Writing Excuses 4.20: Strategies for Getting Published

Your hosts here at Writing Excuses have tried to answer the "how to get published" question before. We're going to try again. In this episode we begin with a discussion of New Media. Welcome to the Age of the Internet, everybody! The Web is now "old media." When we say "New Media" we're talking about social media -- Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, user-generated content, and countless blogging tools.  After a brief warning about embracing the logical fallacy of affirming the consequent, Brandon, Dan, and Howard provide some examples for how these tools can help you. We talk a bit about some submission practices that you should not practice, most of which Stacy Whitman covered with us back in episodes 12 and 13 of  Season 1. Then we throw you some off-the-wall suggestions that might get you published. Some of these cost real money, and none of them come with guarantees that they'll work. We restate our firm belief that the best strategies for getting published hinge upon writing excellently and networking with people who write. Audiobook Pick-of-the-Week: The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. Howard owes him a plug after last month's epic faux-pas at Penguicon. After bringing it up in this context, Howard probably owes him ANOTHER one. Writing Prompt: For some reason, 1000 years in the future the most cost-effective publishing involves writing on human skin... Blame for That Horrible Mental Picture of Howard Dressed as an Elf Sans Pants: Brandon Sanderson owns that blame, down to the last mote of scowling-with-eyes-averted disapproval. Why Mayan Calendars Predict The End of The World in 2012: seventeen minutes in... This episode of Writing Excuses has been brought to you by Audible. Visit http://AudiblePodcast.com/excuse for a free trial membership*. *Note: From the Audible website, here are the terms of the free membership. Read the fine print, please! Audible® Free Trial Details Get your first 14 days of the AudibleListener® Gold membership plan free, which includes one audiobook credit. After your 14 day trial, your membership will renew each month for just $14.95 per month so you can continue to receive one audiobook credit per month plus members-only discounts on all audio purchases. A very small number of titles are more than one credit. Cancel your membership before your free trial period is up and you will not be charged. Thereafter, cancel anytime, effective the next billing cycle. Any unused audiobook credits will be lost at cancellation.