By request, crossposted from my journal (sorry to you folk that read both):

http://www.tangentonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=753&Itemid=265 :

The saving grace of issue 47 appears in the form of Erin Hoffman and her fantasy piece “The Bearer.” Hoffman writes fantasy prose in an almost poetic style, and has created a wonderful story that should appeal to all the under-appreciated caregivers of the world.

Bellona is a "bearer," one who uses magic to heal and accept wounds (and the pains associated with them) into her body. Then in a secret process known only to her and other "bearers," she transfers these maladies into mysterious river rocks. Over time, she begins to resent the ambivalence her village displays toward her, and does some deliciously malevolent things to rid herself of the burden of "bearer." I enjoyed how Hoffman doesn't show her hand, allowing the reader to decide for themselves whether Bellona is losing her mind (partially due to all the pain she accepts) or she's being coerced by other forces.

While this particular issue of Deep Magic didn’t provide the quality of fiction I was hoping to receive, I would like to say that Erin Hoffman and Scott Clements are two writers that I look forward to reading again.

You saw it here first! Or, I can't remember whether it actually went through the Odyssey gauntlet first, but it was a close thing in any case. =P

Also: maggiedr points out that Deep Magic is having financial troubles and is running a subscription drive. Ralan's recent newsletter mentioned specifically that they are in dire need of subscriptions with a June 10 deadline or they'll have to close the magazine. So consider the place officially plugged.

A few of you have already seen this, I'm sure, but it bears re-posting:

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28961 :

Writer Beware's 20 Worst Agents
Below is a list of the 20 agents about which Writer Beware has received the greatest number of advisories/complaints during the past several years.

None of these agents has a significant track record of sales to commercial (advance-paying) publishers, and most have virtually no documented and verified sales at all (many sales claimed by these agents turn out to be vanity publishers). All charge clients before a sale is made, whether directly, by charging fees such as reading or administrative fees, or indirectly, for "editing services."

Writer Beware suggests that writers searching for agents avoid questionable agents, and instead query agents who have actual track records of sales to commercial publishing houses.

THE LIST:

* The Abacus Group Literary Agency
* Allred and Allred Literary Agents (refers clients to "book doctor" Victor West of Pacific Literary Services)
* Capital Literary Agency (formerly American Literary Agents of Washington, Inc.)
* Barbara Bauer Literary Agency
* Benedict & Associates (also d/b/a B.A. Literary Agency)
* Sherwood Broome, Inc.
* Desert Rose Literary Agency
* Arthur Fleming Associates
* Finesse Literary Agency (Karen Carr)
* Brock Gannon Literary Agency
* Harris Literary Agency
* The Literary Agency Group, which includes the following:
Children's Literary Agency
Christian Literary Agency
New York Literary Agency
Poets Literary Agency
The Screenplay Agency
Stylus Literary Agency (formerly ST Literary Agency)
Writers Literary & Publishing Services Company (the editing arm of the above-mentioned agencies)

* Martin-McLean Literary Associates
* Mocknick Productions Literary Agency, Inc.
* B.K. Nelson, Inc.
* The Robins Agency (Cris Robins)
* Michele Rooney Literary Agency (also d/b/a Creative Literary Agency and Simply Nonfiction)
* Southeast Literary Agency
* Mark Sullivan Associates
* West Coast Literary Associates (also d/b/a California Literary Services)

Also worth noting, via Making Light, are Writer Beware, Preditors and Editors (which I think I may have posted here before), Neil Gaiman's post about agents, and Teresa Nielsen Hayden of Making Light's own agent post.

Posted this in particular since it seems that one of the scam artists, Barbara Bauer, is trying to harass people into taking down links to the list, which I think is cute and always brings out the contrarian in me. She's a little Jack Thompson in training!

Just announced from Jeanne:
http://www.sff.net/odyssey/crit.html

Since the Odyssey Writing Workshop began, we have been inundated with requests for help from writers unable to attend the six-week program. Some feel they aren't yet ready to attend Odyssey; some have applied but haven't been admitted; some are unable to attend due to work, family, or finances; some are searching for a taste of the Odyssey experience so they can decide whether it's right for them. People have asked for critiques on their application stories so they can improve them for next year; they've asked to come for part of the workshop; they've asked us to create a shorter workshop; they've asked to participate in the workshop via the Internet--in short, they've asked for some way to get help with their writing.

The mission of Odyssey is to help developing writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror improve their work. I've been searching for the best way to extend that help beyond the sixteen people who attend Odyssey each summer. To that end, we've created the Odyssey Critique Service.

The Odyssey Critique Service provides authors a method of receiving professional-level feedback done in accordance with Odyssey principles and with the thoroughness and depth for which Odyssey is known.

What are the Odyssey critique principles?

There are only two, and we follow them both at the workshop and in the critique service: All critiques should be both truthful and helpful.

Isn't that what you want from a critique? It seems simple enough, but many workshops and critiques do not adhere to these principles.

