC Go for it
Wrapper.
Wrapper2 You mentioned
collaborating with Marcie Lynn Tentchoff. How different is it
for you to collaborate rather than write on your own?
Nagennif That's a
great question, but writing this story was different than my
first collaboration...
Nagennif You see, The
Cooperative is not just stories by two authors. It's a magazine
of stories by two authors...
Nagennif who have no
contact at all. I didn't even know who i was writing it with,
before it was done. We never..
DKStories Has the
Cooperative come out yet?
Wanderer is his
writing style similar to yours?
Amy Steve..I have to
agree with you on getting rid of the tv, although I miss it now,
but late nights, are when I really roll with my writing!
Nagennif discussed
plot or characters or anything...the story was passed back and
forth to the editor and each author...
Nagennif My first
collaboration was for Jackhammer another EXCELLENT online
Zine.
Wanderer nity nite
steve
Nagennif This was with
Tammy Mackenzie and it was fabulous. I think I'm flexible enough
to write with most people. The real difference is...
Nagennif That when you
collaborate you sometimes have to compromise..which I have no
problem with...
JanCyberC Thanks
Steve.
starlit Do you have
any particular "rituals" or habits in your writing?
Nagennif
Rituals.....hmmmm. Not really. The only thing that I do out of
habit is that I try to stop writing in the middle of a
paragraph...
Nagennif or even a
sentence. NEVER at the end of a chapter or story. This way, I'm
thrown right back in the next time I power up the computer .
JanCyberC I believe
DKStories asked something a little earlier about the Cooperative
coming out? I'm not sure if you got to that question?
djinger any stories
ready using your recent England trip as background?
Nagennif The
Cooperative Release date has not yet been set, but my story,
tentatively named Heart's Blood will be in the first issue.
Nagennif As for
England...
Nagennif I soaked up a
lot of atmosphere, but I'd already done a lot of research on
England for an earlier story and it really hasn't affected me
that much .
DKStories Steve, do
you think the next breed of SF writers will spawn from the
web?
Nagennif I think there
is a good possibility of that...I've seen a lot of talent
knocking about the web...
Nagennif In fact, some
of my favorite authors are webauthors. I'm reading a really
excellent novel by you DK Smith at this very moment!
DKStories Thanks,
Steve.
Wrapper2 lol
Nagennif It's called
Time Matrix and it's terrific.
starlit where can it
be found?
Nagennif It can't
yet..... I'm considering it for publication at Twilight Times
Books at this very moment. If I have my say, we'll be buy it
.
DKStories What's your
favorite story, Steve?
DKStories That you
wrote.
Nagennif My favorite
story....Yikes....
DKStories Short
story.
Nagennif I would have
to say that I have a couple that I'm really fond of, but my all
time favorite would have to be As Luck Would Have It....
Nagennif which won
first place in the Preditors and Editors 1998 Readers Poll. I was
really proud of that.
Amy When do you do
most of your writing? I know each writer/author has their own
time.
Nagennif I right
either fairly late at night, or very very early in the morning.
When the family is asleep.
starlit have you
noticed any recurring themes/motifs in your writing?
Nagennif That's
another good question. I have two things that keep creeping into
my stories.
Nagennif First is a
matter of a character that has no control of his life and must
wrest control through drastic action of some kind.
Nagennif Possibly
because I need to be in control all the time.
Nagennif The second
recurring theme is about multiple realities where the main
character doesn't know which is real.
Nagennif Sometimes, by
the end of the story, the reader doesn't either. My short story
Virtual Confusion was like that.
Nagennif It twists and
turns and just when you think you have it, I pull the virtual
rug out from under you.
starlit does the
writer?
starlit know which
reality is which
Nagennif Sometimes.
Some of my work is rather....esoteric in that manner. Sometimes
there is no answer to that question, but most of the time, I
know.
JanCyberC Steve, is
there a significant difference for you in the process of
submitting a story for online acceptance and that for paper
magazines?
Nagennif Submitting is
much easier to any magazine that accepts e-mailed submissions.
Print magazines almost never do...
