Writers of the Future Podcast

S.M. Stirling, veteran SF/fantasy writer who mines daydreams and history. David Farland, longtime judge and editor focused on hooks and wonder. Brandon Sanderson, prolific epic fantasist who builds readership through openings, revisions, and events. They discuss blending the familiar with the strange, crafting strong beginnings and endings, pacing and scene-tightening, switching genres to stay fresh, and engaging readers via conventions and social media.

While recently attending Dragon Con in Atlanta, I was able to meet up with the convention CEO and good friend, Pat Henry. I have known Pat since he was a comic store owner when he was first creating Dragon Con with several of his friends. In this podcast, we discuss what makes DragonCon different than other events, why it is so important to writers and artists, and how conventions help establishing, building, and continuing a career in Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Alexi Vandenberg is a marketing specialist with his company Rabid Fanboy Marketing. He has also created a traveling bookstore called Bard’s Tower that tours from convention to convention, bringing some of the hottest talent in pop culture entertainment to book lovers. We connected up in Atlanta at Dragon Con and again in Salt Lake City at Fanx. We discuss marketing and the value of conventions and what types are great for book sales.

So you can draw, paint and sculpt. But how do you turn that into a profession you can support yourself with? Award-winning artist and Illustrators of the Future judge Dan dos Santos and illustrator winner, Bruce Brenneise, discuss the Contest and tips on the business of art, from creating portfolios to working with art directors.

S.M. Sterling, Jody Lynn Nye, Kevin J. Anderson with moderator John Goodwin discuss how to become one of the 12 winners to be published in the annual anthology? Writers of the Future judges and bestselling authors discuss the Contest, tips on story prompts, and short fiction. Then in the 2nd half, enjoy Q&A.

In this episode, we tackle a very sensitive subject, often used, and more often misused in science fiction – politics. And to talk about it is Joe Montaldo -- the host of multiple award-winning shows: UFO Paranormal, News on the Flip Side, and the Centralist Radio Show. Science fiction is an inherently political genre, in that any future or alternate history it imagines is either a wish about how things should be or a warning of what could happen.

Todd McCaffrey is a multiple New York Times and indie bestselling author. His mother, Anne McCaffrey, turned over the Dragon Riders of Pern series to Todd and we have fun discussing the passing of that torch. As a successful indie author, we cover the pros and cons of traditional versus independent publishing and some tips on how to be a success as an indie author.

Robin Whitten is the Editor and Founder of AudioFile Magazine, the premier publication for the audiobook industry. Audiobooks is the fastest-growing segment in the book publishing industry which fact makes having Robin as a guest so special. I don’t know that anyone knows audiobooks better than her and in this interview, we will discuss the history of the audiobook industry.

David Farland is a multiple New York Times bestselling author and Writers of the Future Coordinating Judge. He has been dubbed the Story Doctor as he has mentored so many of today’s bestselling authors from Brandon Mull (Fablehaven), Brandon Sanderson (Wheel of Time), and Stephenie Meyer (Twilight). We discuss what to look for in a writing instructor. From there we cover how to plot a novel, how to analyze an audience, how to actually draft a novel, and revising a story to greatness

Michele Cobb is the Executive Director of the Audio Publishers Association, the Director of Audio Publishing for LA Theatre Works, and the Publisher of Audiofile Magazine. She has become for all intents and purposes the spokesperson for the Audiobook Industry. Audiobooks have become the largest growth segment of the publishing industry. In our interview, we discuss how this has come to be and how you can publish your own audiobook.