122,000

Finally bit the bullet and put together a test draft with the new revisions and did a word count.  The rough tally came to 122,000, up nearly 10,000 from the previous draft.  Blarg.

Writer Beware

I have added a new link on my front page: SFWA's Writer Beware blog, a comprehensive compendium of shady deals, borderline scams, and outright fraudulent agents and publishers looking to fleece new writers.  There's also good information on how to spot a scam on your own.  I'll add my own bit of advice here:

1. If the money is flowing from you at any point in the process, it's a scam (legitimate publishers assume all the financial risk publishing a book; legitimate agents are paid only when a client is paid).  The only thing you should have to pay for during the publishing process is postage.

2. If an agent or publisher is soliciting submissions through advertisements, it's a scam (agents and publishers are always inundated with more submissions than they could ever accept).  The only "advertisement" for publishers and agents that's reliably legitimate is the Writer's Market.

Blog is active again, HI update

y helo thar

I have a confession.  I'm a terrible blogger, I know I'm a terrible blogger, and I always feel a little bit bad every time I restart a blog because I know I'm going to abandon it in, like, a month, and leave my readers hanging.  Nevertheless, here I am, restarting a blog.  If you don't want to follow it, I wouldn't blame you.