Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Articles of Interest

There were several interesting, entertaining and informative articles in the latest magazines from the BSFA. One I found particularly interesting was an interview with Jo Fletcher from Gollancz. It gave a real insight into the publishing world, and the difficulties faced by new authors. Certainly food for thought! Another useful article on agents discussed whether you really need one – the answer to which generally is Yes – and how to go about getting yourself an agent. Both articles are essential reading for budding authors.

The third article I took note of discussed reviewing and critiquing, and quotes Kames Blish as saying: “a good critic… is positively obliged to be harsh towards bad work.”

I don’t like being harsh in my reviews. My aim is to provide feedback, an independent opinion, publicity for the magazine, maybe some satisfaction for the underappreciated authors. If that means I’m not a good critic, I can live with it!

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