Many years ago, I learned that the average full-time writer in Australia earns $12,000 per year (that is, considerably less than minimum wage). Here’s what I earned over the last three years: $20,000. -$10,000. $5000. Soooo…. this year was better than last year. Yay? The main reason I lost so much money last financial yearContinue reading “The income of the full-time author”
Category Archives: Writing Advice
IRON LIGHTS review
My fellow Odyssey Books author, Carmel Bendon, reviewed IRON LIGHTS for me on Goodreads. Here’s what she said: Iron Lights is the third book in Felicity Banks’ The Antipodean Queen trilogy and the next in the adventures of the series’ heroine, Emmeline Muchamore. Iron Lights, however, stands alone as a cohesive read and there isContinue reading “IRON LIGHTS review”
“Iron Lights” Book Launch
Book launches are like holidays*: You look forward to them like crazy, and then when they’re over you’re deeply relieved. Win-win? The first and third books of my steampunk trilogy were launched at the Canberra Writers Festival (2016 & 2018; the middle book was launched at Conflux 2017). In 2016 the venue was the NationalContinue reading ““Iron Lights” Book Launch”
Me, me, me!
The brilliant writer and photographer Cat Sparks was kind enough to photograph the IRON LIGHTS launch at Old Parliament House today. If you’ve heard her name linked to the Canberra Writers Festival before, it’s because she was on some of the panels. There are so many brilliant photos that I’ve decided to save this entryContinue reading “Me, me, me!”
Say what??
This weekend is the Canberra Writers Festival, and I have not one but TWO book launches. Saturday is the official launch of MURDER IN THE MAIL: A BLOODY BIRTHDAY (complete with a week-long art installation) at The Front cafe & gallery (Lyneham shops, 3:30-5pm). It’s not officially connected to the Canberra Writers Festival at all,Continue reading “Say what??”
Book Week activity for pre-school to Year 4 kids
Last year, I wrote a story with my daughter’s Kindy class. This year I’m going one better (or at least noisier) and writing a story with my son’s pre-school class. This is a fairly fancy* pre-school, so even in pre-school the kids are encouraged to write their own names, and most can write the firstContinue reading “Book Week activity for pre-school to Year 4 kids”
Author Photo
Every so often I get asked for an author photo. Here are some that I use pretty often: Nice and steampunky, but WILDLY out of date. Amusing – captured just as the whistle blew, scaring the crap out of me. I’m actually (just barely) pregnant with Louisette in this photo. Generally author pics want toContinue reading “Author Photo”
TrailerFest 2018
Today I decided that my 2-3 (I honestly don’t know) YouTube accounts needed tidying up, so I started a fresh new channel (because that simplifies things, right?) using the MagicintheMailStories@gmail.com email account. As you may have guessed, I love doing my own book trailers. It’s so much fun! The channel is here (don’t click on that;Continue reading “TrailerFest 2018”
Reading My Reviews
It’s no secret that I read my reviews. I enjoy an enraged negative review, as a rule, and I pay attention if the same criticisms come up more than once. Tin Man Games has an app called “Choices that Matter” on iOS and Google Play, which is an interactive serial story app. I wrote aboutContinue reading “Reading My Reviews”
The Woman Tax
Last night I crashed my car, because I am a woman. On Tuesday last week another creative Australian woman, comedian Eurydice Dickson, was killed in a park as she walked home from a gig. Like me, she sometimes takes slight risks in order to live her life and have the career she has. Continue reading “The Woman Tax”
Murder for Kick(starter)
Last Saturday at midnight, my first ever Kickstarter Campaign ended, raising funds via pre-orders (and special rewards) for “Murder in the Mail: A Bloody Birthday”. Mistakes were made. One of my main mistakes was that, after looking at the Australia Post web site, I thought an A4 envelope thinner than 2cm would cost $1. TurnsContinue reading “Murder for Kick(starter)”
Monsters
Spoilers for The Shape of Water. (And highly unrelated pictures, because I’m hazy on copyright law for movie stills.) Last night, I saw The Shape of Water, which recently won an Oscar and (more importantly in my world) has been talked up by The Mary Sue. I walked into the movie saying to Chris, “I have noContinue reading “Monsters”
Dear Star Wars: Here is Your Script
I don’t often write fan fiction. So this kind of happened as I wrote my thoughts after seeing “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (I had so many feels it took me days to write and is 3000 words long.) It’s a VERY interesting film for writers, and so of course I analysed it in thatContinue reading “Dear Star Wars: Here is Your Script”
What I earned this year
Full-time writers in Australia have an average income of around $12,000 (I know, yikes). In Canberra, which has a lot of good public service jobs, the average income is around $52,000. I just did my taxes, and worked out that I earned just under $20,000 last financial year while working full-time. 100% of that cameContinue reading “What I earned this year”
Like Mother, Like Daughter
One of the gifts my parents gave me was the belief that writing is not a job, but a hobby. I didn’t write full-time until I was unable to do any other work (and I’m still not making minimum wage, even though I’m well above the average Australian full-time writer’s income of $12,000/year) I amContinue reading “Like Mother, Like Daughter”
Pictures worth thousands of words
I’m not a visual artist, and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of influence I was allowed to have on my books covers (Odyssey Books has a top-notch cover game). It’s a good thing they go through a few drafts, too. Can you see what’s wrong with the first draft of SILVER AND STONE?Continue reading “Pictures worth thousands of words”
Conflux 13: Day 3 (& ChoiceScript)
Today, Sunday, was my Big Day. Not only did I have a Book Launch at 2pm… …but I also ran a three-hour interactive fiction workshop in the morning. Which was seriously awesome. (So was the Book Launch. If you haven’t seen the trailer, it’s here.) The workshop was very biased, naturally, since it is allContinue reading “Conflux 13: Day 3 (& ChoiceScript)”
Novels Versus Interactive Novels
This is a post written for Games Versus Play. I write both novels and interactive novels, and I’m fascinated by the style differences between the two. (This is how fascinated I am.) When I write novels, I often write in first person (“I don’t deliberately make things explode”), and sometimes third person (“She doesn’t deliberately makeContinue reading “Novels Versus Interactive Novels”
News about “Choices That Matter” story app.
Eep, I really haven’t written for a while. In my defence, I am in a whirlwind of writing as I finish “Choices: And Their Souls Were Eaten”, write the sequel to “Heart of Brass” (it’ll be a trilogy by the end of next year), and research and write [redacted] for [redacted], which is terribly exciting.Continue reading “News about “Choices That Matter” story app.”
“Stormhunter” flounders as Satalyte falls to Earth
Most small publishers stop running within two years. Which is not surprising, when you consider that the large publishers make a loss on the vast majority of the books they produce. It’s the occasional bestseller keeping everyone afloat. People just don’t read enough books. With that reality, small publishers deserve more credit rather than less.Continue reading ““Stormhunter” flounders as Satalyte falls to Earth”