This week, Goodreads announces a change to its US giveaway program and it comes with alarming costs. The Authors Guild provides information on the new GOP tax bill and Douglas Preston laments the fact that writers can no longer make a living from their craft.

From The Guardian, a recent study comparing literary fiction against science fiction returned rather “stupefying” results. John Gilstrap discusses the importance of book cover design while K.M. Weiland and Becca Puglisi each offer different tactics for character development.  From Writers Helping Writers, Sacha Black gives us the nitty gritty on sentence structure.

All that and a little more. Enjoy!

Goodreads Announces New US Giveaway Program by Greg Seguin

What Authors Need to Know About the New Tax Bills by The Authors Guild

Why Is It So Goddamned Hard to Make a Living as a Writer Today? by Douglas Preston

(Too) Close Third Person by Jeanne Kisacky

Science Fiction Triggers ‘Poorer Reading’, Study Finds by Alison Flood

Judging a Book By Its Cover by John Gilstrap

4 Ways to Amplify Your Characters’ Subtext by K.M. Weiland

Writing Characters that Mirror Real Life by Becca Puglisi via Kristen Lamb

Action Beats: More than Dialogue Tag Surrogates by Kathy Steinmann

Getting Jiggy with the Nitty Gritty, or, Improving Your Sentences by Sacha Black