Nagennif Which means
more time and effort on my part. Of course, print is still where
you really want to be, but I think that will start to change in
the years to come.
Nikki271 Steve, what
would you say is the best piece of writing advice you
received?
Nagennif The single
best piece of writing advice is this....editors are just people
and they can be wrong...it's not there fault...
Nagennif No matter how
many rejection slips you get, or how they're worded, they are
just someone's opinion.
starlit Do characters
come to you asking for a story, or do you hold a "casting
call"?
Nagennif My characters
write themselves. Sometimes they positively take over. I never
have to think about a character, he/she's just there. .
Nagennif You know
what's really scary??
Nagennif when
characters start arguing with me over their share of the
royalties [G]
JanCyberC LOL
djinger Do you prefer
first or third person?
Nagennif each has it's
place. Most of my best work is written first person, but even
then, there are different types of first and third person
Ewok42 what do your
characters prefer?
Nagennif One of my
favorite stories, The Gift, is written first person, but not from
the point of view of the protagonist.
starlit Do you ever
have to rein them in, or do they have free run in the story?
Nagennif Most of my
characters have free run, but on the rare occasions where they
get out of hand....they still have free run....
Nagennif I've never
been able to write a story without the characters dictating it's
pace. Writing is almost unconscious for me.
Joni Do you just sit
down and write or do you do some planning first....
JanCyberC A follow-up
question on the SFWA, Steve... Do you think it's an advantage for
online authors to become associate members at this time? And
what possible advantage could it give you?
DKStories Associate
members of what?
JanCyberC Science
Fiction Writers of America, DK.
Nagennif I usually
plan in my head, but I seldom ever write an outline. I usually
know the beginning and ending of a story...
DKStories I thought
you had to have a certain number of publications to join.
Nagennif what happens
in between, I just fudge ...
DKStories Paid
publications.
Nagennif I think that
the best thing about the SFWA....
Joni Thanks Steve
Ewok42 fudge has
sugar
princess very good
ewok
Nagennif Is the
ability to meet other writers and industry professionals,
especially if you intend to attend cons...
Nagennif which I will
at least once a year.
Nagennif I'll be
attend World Fantasy Con in Rhode Island Next fall and hope to
use my status to..
Nagennif get on a
couple of panels. .
Wrapper2 Any chance we
will see an Alaric Swifthand serial in print?
Nagennif Print may be
a bit off, but I've recently had an offer to place it as an
ebook. I wasn't going to say anything yet, but since someone
else...
starlit that's instead
of an ewok, I take it?
Nagennif brought it
up...I'm going to be writing book 3 of Alaric very soon and with
books one and two, it will be published on CDROM and for
download.
JanCyberC
Interesting...thanks Steve.
JanCyberC Steve, do
you attend Fantasy Cons primarily? Exclusively?
Nagennif Another ezine
I'd like to mention...
Nagennif Is
Exodus.
JanCyberC
www.Exodus.com?
Nagennif No. I was at
Worldcon in Baltimore last year.
Nagennif The link is
on my webpage, with all the others.
princess baltimore
Nagennif I have a
regular column in Exodus called View from the Parapet.
Wrapper2
www.blindside.net -- that's Exodus's main domain
JanCyberC Thanks
Steve. So it's important as a writer to get out there and F2F at
cons, even though you're published mostly on the web.
Nagennif Some of you
may remember when it was on Dragonsclaw....and it's been on
Exodus since the 8th issue.
Ewok42 Is there a W2K
problem?
Nagennif My current
issue is called SF Saved my life and it's the most personal
column I've ever written. .
princess I loved
Dragonsclaw
Nagennif Unfortunately
Dragonsclaw is no more.
Nagennif It went the
way of the dinosaur... it was the first site to publically
display my work.
Nikki271 Steve, has
there been any piece that was particularly difficult for you to
write? If so, what and why?
Nagennif Not really.
I can write just about anything. My difficulty is getting my butt
into the computer chair. once that's accomplished, I can
write....
Nagennif but getting
me there...that's the trick. I have to psyche myself out
sometimes....
Nagennif I tell myself
I'm only going to write a page or two .
princess and then you
write a chapter right?
