James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 28/09/2026I don't know who needs to hear this, but the "ts" in a "boots'n'cats" beat is a hi-hat being hit open and then closed with the left foot in time with the snare. (Was just remembering how I spent *years* wondering how the heck to make that noise before finally learning to play the drums.) 020
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I love trad publishing, but it's wild how we tell each other "DON'T WRITE FOR EXPOSURE! GET PAID!"—and then sign contracts where we get 5-10% of a book's price. We do it in hopes publishing will make us famous enough that we can start earning decent money—so in a way, we're all writing for exposure. 270
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Apparently I missed Bi Visibility Day yesterday, but since it's still Sapphic September, maybe you need a queer fake-dating rom-com about a teenage ghost hunter who finds an actual ghost? jameslsutter.com/novels-ghost... 061
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026@zackdavisson.com A friend just invited me to a yokai lecture for her birthday and I thought "I bet it's Zack" and then I googled it AND IT TOTALLY IS! Looking forward to seeing you speak! 130
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Making an author read their book after they're no longer able to revise it should be banned by the Geneva Conventions. 1123613
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026There's a dwarf blueberry in our back yard that's been there for nine years. In all that time—despite plenty of water and fertilizer—it's never produced a single berry. This year, for no reason I can discern—blueberries! Tons of them! So don't give up, okay? 0112
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026This just in: 66% of straight women *missing out* 130
Reposted by James L. SutterTW @twesq.bsky.social · 20/09/2026this is fantastic and I learned something new 562662403
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Today in Why Publishing is Nuts: My new novel, HEARTS AGAINST THE MACHINES, is going to be published simultaneously in hardcover and paperback—but Barnes & Noble will apparently only be looking at the paperback preorder numbers to determine if they should carry the book. Hardcover doesn't count. 😵💫 130
Reposted by James L. SutterCapn Borscht @capnborscht.bsky.social · 22/03/2024The best thing about this planet is that every few days I'll learn about an animal I've literally never seen or heard of before, like the Nilgai which is just a stupidly massive antelope 2334184786
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Bluesky has been chock-full of book recommendations recently, and I am HERE FOR IT. 050
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Anybody got a good craft book recommendation for writing mystery novels? 030
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Did not expect the second paragraph in this article to mention the time I got China to write for Pathfinder! Fun fact: after he turned in the draft of his intelligent-angler fish society, I had to send a note explaining why we shouldn't call their bioluminescent lures "fleshlights"... 😅 2161
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 18/09/2026"This song speaks perfectly to all my grief around aging and illness, and our attempts to carry on regardless." *loads up music video* *sees cartoon cat vomiting on a keyboard* "That... was a choice." 000
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 12/09/2026Just realized I'm the old man out watering the garden in his bathrobe. How did this happen. 1100
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 12/09/2026Some authors' careers launch like rockets, but for most of us, publishing is like being a lungfish: heaving ourselves out of the sea and gasping "LOOK AT ME!" until we're on the verge of asphyxiation, then flopping back into the water to recharge for the next attempt. 1130
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Some of the best advice my literary agent has given me is to just ask for what I want. He's always happy to be the enforcer if needed, but most of the time, there's no need—editors, art directors, etc. all *want* you to be happy with your book, and will do their best to help! 181
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Alright, friends: I'm trying to remember the name of a current fantasy artist who I believe has a whole series set in a creepy, surrealist gaslamp-style city he made up—the style is kinda Wayne Barlowe-esque. Ring any bells? 194
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Passed a beautiful and devastating graffiti note, tagged on a sign along a bike trail between cities: To S—, I DIDN'T RUN! They told me you OD'd. Find me at [address]. Still faithfully yours, D— 010
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026If you're excited about my new book HEARTS AGAINST THE MACHINES, please consider preordering it now for 25% off from Barnes & Noble! Preorders determine whether a book thrives or dies before it ever hits shelves, so if you know you want this one—snag it now! www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hearts-aga... 053
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Getting impatient and chugging the half-dissolved Nuun tablet is the outdoorsy equivalent of drinking the tequila worm. 010
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 08/09/2026It's official: I've got a new novel coming in 2027! HEARTS AGAINST THE MACHINES is M*A*S*H meets Terminator, but as a gay romance between a young medic and a newly paralyzed soldier in a field hospital for humanity's doomed human resistance after the robot apocalypse. bookshop.org/p/books/hear... 1141
Reposted by James L. SutterGoodnews @goodnews.computer · 04/09/2026This all starts with a secret handshake between writers and yard workers, a mutual understanding that if writers don't leave cans behind, and they don't touch the identifying numbers on the cars, then there's largely no harm. Writers will go to meticulous lengths to respect the latter rule. 12445249
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 04/09/2026The fact that *every* state fair doesn't have a llama/alpaca costume contest is a national tragedy, and something we need candidates to address. www.twincities.com/2018/08/30/c...twincities.comCheck out these llamas and alpacas, all cute in costume, at the Minnesota State FairThe Minnesota State Fair’s Lama Costume Contest pitted 4Hers and their llama or alpaca partners from across the state, gussied up in complementary costumes and parading through the Fair’s Compeer Aren... 041
