James D. Macdonald facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James D. Macdonald
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Jim Macdonald and Debra Doyle at Readercon
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| Born | James Douglas Ignatius Macdonald February 22, 1954 White Plains, New York, U.S. |
| Pen name | Robyn Tallis, Nicholas Adams, Victor Appleton, Douglas Morgan, Martin Delrio |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Period | 1990s to present |
| Genre | fantasy, science fiction, mystery |
James Douglas Ignatius Macdonald, born in 1954, is an American writer and critic. He lives in New Hampshire. He often worked with his wife, Dr. Debra Doyle. James Macdonald writes many types of stories. He mainly writes fantasy books. He also writes science fiction and mystery stories. Some of his books are based on movies or TV shows.
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About James D. Macdonald
James Macdonald was born in 1954. He grew up in White Plains, New York. He went to the University of Rochester. After college, he served in the US Navy for fifteen years. He started writing books for a living in the early 1990s. So far, he has published 35 novels.
Helping New Writers Learn
James Macdonald is well known for helping new authors. He gives advice on how to avoid publishing scams. Early in his career, another writer asked him how much he paid to get his books published. This question made Macdonald realize many new writers needed help. He started teaching writers about "vanity publishers." These are companies that charge authors money to publish their books.
What is Yog's Law?
As part of his teaching, James Macdonald created "Yog's Law." This rule states, "Money should flow toward the author." This means that writers should get paid for their work. They should not have to pay a publisher. This rule is named after "Yog Sysop," Macdonald's nickname. Many professional authors, like John Scalzi, often share this rule. They use it when giving advice on finding an agent and getting books published.
Testing PublishAmerica
One company James Macdonald focused on was PublishAmerica. This company said it was a "traditional publisher." They claimed to accept books based on quality. Macdonald gathered a group of writers to test this claim. They created a very bad book manuscript on purpose. They sent it to PublishAmerica. The company accepted the manuscript. One day after Macdonald announced this, PublishAmerica took back their offer. This showed that the company might not have been reading submissions carefully.
Awards and Special Honors
James Macdonald has won several awards for his books. His book Knight's Wyrd won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature in 1992. It was also listed as a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age in 1993. In 1997, he received an award for Best Young-Adult Science Fiction. This was from the Science Fiction Chronicle for his book Groogleman.
