So what exactly does an editor, do, anyway? We’ve already talked about the process of submitting to an editor; today we talk about the millions of vital things that happen after an editor says “I want to buy your book.” Not only that, but we get to hear it all straight from the mouth of Lou Anders, the Hugo-nominated editor from Pyr Books, who this year alone helped create a Hugo-nominated book and two Campbell-nominated authors. In other words: when this man talks about editing, you listen.

Lou Anders

Pyr Books

Writing Excuses Episode 29: Talking Publishing with Lou Anders [ 0:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (10371)

This is the first of five episodes recorded on location at WorldCon 66 in the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Brandon, Dan, and Howard are joined by Phil and Kaja Foglio, and we discuss writing for webcomics… no, wait… writing for “sequential picture-assisted storytelling.”

Phil and Kaja are the creators of Girl Genius, the web’s foremost hunk’ o’ steampunk — and we here at Writing Excuses are big fans. During our short time together they help us understand the nuances of creating Girl Genius pages, writing to the outline of the story, and crafting their dialog. The Foglios (and Howard) have a little bit of advice for folks looking to start their own webcomic, too.

(Mmmmm…. Grizzly Bear Soup!)

Writing Excuses Episode 29: Writing for Webcomics [ 15:38 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (9275)

You’ve asked and we’ve listened.  For those of you that want to share, and discuss, what you wrote from a writing prompt, you can head over to The Official Time-Waster’s Guide (which hosts Brandon’s official forum) and post away.

We’ve created a thread under the Writing Group board just for you (aren’t we generous).

The Writing Excuses team sits down to talk about religion as a world-building device: your characters probably believe in something, so what is it? How does it affect their lives? How does it change their thoughts and motivations (and swear words)? And when you’re developing a fake religion, how do you avoid religious bias and keep from offending people? Is it best to develop something completely new, or make a few changes to a real Earth religion?

Writing Prompt: Develop a religion where people worship something that no one would ever worship in our world. And it can’t be silly.

Writing Excuses Episode 27: World Building Religion [ 16:23 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (11010)

What is horror? Why is it scary? HOW is it scary? Forced by their grandfather’s will to spend an entire night in his spooky mansion, our podcasters gather to discuss the nuts and bolts of what horror is (and isn’t) and how it works behind the scenes. Here’s a hint: as with pretty much everything else in writing, the secret comes down to compelling conflicts with engaging characters. Be warned: Howard is going to say something scary, so don’t listen to this podcast alone and/or in the dark.

This week’s Writing Excuses is brought to you by something close to Dan’s heart.

Writing Excuses Episode 26: Horror [ 16:22 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (10202)

Writing Excuses is undergoing a complicated technical overhaul on the back end (by which we mean that Jordo, our techmonkey, is moving to a new house and has very patchy computer and Internet access). This is slowing us down, but we promise that there will be an episode available tonight. Sorry. It will all be cleared up soon, and we shouldn’t have many more problems in the future.

Thanks for your understanding.