So, I had my next LDS novel planned out, and the title was going to be a play on words, using one of the character's names. I told my husband about it, and... he really likes the name. He wants to consider giving it to our next child.
This is another issue with names. My novel that is coming out next year has some truly odd names in it. Once we're done having children, I may be able to revert to more normal ones again...
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
What's in a name?
A lot of us write under pen names. My pen names aren't all that creative, just two versions of my real, legal name, and this can cause problems. When subbing to a market and signing contracts, I need to use my real name. More than once the editor has then assumed that the piece should be published with "Emily Mah Tippetts" on the by-line. I've had to request corrections to make sure that only "Emily Mah" appears.
Why do I bother with this? Pen names are a form of branding, in my opinion. E.M. Tippetts writes LDS fiction, meaning works with LDS characters and LDS themes. There's no swearing or graphic sex or violence. Emily Mah writes science fiction and fantasy. The characters could be any religion, or none. There might be violence or swearing or other material that wouldn't make the cut to be carried in the LDS bookstore chains - bear in mind, these cater to the most conservative Mormons. Within the religion are people who don't believe in steady dating until ones twenties, or in some extreme cases, no kissing until the wedding ceremony. These people have few places they can go shop for fiction, hence the strict standards in the LDS distribution outlets. More mainstream Mormons can and do just go to normal, national chain bookstores.
Hence, it's essential for me that I keep my Tippetts name off my SF and fantasy, even though as far as swearing and violence goes, it's pretty tame. People need to know what to expect when they pick up a book or story with one of my names on it. The lawyer in me knows that the editor needs to know my real name and this is what I must use on all contracts.
Ways other writers get around this include incorporating, and signing contracts on behalf of the corporation, which may bear the pen name. Some also just sign contracts with their pen name, which in the end of the day would probably not hurt their enforceability, but a seasoned editor will still insist on using ones real name. What's important, though, is to read the proofs carefully and make sure your name stays as you want it.
Perhaps the worst case I've ever heard of happened to my friend Brian Hiebert. A magazine bought a story, then published it with "Brian Herbert" on the byline. How awful is that? It leaves one wondering if they bought the story simply because they thought it was by Frank Herbert's son and this would improve sales of that issue of the magazine. (Though Brian, it was good enough to sell to them anyway, rest assured!)
Why do I bother with this? Pen names are a form of branding, in my opinion. E.M. Tippetts writes LDS fiction, meaning works with LDS characters and LDS themes. There's no swearing or graphic sex or violence. Emily Mah writes science fiction and fantasy. The characters could be any religion, or none. There might be violence or swearing or other material that wouldn't make the cut to be carried in the LDS bookstore chains - bear in mind, these cater to the most conservative Mormons. Within the religion are people who don't believe in steady dating until ones twenties, or in some extreme cases, no kissing until the wedding ceremony. These people have few places they can go shop for fiction, hence the strict standards in the LDS distribution outlets. More mainstream Mormons can and do just go to normal, national chain bookstores.
Hence, it's essential for me that I keep my Tippetts name off my SF and fantasy, even though as far as swearing and violence goes, it's pretty tame. People need to know what to expect when they pick up a book or story with one of my names on it. The lawyer in me knows that the editor needs to know my real name and this is what I must use on all contracts.
Ways other writers get around this include incorporating, and signing contracts on behalf of the corporation, which may bear the pen name. Some also just sign contracts with their pen name, which in the end of the day would probably not hurt their enforceability, but a seasoned editor will still insist on using ones real name. What's important, though, is to read the proofs carefully and make sure your name stays as you want it.
Perhaps the worst case I've ever heard of happened to my friend Brian Hiebert. A magazine bought a story, then published it with "Brian Herbert" on the byline. How awful is that? It leaves one wondering if they bought the story simply because they thought it was by Frank Herbert's son and this would improve sales of that issue of the magazine. (Though Brian, it was good enough to sell to them anyway, rest assured!)
Monday, May 25, 2009
Proofs for Root and reading for Critical Mass
I just got the proof version of my short story, Root, which will appear in Shiny's Issue Five. There's nothing like working on a sold piece to lift the spirits.
This past week I haven't meant to ignore my blog, but I and my computer haven't always been in the same place. Trevor and I have been zipping back and forth between my parents' house and our own in order to look after my parents' pets while they're on travel. I also had a ton of reading to do for Critical Mass.