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026This is amazing, but also, given that Bigolas Dickolas did such good work, I'm not sure we can write off Treasure Dicknatty just yet. 052
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026The problem with electing political opportunists who follow the polling and try to do whatever their constituents want is that you then have to spend every day trying to convince them of what you want. 331
Reposted by James L. Sutterceej @ceej.online · 03/09/2026I do think “every rich person went insane during covid because it was the first time they’ve been inconvenienced in decades” felt a little reductive at first but damn if isn’t more and more compelling as the years drag on 193219014417
Reposted by James L. SutterCat Rambo @catrambo.bsky.social · 02/09/2026For newer F&SF writers, here's a resource you may not be aware of, the Submission Grinder. It helps you find markets and track your submissions - and even publishes some fiction. Free to use, but if you use it a lot, consider supporting their Patreon. #booksky thegrinder.diabolicalplots.comthegrinder.diabolicalplots.comThe Submission Grinder 110865
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026When I spend twenty minutes looking up evidence to fight a copyeditor over a hyphen, only to realize they're right.static.klipy.comSylvester Stallone Cheers ToastAlt: Sylvester Stallone Cheers Toast 180
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Did you know that the *asset* cap for a disabled person to get help paying for longterm care via Medicaid is $2000? If a single car repair couldn't empty your bank account, you're apparently too rich to deserve help in America. (For reference, a studio apartment in Seattle is $1500+ a month) 44321
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026I know I'm an old-man yelling at clouds, but I can't stand that there's a very successful genre of TikTok/Reel "reaction video" that is just people reading aloud the screenshotted replies to someone else's post with their own face superimposed and also FOLLOWING ALONG WITH THEIR FINGER 130
Reposted by James L. SutterMargaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 01/09/2026As one of this year's Lodestar nominees, I would love to see this too! I don't think we have to change the name or invent a new category; the Lodestar just would need to be recognized as a Hugo the way the Andre Norton award is a Nebula. 3485
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026For some reason people are up in arms this week about HOOK, a movie almost as old as I am, so I'll just say this: As an extremely picky child, that imaginary food scene was second only to the Redwall books in making me want to eat a bunch of bizarre things I'd never encountered before. 240
Reposted by James L. SutterPhil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 30/08/2026An island mysteriously appeared — then disappeared — on British Columbia’s largest reservoir By Aug. 5, the island was no longer showing up in satellite datacbc.caAn island mysteriously appeared — then disappeared — on B.C.'s largest reservoir | CBC NewsB.C. Hydro says it's monitoring for the reappearance of a mysterious island first spotted by boaters 100 kilometres from the W.A.C. Bennett Dam in northeastern B.C. 1841262311
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 30/08/2026This! I've said to friends several times recently that I'd always rather see a mostly-good movie with style and vision than perfectly executed pablum. Let your work have a flavor, even if not everyone will like it. 060
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 30/08/2026Strategy is overrated. We spend so much time agonizing over the exact right way to do something, or optimizing which thing to do first, when the better answer is to just pick something and do it. Investing energy toward literally any goal pays off better than anxious wheel-spinning. 020
Reposted by James L. SutterJoseph Laycock @josephlaycock.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Dallas Morning News reported that Texas has suspended 6% of registered voters without telling them Texans can use this link to check their voting status: goelect.txelections.civixapps.com/ivis-mvp-ui/... People who have been purged can still register before October 5. Tell everyone you know.goelect.txelections.civixapps.comIvisMvpUi 28754697
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 28/08/2026A little wire choir action with my band Rabbit Prince from last Friday's show. I love this group so much. 050
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 24/08/2026One of the best lessons I've learned from playing shows was from a band called Mirror the Ghost who, seeing the teen center was mostly empty, brought their gear down off the stage and played on the floor. It was amazing how removing the barrier between us turned a lackluster show into a *party*. 160
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 24/08/2026A society where everything is a rental/subscription service, where you don't actually own the things you buy, makes it impossible to build personal wealth. The owners retain all ownership, and you work for them in order to pay for the privilege of using the tools of your labor. It's feudalism. 0114
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Researching chronic illness on forums is wild because I'll see "Kublaxanib cured my ME/CFS!" and then the first reply will be "Kublaxanib made bees fly out of my anus." And I just tab over to my notes and put tally marks next to "helpful" and "anus bees," because this is what we're working with. 1144
Reposted by James L. Sutterjess @jessfrom.online · 22/08/2026optimist: the cup is half full pessimist: the cup is half empty ttrpg editor: here you refer to the cup as half full, but in the next chapter, you refer to it as half empty. for clarity, we should standardize on one of them in the rules text, even if players might use both descriptions at the tabl 1238184
Reposted by James L. SutterZach Weinersmith @zachweinersmith.bsky.social · 21/08/2026Amazing 21898139
James L. Sutter @jameslsutter.bsky.social · 20/08/2026The first CD I ever bought for myself was a tie, because I bought them at the same time: Rammstein's SEHNSUCHT and the Les Miserables 10th anniversary cast recording. Kinda says it all, really. 070