“Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense.” ~ Robert Frost

Ye Olde Assorted Nonsense

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Joe Mahoney 2023-10-01 Joe Mahoney 2023-10-01

How to Turn a Book Into a Best Seller

I still have a lot to learn about selling books.

But here’s what I’ve figured out so far.

I believe the following to be true: “To turn a book into a bestseller, first, write a bestseller.”

It all begins with that.

Joe Mahoney 2023-09-28 Joe Mahoney 2023-09-28

Erratum

Whenever you write and publish a book, you do your best to get it right. Make it as perfect as possible. It’s really difficult to accomplish that, even with the best of editors, which I had while putting Adventures in the Radio Trade together.

Since the book’s publication I have become aware of a few little glitches. The following errors, typos and omissions were all my fault, introduced after the substantive edit of the book, or simply not the sort of thing an editor could catch.

The beauty of owning your own publishing company, which I do, means that one can fix such glitches with relative ease.

Joe Mahoney 2023-08-30 Joe Mahoney 2023-08-30

Dear Author Joe

The one sure way to make money in publishing is off the backs of gullible authors. Offering dubious marketing schemes, for example.

If I had any brains at all I would give up my foolish dream of making a go of it as an author and immediately start exploiting my fellow authors for all they’re worth. I would likely make a mint.

I would certainly be better at it than the fellow who attempted to exploit me today.

Joe Mahoney 2023-08-29 Joe Mahoney 2023-08-29

Robert J. Sawyer’s SF Academic Conference at McMaster, 2013

On September 14th, 2013, I attended an SF academic conference at McMaster University.

The conference was in honour of science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer’s archival donation to the university library collection.

It wasn’t a typical science fiction convention. There was nobody in costume. This was a conference in which academics from all over North America presented papers and talks on the subject of science fiction. Talks on subjects like “Russia’s Afrofuturism” by Anindita Banerjee from Cornell, and “Sawyer and Czernada in the Classroom” by David DeGraff of Alfred University.

Joe Mahoney 2023-08-12 Joe Mahoney 2023-08-12

(Almost)Two Weeks In

Almost two weeks in. Into what? Well, so-called retirement, for one thing. And the launch of Adventures in the Radio Trade, for another.