Which is another thing that I find very uplifting. Reading because the authors of the pieces want me to. On the docket this last week was an urban fantasy by S.M. Stirling, which I will highly recommend, a legal thriller/urban fantasy by another CM member who will write it under a pen name (they've got several other projects both out and in the works that are rather different, so they're branding this one), a very interesting, insightful science fiction novel by Terry England, and more of Ian Tregillis's trilogy, which I just can't recommend highly enough.
It took me three full days of reading to get through it all (wish all my chores were that engrossing.) Now I've got to do the rewrite of my short story for the Chinese themed anthology, the edits on my LDS novel, and the rewrite on my YA SF story that I will try to get into an anthology Walter Jon Williams got me invited to submit to. Wish me luck there!
Meanwhile, I try to get out and do something at least once a day because my son finds me terribly boring when he's stuck at home with me. I don't suppose I can blame him. Tomorrow it will be a trip to buy more thank you notes, because I've sent out four kits worth and still have a ton more. People have been so generous! Really, it's been staggering.
This past week I haven't meant to ignore my blog, but I and my computer haven't always been in the same place. Trevor and I have been zipping back and forth between my parents' house and our own in order to look after my parents' pets while they're on travel. I also had a ton of reading to do for Critical Mass.
Which is another thing that I find very uplifting. Reading because the authors of the pieces want me to. On the docket this last week was an urban fantasy by S.M. Stirling, which I will highly recommend, a legal thriller/urban fantasy by another CM member who will write it under a pen name (they've got several other projects both out and in the works that are rather different, so they're branding this one), a very interesting, insightful science fiction novel by Terry England, and more of Ian Tregillis's trilogy, which I just can't recommend highly enough.
It took me three full days of reading to get through it all (wish all my chores were that engrossing.) Now I've got to do the rewrite of my short story for the Chinese themed anthology, the edits on my LDS novel, and the rewrite on my YA SF story that I will try to get into an anthology Walter Jon Williams got me invited to submit to. Wish me luck there!
Meanwhile, I try to get out and do something at least once a day because my son finds me terribly boring when he's stuck at home with me. I don't suppose I can blame him. Tomorrow it will be a trip to buy more thank you notes, because I've sent out four kits worth and still have a ton more. People have been so generous! Really, it's been staggering.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Free burrito, oh wait... too late
Phil's Fresh, the burrito company that my brother in law and his business partner, Brendan (from the current season of Survivor) bought into, has been renamed. It is now Evol Burritos, and they were doing a promotion on their site where you could win a free burrito.
Only, I just learned of this and it ended when Coach got voted off Survivor (my husband and I just watched that episode. We don't get broadcast TV, so we watch shows online, often well after they aired.)
So... anyway, you should buy the burritos instead of getting a free one. This will help my soon to be born niece/nephew stay clothed and fed.
Only, I just learned of this and it ended when Coach got voted off Survivor (my husband and I just watched that episode. We don't get broadcast TV, so we watch shows online, often well after they aired.)
So... anyway, you should buy the burritos instead of getting a free one. This will help my soon to be born niece/nephew stay clothed and fed.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Ghost nanny
So... my husband and I slept through the night, and when we woke up, our baby was sleeping soundly, but someone had switched off his motion sensor monitor and the bottle of milk in the fridge we had for him was empty. Neither Trevor nor I recalls getting up to feed him, which means one of us sleepwalks. The fact that the person used the bottle of milk indicates it's Trevor, as that'd be unnecessary extra work for me, but since I'm the insomniac on sleep meds, there's also a very good possibility it's me. Either that, or someone else broke into our house, fed our child, and left without a trace. I guess this is one solution to baby-induced exhaustion.
I'm about halfway through my Chinese themed anthology story. Then I've got edits on my LDS novel to do. I've had a couple of very good days with my son where I've managed to keep him happy and entertained while I write. That's the nice thing about having a little portable computer; I can be wherever he is.
I'm about halfway through my Chinese themed anthology story. Then I've got edits on my LDS novel to do. I've had a couple of very good days with my son where I've managed to keep him happy and entertained while I write. That's the nice thing about having a little portable computer; I can be wherever he is.
