#sffwrtcht

SFFWRTCHT is all about supporting and encouraging writers. We welcome guest posts from writers of all shapes and sizes. All posts will be vetted and edited for grammar, etc. We also insist on family friendly posts. While chat transcripts have occasionally contained dicey language, we ask that you not do so in blog posts here. We reserve the right to edit out all such content. Our audience is broad based and we strive to assist not offend.

Topics covering all aspects of writing are welcome. We especially like those focused on genre and craft but are open to other things as well. As long as you can frame it in terms that help writers learn to write better, you can write about almost anything.

To request a guest post opportunity, please send links to your blog and bibliography through the contact form at www.bryanthomasschmidt.net.

Our interview policy is as follows: We do interviews on a case by case basis. Because we want to ask specific questions about how you do what you do, familiarity with your work is a requirement. We will occasionally interview people whose work we have not read on the blog if they cover areas of genre and craft we have hardly covered. For chat, we must know your work and you must be professional. We rarely interview self-published authors. Exceptions have been those known to us by their reputation, work and personal relationships. This is because the self-publishing industry has leveled the playing field to a degree that much work of low quality is mixed with work of high quality and in order to ensure the best quality advice and information, we want to be sure the authors involved are at a certain level in their development. Just because we refuse you now, doesn’t mean we might not reconsider you later.

Limitations also come due to reading time and, with chat, the fact that we have 52 Wednesdays a year to interview people.  That being said, feel free to also contact us about the possibility of a SFFWRTCHT Interview if inclined.

Thanks for your interest in and support of SFFWRTCHT.

The following policies will govern how I run SFFWRTCHT:

1) All SFFWRTCHT guests should be treated like honored guests in a personal home. Contrary opinions are fine if presented respectfully but if it turns into an argument or seems to be headed that way, I may ask you to cease and desist. The same with other inappropriate behavior from guests or listeners. Let’s make this an enjoyable gathering for all of us please.

2) SFFWRTCHT is for discussion of any and all interesting topics which are not going to involve bashing other people inside or outside the SFF community. This is NOT a forum for accusing people of racism, bigotry or other forms of stupidity. I will reserve the right to edit out objectionable material from transcripts, comments, etc. As host, I have potential legal liability for anything you say and, more importantly, I will be held into account by others who may refuse to come on as guests or send me books, etc. in the future. They always have a right to say no  but I don’t want to create an environment which encourages it.

3) SFFWRTCHT is a positive place. We can discuss tough issues but we are about encouraging and helping one another, not tearing one another down. Everything we do will be done with this goal in mind and I will deliberately push things in that direction if needed. Being guest-friendly is a big part of our success. There are plenty of other forums for the negative stuff. This isn’t one of them.

4) SFFWRTCHT will be family friendly. If cursing slips out, I won’t jump down your throat. I may edit the transcript or pull it from the culled interview when doing a Column. I reserve this right. Family friendliness also limits how we talk about certain topics. Sorry, but I have a broad audience of friends, followers and others who want to participate. I don’t want to chase them off. This doesn’t mean we can’t discuss difficult things but it does mean we need need discretion in our language.

5) SFFWRTCHT is live, it moves very quickly. I don’t always catch everything until I go back over transcripts. I miss nuances. If I feel things are getting out of hand, I reserve the right to ask people to tone it down or stop. Understand that I may get it wrong or misread things sometimes but I am doing the best I can and I have listed the reasons for it here. Please respect that.

If we can all respect these policies (and each other), we should be able to get along swimmingly. Most of my regulars will recognize that I bend over backwards to make chat fun. This includes implementing a monthly round table at their request. It also includes organizing and even buying items for giveaways, finding interesting guests, etc. But it’s also my concept, my brand and part of my author platform, so if I need to protect it, I will.

Thanks for taking time to read. I hope articulating all of this helps you better understand my expectations and decisions and will help us avoid uncomfortable situations in the future.