Not what you think.

I hope you’re all YEARNING FOR WICANNY

Because Dan (@dan.the.dhampir on IG!) and I have brought our casual Tyr and Wick to DeeCon last week and the Beam has blessed us with exactly 2 hours of solid weather to take these ✨

Pay attention to what's on the first page of their website.

Are you immediately welcomed as a writer?

That's not always a good sign.

It might be that the press is new and still building its list of authors, so it has more to say about submissions than about the books it's published. That's not awful, but not awesome either (you may prefer to wait and let them make their beginner's mistakes on someone else's book. If the publisher finds its footing, you can always submit to them in a year or two!). Or maybe they just recently opened a new call to submissions and have that prominently announced. That's fine, but also look at when and where they post about new book releases.

A publisher should have a website that appeals to readers - with descriptions of the kinds of books they do or will publish, and ways for readers to connect like a newsletter signup option and social media links. If they have already published books: how easily can readers buy them? What do the covers look like? Do the book descriptions have any obvious typos? Do multiple books or pages on the website have errors?

No matter how proud a publisher is of how they serve authors, the main job of a publisher is to get books into reader's hands. That shouldn't be an afterthought on the website. If it takes you a few clicks to find submission guidelines, that may be a good sign. If, along the way, you spot several books to add to your to-read list, that's a great sign.

If the website seems to be downright screaming "Please let us publish you!" watch out for a catch. They might not be a vanity press, but they could be. Search "[Publisher name] scam" or "[Publisher name] legitimate" or "[Publisher name] vanity" and see what comes up. Or the business might be completely legit, just with a poorly organized website. Suggesting they're not great at selling books. Still not a good sign.

Always check the Amazon listing (and other listings) of the books from a publisher you're considering. What do the reviews say? What are the sales ranks like? What formats are the books offered in, and at what price point? Do you like the covers? Do you like how the sample is formatted, and can you spot any errors in the editing or formatting?

ALT

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(also, btw, the book links are to the Storygraph, which includes content warnings for each one!)

smth funny and lighthearted about a security robot who’d rather watch TV then do its job? all systems red by martha wells (first novella in the The Murderbot Diaries series, 6 books, ongoing)

a complex, intricate political space opera following a warship AI who’s lost (almost) everything? ancillary justice by ann leckie (first in the Imperial Radch trilogy) (fun fact! bc of space linguistics reasons, all characters in this series are referred to with she/her pronouns, making gender a non-factor - it’s really cool!)

a dark story about travelling between parallel universes and a woman who is dead in almost every single one? the space between worlds by micaiah johnson (standalone) (SO good, i don’t get to recommend it often enough!!!)

a story about grief and letting go, and a unique take on alien invasion? the seep by chana porter (standalone novella)

hey, how abt some dystopian YA, for old times sake? specifically, one with sapphics and sick mechas? try gearbreakers by zoe hana mikuta (first in duology)

or, if you’d prefer something a bit less angsty, YA about a ragtag group of teens and a space heist? the disasters by m. k. england (standalone)

alternate history steampunk that blurs the line btwn science fiction and fantasy? the black god’s drums by p. djeli clark (standalone, novella)

a dark gone girl-esque thriller about clones? the echo wife by sarah gailey (standalone)

poetic sapphic romance and time travel? this is how you lose the time war by max gladstone and amal el-mohtar (standalone)

a hopeful utopian future and a human-robot friendship? a psalm for the wild-built by becky chambers (novella, first out of two) (this author’s got a whole bunch of hopepunk sci-fi novels in general, if that’s smth you’re looking for!)

africanfuturism, coming-of-age, and cool jellyfish aliens? binti by nnedi okorafor (novella, first in trilogy)

spicy lesbian cyborgs? and shall machines surrender my benjanun sriduangkaew (novella, first in the Machine Mandate series, 6 books)

cosmic horror with an autistic scientist, cyborg angels and AI gods? the outside by ada hoffmann (first in trilogy, 2 books are out)

also, if you’re a fan of Janelle Monáe, may i draw your attention to the fact that they’ve recently come out with a Dirty Computer short story collection, each story co-written with a diff writer?

this list is long enough, but have some more authors (who are not cis men) also worth checking out: rivers solomon, yoon ha lee, charlie jane anders, aliette de bodard, xiran jay zhao, mary robinette kowal, corinne duyvis

Next time you’re watching any news show or political coverage see how many of these you can spot:

Quick rundown of each propaganda technique:

• Glittering Generalities: Using vague, emotionally appealing words (like “freedom” or “justice”) that sound good but lack specific meaning.

• Transfer: Associating a person, idea, or product with something already respected or disliked (like using a flag, religion, or celebrity image) to carry over those feelings.

• Name-Calling: Attaching negative labels to an opponent or idea to create fear or distrust without real evidence.

• Card-Stacking: Presenting only positive information for one side and leaving out or distorting the negatives.

• Testimonial: Having a famous or respected person endorse an idea, product, or cause.

• Plain Folks: Presenting the speaker as an “ordinary” person to seem relatable and trustworthy.