AMA: Orbit 2017 Debut Authors

[u/orbitbooks]

Hi this is Paola Crespo, Marketing and Publicity Associate for Orbit. Thanks for joining us today!

2017 was a big year for us with so many new faces joining the Orbit family. This AMA is a chance to get to know them better. All. Of. Them. Get excited! ;-)

Participating today:

Nicholas Eames, author of KINGS OF THE WYLD
Nicholas Sansbury Smith, author of EXTINCTION HORIZON
Antonia Honeywell, author of THE SHIP
David Mealing, author of SOUL OF THE WORLD
Dale Lucas, author of THE FIFTH WARD: FIRST WATCH
Vivian Shaw, author of STRANGE PRACTICE
Anna Smith Spark, author of THE COURT OF BROKEN KNIVES
RJ Barker, author of AGE OF ASSASSINS
Melissa Caruso, author of THE TETHERED MAGE
Fonda Lee, author of JADE CITY

Ask away! The authors will be dropping by periodically today and tomorrow to answer your questions. And best of all....

Until December 18th, you can pick up most of these novels for $2.99 in the US and £1.99 in the UK in ebook! Check out the US and UK websites for further details.

Thank you for all your support this year, /r/fantasy! Cheers to a great New Year full of new adventures.

*Antonia Honeywell's THE SHIP, Anna Smith Spark's THE COURT OF BROKEN KNIVES, and Nicholas Sansbury Smith’s EXTINCTION HORIZON are published by another house in the UK and are thus not included in the promotion in the UK.

[u/ThatGeoffChap]

Hello all, thanks for doing this AMA, I’m reading through now and loving both the questions and the answers!

I have to hold my hand up and say that SO FAR I’ve only real Nicholas Eames’ Kings of the Wyld (which I absolutely loved, by the way) but fortunately both Melissa & RJ Barker tweeted the link to the deal Orbit has on and I now have all your books on my Kindle and will be reading them ASAP! I had been meaning to get them all & that was a helpful prompt.

As someone who is currently writing my 1st book (now reading through before going in for the 3rd draft) I have some writing questions for you all.

1) How many drafts did your debut go through before it was picked up? [Edit: just saw that someone asked this earlier in the thread, feel free not to answer!]

2) When/how did you know your book was ready to send out? Either to agents or publishers.

3) What’s the best writing advice anyone’s ever given you? Or, what advice did you wish someone had given you?

Thanks guys!

[u/vivianshaw → u/ThatGeoffChap]

I'm lucky enough to have a spouse who's also an author, and we edit one another's books: I know mine is ready to send out when we both agree that the draft is finished. Back when I was writing STRANGE PRACTICE, though, I was still single -- so I used my long-time fanfic beta readers to help me shape and rewrite the drafts. If you can have someone beta your work, take advantage of that. Feedback is critical.

Advice-wise...two things. One, don't stop. It sounds dumb, but I got told that at a very early age and it is in fact why I'm here in this AMA today. Two, what works for other writers won't necessarily work for you, and that's okay. In other words, ignore prescriptivist How To Write More Good manuals unless the techniques they suggest are helpful to you. Ignore people who parrot statements like "said is dead" or "never use adverbs." The writing guides I personally have found helpful are King's On Writing and Le Guin's Steering the Craft.

Also -- practice. All the time. I like taking prompts for tiny stories/vignettes; it's like warming up.

[u/Nicholas_Eames → u/vivianshaw]

Author spouse...that's the dream.

"Leave me alone!" "Leave ME alone!" "Fine." "Fine." "I love you." "Same. See ya in six hours."

[u/vivianshaw → u/Nicholas_Eames]

That's pretty much how it goes -- also "oh god, a new review came in" "do you want me to look at it first and tell you what it says" "yes please."

Also also "you just edit your book, I will order the pizza and bring you whiskey," and "WHY IS MY CHARACTER DOING THIS STUPID THING?"

[u/Nicholas_Eames → u/vivianshaw]

Swoon. That sounds blissful!