SFFMP 196: Writing Tips, Selling Short Fiction, and What SFWA Can Do for You with Cat Rambo

August 28, 2018 SFFpodcast Author Interview, Podcast

This week, fantasy author and SFWA president Cat Rambo joined us on the show, and we grilled her about writing and selling short fiction, her experience at the Clarion West Writers’ Workshop, what SFWA is doing for authors these days, and her latest novel, Hearts of Tabat. Among other things!

Here are some of the specifics we covered:

How Cat got serious about writing when she quit her day job at Microsoft and attended the six-week Clarion West Workshop.
How workshops can help a writer grow.
Whether you have to worry about having your voice altered in the process.
Some of the workshops Cat recommends and what to watch out for if you’re considering a less well known one (especially an expensive one).
Her Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers where she helps new genre voices emerge via on-demand and live classes aimed at writers working in fantasy and science fiction (scholarships available for those short on funds).
Getting started with short fiction.
Tips for writers who tend to go long when they try to write short stories.
Mistakes writers make when submitting to magazines and anthologies.
How crowdfunding such as Kickstarter has made anthologies more doable.
How Cat ended up publishing her first two Tabat novels through Kevin J. Anderson’s Wordfire Press (which he talked about when he was on Episode 194 and Episode 138) and how marketing goes when working with a small press.
Some tips from her recent non-fiction publication Moving from Idea to Finished Draft.
What’s been going on at SFWA since we had MCA Hogarth on the show back on Episode 20 (more than three years ago!) and why both trad and self-published may find a membership useful.
What it takes to qualify for SFWA membership.
Benefits that come with SFWA membership and how the Nebula convention has changed over the years to have helpful panels for all.

If you enjoyed the show, you can follow Cat on her blog and check out her newest novel, Hearts of Tabat. You can also sample her short fiction in Near + Far and Neither Here Nor There.