Nagennif Or two, or
three, depending on how tired I am
princess LOL
djinger how much
revising do you do?
Nagennif Writing IS
rewriting.
Nagennif I'm always
revising. I must revise the same piece about 15 times or
more.
princess I definitely
can agree with that
Nagennif I've even
written some poetry recently.
Nagennif In fact, I
sold my first poem last year to the Goblin Market...
princess is it a lot
different than your current writings?
Nagennif That was
pretty exciting, since I never thought I would sell a poem. .
Nikki271 Do you like
writing fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or novels best?
Nagennif I only write
poems, when I'm bitten.
JanCyberC Bitten?
Nagennif I like short
stories because they are so immediate...
princess do you get
bitten often?
Nagennif Bitten by an
idea or concept that has to be written.
DKStories Keep
writing, Steve. Bye for now.
JanCyberC Goodnight
DK.
Nagennif I can write a
short story in a couple of days. I love working on novels
too.
Nagennif But they can
be rather....daunting. Then I have to set my goals
shorter...Actually there are other writers here...
Nagennif that's a good
question for you. How goal oriented is your writing?
Nikki271 me?
starlit got to be
shuffling. bye guys
Nagennif Any off you
who write.
Wrapper2 mine isn't
but I think I'm the exception to the rule.
Nagennif I mean do you
work better under a deadline or just free form.
Joni I just write or I
used too
Nikki271 free form for
me, though I get more determined with a deadline
Nagennif Mark, you are
an exception to just about every rule [G]
djinger I work under
deadlines all the time, so fiction is a release.
Nikki271 lol Steve
Wrapper2 LOL
Ewok42 i'm a story
character
di deadlines stress
me
Wrapper2 same here
di
Nagennif I love
deadlines, myself.
princess deadlines
help get the job done
Joni deadlines can
also be stifling...
Nagennif Reflections
of a Recovering Servant is due once a month, EVERY month.
Nagennif There are
three issues out so far, but I'm taking vacation in July, so I
want to do July's and August's this month.
di deadlines make me
wonder if I have settled for 2nd best
princess that's a lot
of writing before your vacation
Nagennif Then you have
to write fast and think hard. Most of the time, I get it mostly
right the first time...I try to think a lot before I start
something.
Nagennif But I have
the vacation to recover, Princess [G]
JanCyberC Steve, you
mentioned that you write mostly during the evening when your
spouse and kids are asleep...
Nagennif One of the
best experiments I ever did...
JanCyberC does this
mean you are solely a writer? Or are there other commitments on
your time?
Nagennif was when I
originally was finishing Alaric Swifthand, I had a reader pole
with a couple of questions, about how they would like the story
to end and wrote the end based on popular opinion.
Nagennif I manage a
computer store by day, Jan and do try to spend some time with the
family. And of course, I'm an editor as well.
SusanS Hi, Steve. Nice
picture
Nagennif But if you
want to write, you HAVE to make the time to write. The
difference between a published...I
JanCyberC Hi Susan
8^)
Nagennif author and an
unpublished one is excuses. .
Wrapper2 Steve, if you
could break into one of the major pro zines, which one (or more)
do you think is best suited for your work?
JanCyberC Well
put.
princess isn't he cute
Susan?
Nagennif Hey Susan
[G]
Nagennif Oh
geeze....
SusanS Yeah, he's
cute...
Nagennif Susan is also
a writer and a prolific one at that [G]
princess AND A
FABULOUS WRITER
Nagennif Take a bow
Susan G
JanCyberC sees that
the temperature on the hot seat has been cranked up a few
degrees.
SusanS Bowing.
Nikki271 lol
SusanS It's Steve who
turned me on to some great sf online zines. Thanks.
Nagennif Susan, like
myself and Nikki here are Jackhammer repeat offenders.
JanCyberC
Excellent.
Nagennif That is you
Nikki, yes?
Nikki271 yep, that's
me :)
Nagennif Glad you
could make it.
Nagennif I have to say
that Jackhammer was very important to me as a new writer.
Nagennif I got my
first check from Jackhammer and many of my first sales.
