I’m totally on track on the writing front, but yesterday got filled up by shovelling snow, a few random errands, playing find-the-actually-helpful-Samsung-representative (way better hider than Waldo, by the way) and arthritis (see earlier, re: shovelling snow). I completely blanked on coming here to be publicly accountable.
Which worked out. Because this morning, when I went to walk his fluffy lordship, I checked the mail (which I also skipped yesterday) and ta-da!
To the left there is the Public Lending Right payment for last year. If you don’t know what the PLR is, and you’re a Canadian author, you really need to take a moment here.
The short version, from the website, is this: “The Canada Council for the Arts distributes annual payments to Canadian authors through the Public Lending Right (PLR) Program as compensation for the free public access to their books in Canadian public libraries.”
The longer version? Go to the website, get the form you need, register all your books, and send it in. Right now registration is open (it opens every year from February 15th to May 1st). Every year, the books you’ve registered carry over (you have to add new ones as they come, obviously) and when the sampling is done to see the distribution of your books through various libraries, you can earn a check. So far, I’ve gotten a check every year from Light.
This is one of the reasons why, in Canada and other countries with PLR programs, it’s so important if you’ve loved a book you’ve read to champion it for your local library. Most library accounts let you suggest titles. Take a second and do so, and you’ve honestly helped out an author in a big way.
So, Canuck authors. Go sign up. It’s a little bit of paperwork, involves photocopying some stuff from the copyright pages, and then boom. The rest happens automatically. Totally worth it.
Even more importantly, this year marks the beginning of the inclusion of e-formats, which I need to sit down and figure out, but the check for last year came with instructions for what to do. At least my backlist is small. I can’t imagine the fun for authors with a tonne of backlist titles who have e-books available through libraries. But it’s worth it.
The Novel(s)
Work on Triad Soul is moving so well. I had a 4k week, and I’m sitting at 18.2k on my goal of being at 20k for the end of the month. That includes making up all the ground I lost for being a bit short in January.
Waiting on line edits yet for Triad Blood, haven’t done much prep-work for promotion, but I’ve got a super-secret-so-can’t-wait-to-talk-about-it thingy happening that took a chunk of my time yesterday. So. Excited. Gah.
Can’t wait to start making noise.
Also, I need to get my butt in gear for swag (buttons, I think), and get the bookmarks ordered and printed. Hey – that can be what I use my PLR payment for. Guilt-free spending is always the best kind.
The Short Stuff
Still haven’t sent off something for February, and I’m closing in on the end. Need to get my butt in gear.
The Q&As are going apace for my Sunday Shorts series. I have a small backlog I need to format and post, and if you’re waiting to hear from me, I do apologize. I had a bit of a rough couple of days, and I’ll get back on that horse in a day or so. I’m really pleased with how they’re turning out, and it makes me happy to be able to chat about short fiction with so many awesome authors.
Open Calls I Know About (and find tempting)…
- Less Than Dead – Tales of zombies, be they the enemy, the ally, or something else entirely, Less than Three Press, Deadline: February 28th, 2016.
- Men at Work – Tales of erotic gay workplace romance, JMS Books, Deadline: February 29th, 2016.
- Behind the Uniform – Uniforms, sacrifice, fellas, Mischief Corner Books, Deadline: March 1st, 2016.
- Transcendent – Short, speculative fiction published in 2015 (ie: reprints) that features transgender characters, Lethe Press, Deadline: March 31st, 2016.
- Gents: Steamy Tales from the Age of Steam – Gay male erotica set during the Victorian/Edwardian era, Deadline: May 1st, 2016.
- Survivor – SF/F anthology looking for stories of everyday trauma survival, Lethe Press, Deadline: May 1st, 2016.
- Magic and Mayhem – Mage/cyborg or tattoo artist/soldier stories (very specific, but it’s for a charity anthology, details at the link), Gay Romance Northwest, Deadline: March 31st, 2016.
- Novella Call – The Book Smugglers, Deadline: May 30th, 2016.
- Animal Magnetism – Tales of men drawn together over their love of animals, JMS Books, Deadline: July 31st, 2016.
Don’t forget to check the Lambda Literary site for more calls, as well as the Queer Sci-Fi calls for submission page (always a trove!)
'Nathan Burgoine 