More news on Ice and Fire
HBO has secured a director and a cast member for their rendition of George RR Martin's Ice and Fire books. Details here.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Katie the Giraffe
I have a lot of thank you notes to write, and this one is to someone whose internet connection speed is unknown to me. Since this includes an image, I'll post it here rather than risk having them download the thing over dialup. There's some backstory I should fill in first.
About a decade ago, I gave a presentation for the Girl Scouts and there was a girl in the audience named Katie. I guess I made an impression on her (I'm embarrassed to say that I don't remember what the presentation was about - I gave a lot when I was a teen/early twenties). She named her stuffed giraffe after me and took Emily the giraffe on many adventures. I guess Emily's rather beat up now and may not much resemble a giraffe anymore (my favorite toy from that age sure doesn't look like a hippo.)
I aged, did less and less with the Girl Scouts, and didn't see Katie again for a long time. Only Katie had a great uncle named Jack. Williamson. The SFWA Grand Master for whom ENMU holds a Lectureship every year (and yes, I still need to do my review of this year's. It's been crazy what with the new baby and taking him to four states before he's two months old and all that.) When I was at my first Williamson Lectureship, Katie's mother, Betty, told me about my namesake. Needless to say I was touched, and more than a little dumbfounded. Katie herself is a young writer who will probably be accepting Hugos while I still work on getting personalized rejection letters from the major markets.
In any case, when my son was given a stuffed giraffe, I took the liberty of naming it Katie. It seemed only fitting. I hope it reminds Katie of how flattered I was to have my little namesake accompany her through her early life.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Grateful we didn't cause a heart attack
I never blog about where I'm going before I leave town. Seems like a bad idea to advertise to the world that my house is going to be unoccupied. Now that we're back though, I can blog.
The original plan this weekend was to go to a wedding in Utah so that we could meet up with Trevor's parents and give them the chance to see our son. Trevor's mother has had some serious health issues and can't travel far. Last week we learned that she wouldn't be able to travel to Utah, even.
So we did what any rational people would do, we decided to drive from the wedding in Utah to my in-laws' house in northern Wyoming, thus adding about 20 hours of driving to the trip... with a newborn. Our son is very mellow, though, and handled it well. We didn't tell his grandmother we were coming, though we did tell his grandfather. He and the rest of Trevor's siblings and aunts and uncles helped us by lying to Trevor's mother about our whereabouts, so that when we arrived at her home, she was talking on the phone to us, thinking we were in New Mexico. Imagine her shock when Trevor walked in the front door with our son in his arms.
We stayed for a day, during which our son got thoroughly hugged and cuddled. He's the only grandchild that my parents-in-law hadn't yet met. It was truly amazing to see how loved he was right from the outset. I really got lucky in the in-laws department.
We've only just now returned to our home. All of this is my excuse for not getting that story out to Char.... (Hope it suffices, Char!) The nice thing about coming home is that our house is all clean, all the major work staging it is done. This week I can return to putting more hours into writing and doing some scrapbooking, and, of course, hugging my son!
The original plan this weekend was to go to a wedding in Utah so that we could meet up with Trevor's parents and give them the chance to see our son. Trevor's mother has had some serious health issues and can't travel far. Last week we learned that she wouldn't be able to travel to Utah, even.
So we did what any rational people would do, we decided to drive from the wedding in Utah to my in-laws' house in northern Wyoming, thus adding about 20 hours of driving to the trip... with a newborn. Our son is very mellow, though, and handled it well. We didn't tell his grandmother we were coming, though we did tell his grandfather. He and the rest of Trevor's siblings and aunts and uncles helped us by lying to Trevor's mother about our whereabouts, so that when we arrived at her home, she was talking on the phone to us, thinking we were in New Mexico. Imagine her shock when Trevor walked in the front door with our son in his arms.
We stayed for a day, during which our son got thoroughly hugged and cuddled. He's the only grandchild that my parents-in-law hadn't yet met. It was truly amazing to see how loved he was right from the outset. I really got lucky in the in-laws department.
We've only just now returned to our home. All of this is my excuse for not getting that story out to Char.... (Hope it suffices, Char!) The nice thing about coming home is that our house is all clean, all the major work staging it is done. This week I can return to putting more hours into writing and doing some scrapbooking, and, of course, hugging my son!
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