Month: October 2012

The importance of editing, Simon Bestwick & nuns, and the perfect Halloween viewing » This Is Horror

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Without editors, gentle reader, most people in my profession would be screwed.Editors wipe our noses, change our nappies and make certain we’re not late for nursery school. They also pay off the police, bury the bodies, buy up all those naked photos from when we were young and needed the money and burn them for us. Or in my case, burn them for me, rinse their eyes with bleach then impale them with a letter opener and run around the office screaming: “I can still see them, oh God I can still see them!”

via The importance of editing, Simon Bestwick & nuns, and the perfect Halloween viewing » This Is Horror.

How NOT to Put Together a Short Story Collection | HTMLGIANT

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DO NOT say to yourself, Well, I’ve got a lot of stories now, so I guess it’s time to shove them all into a manuscript and send it around. This is not a good reason to compile a short story collection. Are your stories good? Do they complement each other in some way? Do they reflect the very best of your writing? Then by all means, go to it. But be aware: selling a short story collection is very difficult. Editors like novels. Some presses only publish novels. This doesn’t meant that you won’t be able to sell your collection but do not think that this will be an easy task. As a short story writer, you already have an uphill battle to fight. If you’re working on a novel, or have a fantastic idea for a novel, it might be better to just do that instead. If, like me, you are deep-in-your-soul a short story writer, then I am sorry for you and glad for you. Just be prepared for a long slog.

via How NOT to Put Together a Short Story Collection | HTMLGIANT.

To DRM or not to DRM?

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“I had a very enlightening conversation today with a small publisher who shall remain nameless for the time being. More on their secrecy in a moment… They’re thinking of going DRM-free but with a couple of twists.

First of all, they’re thinking of only going DRM-free with their direct sales on their website. They’ll instruct Amazon and all the other retailers to keep using their DRM model. This publisher figures they can use this  as a way to make the direct sale more appealing to customers. They’ll also give direct customers all formats. So the selling proposition is, “Buy from Amazon and be stuck with their DRM limitations; buy direct from us to get all formats for all devices and avoid vendor lock-in.”

VIA:
Tools of Change for Publishing (http://s.tt/1qNHT)

A novel approach to going DRM-free – Tools of Change for Publishing.

Aradale and Midnight Echo Magazine

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Hi everyone,
A short Australian Horror Writers Association update for October, with news on U.S. distribution for Midnight Echo, as well as an update on the Aradale Asylum Creative Retreat.
MIDNIGHT ECHO NEWS:
October 18, 2012 – Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) President Geoff Brown, and Midnight Echo Executive Editor Marty Young, are pleased to announce that the AHWA and JournalStone Publishing (JSP) have entered into an exclusive joint marketing agreement pursuant to which the AHWA and Midnight Echo magazine will be the exclusive Australian distributor of the quarterly magazine, Dark Discoveries, while JSP and Dark Discoveries Magazine will become the exclusive USA distributor of Midnight Echo. Both parties voiced their enthusiasm for the agreement, which means that the pre-existing high premium that potential readers of each respective magazine have had to pay to receive the other periodical in their respective countries will be eliminated making both magazines much more affordable and accessible/available for all. Look for availability on both the JSP and Midnight Echo websites soon, where you will be able to purchase the magazines individually or in a bundled offering that includes both Dark Discoveries and Midnight Echo.
Midnight Echo is also holding a subscription drive in the buildup to the eagerly awaited Issue 8, with a whole stack of prizes to be won. Just take out a 1- or 2-year print subscription between now and November 30 and you will go into the draw to win the following:
• ‘The Woman’ signed by Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee
• ‘Edge of Dark Water’ signed by Joe R Lansdale
• Original ME8 artwork by Glenn Chadbourne (signed)
• A copy of ‘Tolerance’ plus 3 signed lithographs, by ME8 cover artist Chris Mars
• 1-year print subscription to Cemetery Dance magazine
• Original Allure of the Ancients artwork, signed by creators Mark Farrugia and Greg Chapman
• 1-year print subscription bundle to Midnight Echo and Dark Discoveries magazines
The winners will be announced on December 1.
Full subscription details can be found at http://midnightechomagazine.com/subscribe-to-midnight-echo/

ARADALE ASYLUM CREATIVE RETREAT:
Writers, editors, artists, photographers, filmmakers, game designers, screenwriters, and anyone creative that I have missed.
All welcome.
The Australian Horror Writers Association has arranged a three-day/two-night stay at Aradale Mental Hospital (formerly Ararat Lunatic Asylum) for writers, editors, artists and any other creative-type people.
It will involve having the days to create and the nights to investigate how to be scared stiff. There will be a ghost tour on the Friday night, and a paranormal investigation on the Saturday night (all equipment supplied).

When: THREE (3) DAYS – February 22-24th 2013
How Much: $395 PER PERSON all-inclusive three days
Includes: accommodation/full catering/tour/paranormal investigation.
Supplied: All meals, camp-beds.
Please supply sleeping bag or bedding (if you are travelling from interstate, talk to us and we will be able to help with this).

Confirmation of interest in attending will be accepted UPON PAYMENT OF $195 deposit (refundable up to thirty (30) days prior to the event. If, for any reason, you are unable to attend, notify us by Thursday 24th January for a full refund of deposit).

Full details here:
http://www.australianhorror.com/index.php?view=317

Geoff Brown – president, AHWA

A short history of Australian horror » This Is Horror

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My new column at This is Horror. Check it out!

Australian horror

Wolf Creek silhouetteThese two words have different connotations for many people worldwide.

Australian horror has exploited fears of Australia’s ‘wide-open spaces’, and the isolation and vulnerability of people where the population drops to less than fifty individuals per square kilometre. Wolf Creek and Snowtown are based on real-life crimes such as Ivan Milat’s ‘backpacker murders’, or the murders in Snowtown last decade. The desolation of much of the Australian landscape, and the vulnerability of those within these areas, has been driven home both by crimes of opportunity and well-planned killing sprees. This is the horror of Australia in reality.

For many overseas residents, it seems Australia has a reputation as the home of many things that have no other aim in life but to kill humans in very nasty ways. Crocodiles, poisonous snakes and spiders, serial killers, giant insects, deadly jellyfish, shark attacks, drop-bears… the list goes on.

See the whole column HERE: A short history of Australian horror » This Is Horror.

‘The horror! The horror!’: An interview with Geoff Brown — Speakeasy

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For those of you who have been seduced by the dark side of writing, it’s time to give form to your finest literary golems, and unleash them on an unsuspecting public: the Midnight Echo goblins will soon be hungry for submissions.

Midnight Echo is one of Australia’s premier horror magazines, and the official magazine of the Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA). Submissions for the upcoming issue #9, ‘Mythic Horror’, will open up from October 1, 2012. Guest editor, Geoff Brown, will be looking for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and artwork to load the pages of ME#9 with all the mythic horror, terror, fear and trepidation he can cram in.

Speakeasy recently caught up with Geoff Brown (aka. G. N. Braun), realist and dark fiction writer, president of the AHWA, and guest editor of Midnight Echo’s forthcoming ‘Mythic Horror’ issue.

See the entire interview via ‘The horror! The horror!’: An interview with Geoff Brown — Speakeasy.