Wrapper2 Steve, you've
managed to avoid my question very skillfully :-)
JanCyberC Steve, a
question about submitting online. Is it a good idea to
correspond with the online editors before submitting, attaching a
cover letter to your submitted story, or what?
Nagennif Jackhammer
has helped a LOT of authors get started.
SusanS Getting checks
very important [G].
Nagennif what question
mark.
Nagennif ?
Wrapper2 which of the
major pro zines would be most suited to your work -- after all,
they are all different
Nagennif Each online
zine has its own preferences. If the zine asks for a cover
letter, send one, but a brief one.
Nagennif try to read
the guidelines before you submit and follow them to the
letter!
JanCyberC Are ezines
pickier about that sort of thing, or about the same as print
zines?
Nagennif Of all the
pro zines, Absolute Magnitude, Adventures of Sword and Sorcery,
and Weird Tales would be the closest to my style, I think.
Baryon guidelines are
probably the most important thing to know about who you are
submitting to
di Depends on the
zine, I think Jan
Nagennif Ezines are
not as picky as print zines, most of the time, because they get
less submissions. Not to say that they're...
Nagennif not good
quality. But many don't pay and many that do, don't pay much.
And space doesn't cost that much, compared to print...
Nagennif the online
zine is taking a much smaller risk, so they can take more
chances....
Nagennif this is why
online zines will push the envelope more than print zines. .
djinger What's your
take on semicolons, Steve?
JanCyberC So they can
afford to be a little more flexible...but not so much that you
*shouldn't* check their guidelines first.
Nagennif LOL...I take
it that's Patrick Welch hiding in the corner. I know I mentioned
his upcoming novel before...
SusanS Yeah, what
about semicolons? My collaborator keeps using them, I keep
stripping them out.
di I also recommend a
writing site to look at formatting in general.
Nagennif But I just
have to say it again....the 13th Magician is a brilliant fantasy
novel....
princess don't like
them huh?
Nagennif once I
removed all the semicolons that is [G]
SusanS Published when?
By who?
djinger I warned you
I'd drop by. Are you imagining everyone is naked like I told
you?
Nagennif The semicolon
is almost archaic.
Nagennif LOL Pat.
Wrapper2 lol Pat
princess LOL
Nagennif patrick is an
eccentric, but a harmless one....I hope
di Archaic, Like
me.
Ewok42 if a cat
doesn't use semicolons then how good are they
Nagennif I don't think
a couple of semicolons are a problem but Pat tends to use
them.....religiously.
djinger I bow to the
altar each evening.
AtkButterfly
Regrettably, I must leave for now. Wonderful interview, Steve.
Take care, all.
Nagennif Bye ATK.
Nagennif LOL!
Nagennif Susan, I'm
with you on the semicolon issue. Who's you're coauthor?
SeaChanter Never saw a
cat use a semicolon, much less a full colon.
annitta Hi Steve.
SusanS Marguerite
Krause. For a SWP fantasy. She loves them, uses them in her own
work a lot. I shriek.
Nagennif Hi
annitta~!
SusanS think they slow
down the flow.
Nagennif LOL!!!
Nagennif I agree.
Nagennif In answer to
your question,
Nagennif Pat's book is
being published by Twilight Times Books.
Joni I can't get 'em
right so I leave out
di I like them. There
are many times that I want to marry two independents without the
connector.
Baryon which do you
enjoy more, writing or editing
Nagennif Another thing
which I meant to say....I've recently severed by ties with Domhan
books.
SusanS Love fantasy.
Will look it up.
annitta I know that I
am late, but what are we talking about?
Nagennif Writing.
Nagennif But Editing
is great experience for a lot of reasons.
Wrapper2 --- begins
to take notes
princess LOL
wrapper
Amy Steve...just out
of curiosity, are you going to the conference in Chicago?
Nagennif My
anthology,which was going to be published by Domhan is going to
be published by Twilight Times Books.
SusanS Which
conference. Windycon?
SusanS or RWA?
Nagennif No, Amy. My
only convention this year will be WFC in Rhode Island. I will
attend worldcon in chicago next year.
