Ditch Diggers

Ditch Diggers

By Mur Lafferty and Matt WallaceArtsBooks
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Ditch Diggers episodes

  • Ditch Diggers #36: Cassandra Khaw Visits Us
    Cassandra Khaw on Twitter: https://twitter.com/casskhaw Cassandra's website: http://www.cassandrakhaw.com/   BOOKS AND GAMES BY CASSANDRA She Remembered Caterpillars: http://caterpillar.solutions/ Hammers on Bone: http://a.co/dpnGv5r A Song for Quiet: http://a.co/6FQQjiu
    1 hr 5 min
  • Ditch Diggers #33 – Etiquette and Protocol

    * Mur and Matt come to you live from Morgan Freeman’s holiday decorations vault, after Mur cracked said vault (we didn’t know Mur was a safecracker).
    * Mur talks about her brief absence from podcasting during the holidays, during which she recorded the audiobook for her new novel, SIX WAKES (Orbit, Jan. 31st), which also received a starred review from Publishers Weekly in that time.
    * All the books Matt and Mur have coming out in the beginning of 2017, including SIX WAKES, IDLE INGREDIENTS, and Bookburners.
    * Matt still sucks at segues.
    * Matt and Mur discuss professional ethics for freelancers, more specifically the choices you’ll make for your career and your brand as a creator. Matt names names.
    * A brief interlude to catch up with Mur’s dog and also her Orson Welles-voiced husband, Jim.
    * Matt talks about his experiences with advertisers paying for space on his platform, both refusing money and regretting having taken it, and what he’s learned from both.
    * Mur talks about being paid to personally endorse ad content vs. selling advertising time on her podcasts, and the difference between doing both, as well as click-bait ads on personal blogs.
    * Matt offers a positive example of using your platform for advertising and monetary gain.
    * Mur talks about ethical blurbing for authors.
    * Matt and Mur switch gears and talk about professional ethics from the side of those who hire freelance writers and creators, focusing on the internet.
    * Matt offers an example of markets with no morals or ethics via his recent, very public brawl with movie news and low-grade paparazzi stalker porn website JoBlo.com
    * Mur talks about her experiences with unscrupulous games publishers.
    * Twitter Q&A! Matt and Mur answer questions about Brexit’s effect on the publishing industry, foreign editions of author’s books, and more.
    * Finally, it’s awards season and Ditch Diggers is again eligible for the Best Fancast Hugo! Hugo voters, take note.


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    1 hr 23 min
  • Ditch Diggers #32: Michael J. Martinez Says “F YOU, Dust!”

    * Matt and Mur come to you live from Morgan Freeman’s jazz house with special guest co-host Michael J. Martinez
    * On the subject of “free hugs” and hugging strangers in general at conventions
    * Mike talks about his first hardcover book release, his fantasy Cold War mash-up MJ-12: INCEPTION, which has a dust jacket and everything (“Michael J. Martinez, saying ‘fuck you’ to dust since 2016!”
    * Mike talks openly and honestly about the disintegration of his first publisher, Night Shade Books, and how it affected his and others’ career, and what the status is now.
    * How Mike started his writing career, and how you go from one book to thinking about and planning for a career in fiction publishing.
    * The Ditch Diggers delve into Mike’s former career in journalism, and how he balances writing with his new career in finance.
    * Retirement planning for authors. Mike talks about how he views writing full-time as a realistic goal, and what it takes to reach that goal.
    * Q&A from Twitter, including unread questions from Matt’s mom, and having your work optioned for film/TV.

    Mike’s website: michaeljmartinez.net

    Mike on Twitter: @mikemartinez72

    Borderlands: https://borderlands-books.com/

    MJ-12: Inception: https://amzn.com/1597808776

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    1 hr 14 min
  • Ditch Diggers #31: The Godparents Episode with Gail Carriger and Howard Tayler
    For the first time we have Matt and Mur, and the godparents of Ditch Diggers Gail Carriger and Howard Tayler, in the same room together!

    * Mur and Matt come to you live from Morgan Freeman’s hotel room, into which they’ve totally been invited and did NOT in any way break and enter, and welcome special guest co-hosts, best-selling author Gail Carriger and creator of the Schlock Mercenary comic series, Howard Tayler!
    * Also, it’s the Wednesday of WorldCon 74 in Kansas City, MO.
    * Mur is the words, Gail is the style. Howard has won awards for talking out of his meat hole.
    * Mur explains how Gail and Howard are the godmother and godfather of the Ditch Diggers podcast.
    * There will be many references, without context, to fisting throughout the episode.

    The foursome discuss novellas in today’s market, and the different approaches to using shorter/serialized content to build and maintain an audience and maximize your revenue stream.
    * Authors and Patreon, pros, cons, misunderstandings, misuses, and maximizing value.
    * Gail and Howard share war stories, victories and losses, of working the publishers booth at conventions, and the value (or lack thereof) of having a table.
    * Ditch Diggers achieve a four F-bomb minute while Matt, Mur, Gail, and Howard discuss keeping it clean for marketing purposes.
    * There is no Q&A because Matt forgot his phone.
    * Gail and Howard shill shamelessly for each other.
    * One last reference, again without context, to fisting meatholes, plus a ten F-bomb minute to close.

    Gail on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gailcarriger

    Howard on Twitter: https://twitter.com/howardtayler

    Gail’s website: http://gailcarriger.com/

    Howard’s Schlock Mercenary: http://www.schlockmercenary.com/

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    53 min
  • Ditch Diggers #30: Natalie Metzger Talks Networking
    Natalie's website: http://www.thefuzzyslug.com/ Natalie on Twitter: @minitotoro Natalie's webcomic: http://cthulhuslippers.com/ Natalie's other webcomic: http://over-encumbered.com/   MINIATURES by John Scalzi, illustrated by Natalie: http://subterraneanpress.com/store/product_detail/miniatures
    50 min

About Ditch Diggers

From the publisher's feed

Treat your writing like a blue collar job. Doctors don't get doctor block and ditch diggers don't get ditch digger block, and working writers can't get writer's block. Business and humor.