Truthful means that a critiquer won't say, "I really liked your story," unless she really liked it. It also means a critiquer won't use your story as a target for cheap shots meant to make her look superior. For the critiquer, the responsibility to be honest with you about your work is a sacred trust.

Helpful does not mean nice. Helpful means being specific, identifying problems as precisely as possible so the author has an idea how to improve the story. If a critiquer says, "This story sucks," it may be truthful, but it certainly isn't helpful. What does the author take away from such a critique? "Ah, yes, of course, I see it now. All I need to do is remove the suckiness, and I'll have a winner!" The author is left with no direction. If, instead, the critiquer says, "Your characters are unbelievable, and your plot has no suspense," at least the author has some idea of what to focus on in a revision. The more specific the feedback, the more helpful it is. At Odyssey, we try to give feedback that is specific, detailed, and thorough, and that explores the work in depth.

What distinguishes the Odyssey Critique Service from other editing, workshopping, or critiquing services?

Aside from the quality of the feedback, the main element that distinguishes the Odyssey Critique Service is the "big picture" overview of your skills that you will receive in addition to the detailed, in-depth critiques.

We thought very carefully about how to structure this service, and we settled on a structure that parallels the beginning of the Odyssey Writing Workshop. Applicants to Odyssey submit one piece of their writing with their application. If they are admitted, they must submit a second piece before the workshop begins. They then submit a third piece during the opening week of the workshop. I critique all three of these pieces. This practice has proved incredibly successful in quickly revealing recurring patterns, tendencies, and stylistic tics. With a clear sense of the author's strengths and weaknesses, I meet with him during the first week of the workshop to discuss those and suggest ways that he begin to address the most serious weaknesses. This starts us on our Odyssey.

Similarly, with the Odyssey Critique Service, you will submit several pieces of your writing. The critiquer will not only provide feedback on each individual piece, but will also provide an overall assessment of your writing, including specific strengths and weaknesses that appear repeatedly in your work, and suggestions for improving those weak areas.

For the rest, see the website. =) This is a great way to get fantastic feedback (I've spoken with all of the critiquers and have had work reviewed by Carrie -- I can speak personally for her crit skills, and the other two are very good as well) without having to commit to the entire six week workshop. It isn't a replacement for Odyssey, but a phenomenal resource nonetheless.

Here's a hypothetical question.

Let's say you submit your work and you get accepted by a paying medium. You sell them your work for $100-$200, get your check in the mail a couple weeks later. What do you put on your tax returns regarding that sum of money? Do you have to report it as income? Does it count as a reward or honorarium?

Basically, is it taxable, and how?

Hi all -- just a note that I've adjusted some of the display settings on the community so that I could add a 'links' list. Ralan's is on there right now, along with Wikipedia -- let me know if you have any other suggestions for it. =) I could add on favorite webzines... The new layout requires the "Agency FB" font for full deliciousness.

Also just a reminder that any posts with actual writing material in them should be posted friends only. This is for copyright reasons and also because there are one or two banned users that still watch the public posts on this comm.

And another note for those watching the community without being members, correspondingly, if you want to see the good stuff, you should join. =)

Hey all. So, I'm working on a novel-length fantasy piece. There is one protagonist, but several main characters in an ensemble cast. The story started out as two disparate storylines that converge. The problem is, they diverged into multiple POVs. All told, there are (give me a minute to count them off) at least eight different POVs explored in the work, counting pro- and antagonists. So far.

My question is, has anyone come across any nugget of wisdom or rule of thumb that talks about disparate POV in a story? Is it kosher? Is there a limit of how many character POVs you can do, per aggregate word count? Any thoughts?

Okay, I lied. That was several nagging questions grouped together in a string -- not just one. :)

Title: Adjusting To The Silence
Genre: Fiction/hockey
Rating: PG
AN: Okay, so I almost didn't post this. But I really like it. This is the project that's subsumed me all summer.. or rather, a section of it. Yeah, it's hockey. But for this part, all you need to know is that Alex plays in New York, and his boyfriend who played on the same team for three years just signed in Calgary. They won't even have a single game against each other this year. This is from Alex's POV.

( Adjusting )

This post by archer904 was featured in lj_spotlight recently and may be of interest. Brenn, did you know that josephasherman apparently has a livejournal?

Title: Every Morning
Rating: PG
AN: I'm in another community that is mostly about hockey writing, but occasionally they like to mix things up with a writing challenge about other things.. This challenge was about the one thing you do every day as routine, but would completely change your life if you didn't do it. Mine was easy to write. Er.. forgive the language at the beginning, but you'd say it too.

( Every Morning )

Title: Skkye's New Adventure.
World: Di'Quinasev
Words: 484
Notes: Kris asked for a quick silly story, so here it is for her. Very rough draft, but hey! Oh, and for those who don't know what Di'Quinasev is, it's our gryphon world from where we all grew our imaginations from. :)

( Skkye's New Adventure )