SusanS I'm signed up
for Chicon.
SusanS My first
worldcon since 82
JanCyberC Is there a
tried and true way to work out differences with a collaborator,
though, other than shooting them?
Nagennif
Yes.....Chicon 2000 Susan???
Nikki hi again, my
computer decided to reboot me
Baryon Chi2K
Nagennif Hey we can
finally meet!!!!
SusanS Oh, Mar and I
have worked together for years. We shout a lot, but never take it
personally
Nagennif I haven't
ever had a problem with a collaborator that I couldn't handle
peacefully....yet!
Nikki Steve, you said
you're going to wfc in providence this nov?
di Sorry must go. I
have much to do now that I am on my machine again.
Nagennif Yes, I
am.
Nagennif Can't wait
[G]
dreamer bye di
Nagennif Bye Di
SusanS I love doing
collaborations. Have worked with several folk over the years
Nikki cool, will see
you there :)
Nagennif that's
cool!!! I'm meeting all these great authors in person :)
JanCyberC Later
di.
Nikki yep! :) I know
Jon's going too
SusanS Like having a
baby. Each writer brings a different angle to story, and it turns
out unique
Nikki bye Di
Nikki lol Susan, I
like that analogy (baby)
Nagennif I have to say
that should you get a chance, you should check out some of the
online zines listed on my webpage.
Nagennif If you've
never read one, you're really missing out. Several are
terrific.
Nagennif Titan, Wander
Troll, Jackhammer, The Royal Scribe to name a few.
SusanS You turned me
on to SF Site. Great zine. And to Cybling here too
JanCyberC You have
quite a list of stories available Steve... it's most
impressive....and extremely convenient...thanks!
princess they all
are...don't hold back now Steve
Nagennif SFSITE is the
best review site I've ever seen
SusanS They gave A
Dangerous Magic a great review
Nagennif I've written
ten reviews for them to date and there doesn't seem to be any end
in sight.
princess at this rate
there never will be an end
SusanS Know who's
doing the review for my book, The Hunt...offering bribery
here...
Nagennif I used to be
more prolific... before I started editing.
JanCyberC LOL,
Susan.
Nagennif When is it
coming out Susan....???
JanCyberC Editing
takes up a considerable amount of your time now, Steve?
Nikki how much has
editing cut down on your writing, Steve?
SusanS October, from
Ace
Nikki very cool,
Susan!
JanCyberC
excellent...Doing any online chats yet Susan?
Nagennif Three
quarters of the time I used to devote to writing is now editing
time. This means I have to write far more efficiently.
Nagennif What!!!! When
did this happen Susan????
SusanS Always happy
to. Looking to promo the book as much as I can
SusanS When did what
happen, Steve?
Nagennif I want a
REVIEW COPY!!!!
Baryon me too
princess .
Nagennif LOL! Susan, I
think I'm confusing you with another Susan!!!
Nagennif I thought you
were Susan Sterling.
Nikki so did I
SusanS Happy to
provide. I think Ace sent a bound galley to SF Site. I have some
galleys
Wrapper2 me too!
Nagennif LOL!
SusanS Sizemore. You
know, from Romfort
Nagennif That's why I
said you were a Jackhammer repeat offender!!!
SusanS Oh...well, I
read jackhammer...
Nagennif I am good
friends with another SusanS!!!
Nikki lol whoops!
Nagennif LOL!!!
SusanS Well, now your
good friends with me!
JanCyberC 8^D,
ah...the delights of screennames.
Nikki repeat reader
then?
SusanS yep
Joni Steve.....I knew
it was Susan
Nagennif Okay,
everyone....Susan Sizemore is a very well known published
author!!!!
Amy So did I
Steve.
Nagennif Yes, but you
don't know Susan Sterling, Joni.
Nagennif Nor do you
Amy.
SusanS but we'd like
to...
Nagennif What we have
here is two different clans.
princess guess Steve
was the only one who didn't know here...LOL
Amy Okay, true enough
Steve.
Nagennif The
Jackhammer Clan and the Romance Foretold Clan
Joni No, but I know
Susan Sizemore.
