The Shared Desk

Welcome to the end of 2011, and with a busy Christmas behind them, Tee and Pip are releasing an onslaught of podcasts (starting actually back on Christmas eve with a Tales from the Archives Christmas Special), and The Shared Desk is part of that aural assault. Ending one heck of a year, Tee and Pip not only look back on 2011 but share a few ideas for what they are planning for the new year… 00:00 — Introduction The first (of many) drop-in’s hits Pip without warning… Tee’s got a new set-up for the show — a new toy called Soundboard. 01:11 — A Look Back at 2011 Tee and Pip take a look at 2011, and Tee gives a hint of things to come for future show production… Tee makes a hollow promise concerning the frequent drop-in’s We’re a bit surprised about how this show is being received. Enough about the podcast — what about writing accomplishments? A quick mention about The 99¢ Special for Phoenix Rising. Tee feels as if he has finally conquered short stories. A good year for writing, both fiction and non-fiction… Tee’s ghost-written article for the day job — Part 1 Tee’s ghost-written article for the day job — Part 2 Tee’s ghost-written article for the day job — Part 3 Looking back on the cons from 2011 Finally, a moment to catch our breath from an eventful year… 12:00 — Planning for 2012 Pre-production on The Janus Affair book trailer Lessons learned from the Phoenix Rising book trailer Parts are being cast, and ideas are flying… What we’re planning for this book trailer, and any additional footage. Tales from the Archives: Volume 2, coming in April The 2012 Convention Tour How Tee and Pip narrow down their con schedule What are the “definities” of the 2012 con schedule? Pip’s upcoming releases — it’s a busy, busy year for the kiwi! Pip’s quick rant on cover art theft Some quality talk about Hunter & Fox, the new series Pip launches with Pyr Books in 2012 Other ideas kicking around in our heads for the new year As writers, plans are important. Take some time and map out a realistic plan. 28:38 — Seriously? Seriously. From The Guardian comes a story about Lucía Etxebarria, a writer in Spain who is really talented when it comes to bad career choices… One of Spain’s outstanding novelists is making a claim that book piracy has driven her out of the industry. And Pip soldiers through the onslaught of drop-in’s… The publisher’s solution to combatting book piracy in Spain: Don’t offer it as an eBook. A discussion about book piracy What we’re calling a “Seriously?!” on — the writer’s reaction to her lackluster sales. Playing the Blame Game in Publishing We write because we love it. Can book pirates really steal your thunder like that? 37:51  — Writers Off the Clock False start…complete with background noise… Catching a movie over the holiday — Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows An off-the-cuff review…complete with spoilers. Fast forward to The Wrap-Up if you want to avoid our chatter. What we liked about the movie The original stories from a variety of Conan Arthur Doyle’s classics The bromances throughout the film More steampunk elements introduced Breathing a sigh of relief at the timing of our book against this movie… Highly recommended for people who want to have a fun time at the movies….and not accurate adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories. 43:59 — The Wrap-Up Now we’re going to wrap up the episode… This is the BIG wrap-up for the year! Thanks to everyone who has been listening. Tales from the Archives — the final episode of Volume 1 is almost here!!! (Pip’s fault.) Get your voicemail in before January 8 so we can get them in for our Listener Appreciation Show. What’s the plans with Chronicles of the Order? Tee stumbles through the CreativeCommons outro while Pip nail[...]

It’s been a month! Where have these two been?! Well, Tee & Pip have been tackling deadlines, and that struck them as a good topic for the next Shared Desk. So join these two in a deep dive into the wonderful (no seriously, wonderful) world of deadlines. 00:00 — Introduction What are you sitting on, Pip? (No, it’s not a euphemism!) Running down a laundry list of what’s happened between episodes The Janus Affair is now off to New York! Thoughts on the Goodreads Choice Awards (We were #8 in the Top Ten…and that rocks!) 01:55 — Deadlines What is it about being sick around deadlines?! (It’s something Pip and Tee do well.) The importance of deadlines — why they are needed Defining a deadline Congrats to all the participants of NaNoWriMo How we love buffers in podcasting…and with deadlines. What happens during deadlines — Life. Deadlines are not a terror, but a motivator for the writer Good catches during the editing process From an editor’s point-of-view, how do you gauge time to give contributors for deadlines? Understanding benefits and consequences when fiddling with a deadlines Acceptable “Life Happens” siutations When the deadline is kept — promotion and touring Managing multiple deadlines Reviewing the future deadlines we  have on our chalkboard (Personally, I like Barn & Mule…) After you reach your deadline and send things off, celebrate! What did we do? Tee is the g–damn Batman! Pip does something she hasn’t done in a while — started a recreational read! Getting caught up after a deadline, and looking ahead to what we need to do… And while Tee takes a drink…Pip goes quiet. 21:03 — Seriously? Seriously. Some things were going down in the publishing world…and it hits Tee’s hot button. Thanks to Tee Tate and her blog, Lit Stack for bringing this to our attention. Here’s Quentin Rowan a/k/a Q.R. Markham, and his story. Does his story sound familiar? That’s because he copied it from someone else. What pissed Tee off? He wanted us to feel sorry for him. With soundtrack, the dramatic reading falls apart…kind of like this guy’s lie. And now Tee and Pip go off on Quentin Rowan’s “addiction” 29:32  — Writers Off the Clock Taking a breath… With Pip being sick, Tee and Pip curl up with Bridesmaids. A review…complete with spoilers What we liked about the movie Not afraid to go there Meeting the various bridesmaids Rock solid funny…up to a point. The fourth act…what the hell happened? Chris O’Dowd — kept Tee’s attention Two of the Bridesmaids disappear for the remaining of the film The movie stops being an ensemble piece and becomes a formula rom-com-buddy-chick-flick And what the hell was the end sketch with Melissa McCarthy?! This movie was marketed like The Hangover…but it felt more like The Hangover of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 43:22 — The Wrap-Up Hanging in there… How we’re wrapping up 2011 The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel— We got the cover…and it’s BEAUTIFUL! Hunter & Fox — Another pretty cover…and we’re sitting on that one, too! Still trying to narrow down release dates for 2012 Let your favorite bookstores know about our upcoming releases. One more show for the year…and what a year it has been. The final show of 2011 will cover Setting Goals, and the first show of 2012 will be the Fan Appreciation show! Where to find us online…including a Goodreads Discussion Group! And here’s where Tee completely shuts down… Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account, leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701, or leave us a comment here at the blog. Enjoy the ride and we’ll catch you later.