SusanS Yeah, I'm a
Murray. I don't think we feuded with the sterlings
Nagennif I belong to
both.
Baryon But I know
Bruce Sterling
Nikki Wrapper and I
didn't know either (I guess we're the jackhammer clan?) :)
SusanS I've met bruce
sterling...
Nagennif LOL!
SusanS no, wrong, I've
met the other sterling sf writer guy
Nagennif BTW, a word
about Romance Foretold.
Baryon word
Nagennif Romance
Foretold (http://www.romfort.org) is a writers/artists/ readers
colony on the web/
Nagennif It mostly
deals with Romance writing, so I don't know why i'm there, but
everyone seems to like me , so I stayed [G]
Nikki lol
SusanS great place for
readers and writers to hang out. That's where I know steve and
many others from
JanCyberC LOL!
Nagennif But it is a
terrific place for a new writer to go to get the lay of the
land.
Nagennif It's also one
of the few places where the female to male ratio is about 100 to
1..That might be another reason that I stayed. [G]
Amy Of course we like
ya Steve. I've gotten some great insight on my own stuff from
your posts to the group!
Joni Your there
because we need you...you've helped me..
JanCyberC Steve, do
you recommend writer's groups/critiquing groups for folks who are
not yet published?
Nikki lol Steve, now
we know the *real* reason!
LaMMMMMM I'll jump in
here--Hi Steve, whom I know from RF.
princess LOL!
Steve
Nagennif Hey
Melinda!!!!
Wrapper2 aaaah, the
truth comes out
Nagennif Writing and
critique groups are only as good as the writers in them
LaMMMMMM Hey!
Nagennif I've been in
several
Nagennif I was in
critters online, but I found that more than half of the critiques
were almost silly.
LaMMMMMM Critters
Online???
Nagennif I currently
belong to RMC Crit, Rumor mill Crit group, which is composed of
fairly skillful writers.
Nagennif I tend to
take more from this group than the other.
Nagennif The best
thing, is to have a couple of good writing friends and just trade
manuscripts back and forth.
JanCyberC So no one
should be afraid to cut their losses and run if a group doesn't
seem to be helping at all? Or should you give a group a certain
amount of time before bailing?
Nagennif Then you KNOW
where the critique is coming from.
SusanS I've been in
the same critique group since 1990. we were all unpublished then.
all but one published now
Nagennif You have to
see if the comments that are being made, make sense.
Nagennif If they do,
stick it out. But there are a LOT of unqualified critiquers out
there.
SusanS of course,
these days we mostly meet to eat dessert, but the support is
important
Ewok42 We all need to
get together in a room with a lot of online computers.
Nagennif I once almost
scrapped a story, based on several critiques, which I sold to the
first magazine I submitted it to.
JanCyberC And it never
hurts, I suppose, to have readers who aren't related to you by
blood.
Nagennif That's true.
I've bounced ideas of Nikki here and Mark and Patrick as
well.
SusanS In my critique
group there's one person who I usually always listen to, and
another who is always
Nagennif And Jonthan
Fesmire, but I don't see him here tonight.
djinger didn't have to
bounce them so hard
SusanS off the
wall...but she means well
Nagennif But a bad
critique group can hurt more than it can help.
JanCyberC Thanks for
joining us tonight Steve, hope to have you out for another chat
soon!
Posted Questions
Linda Gruber: Will you try your hand at more interactive books for eReaders with multimedia capabilities?
Nagennif: As an author, I seldom get the chance to choose who buys my work. I certainly wouldn't mind getting into the e-reader field, but again, that is not my first priority. If it happens, I will certainly enjoy it. I've been looking at several e-readers and they are the stuff of science fiction. However, at this point, they are still too expensive for most people's tastes. As time goes on, I'm sure that the e-reader will become a standard accessory to twentyfirst century living.
Mark: Are you as perfect as we all think, or do you have someone proof-read your writing?
Nagennif: Mark Bredhoff has been proofreading my work for a long time. More recently, I've been trying to proof more on my own. It's the sort of thing that I needed to work on anyway. Still Mark's input has been invaluble. Presumably why he posted this question .
