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 author. He is also a critic who lives in New Hampshire. He often worked with his late wife, Debra Doyle. Macdonald writes in many different styles. He focuses mostly on fantasy stories. He also writes science fiction and mystery books.
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About James D. Macdonald
James D. 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 15 years. Macdonald started writing professionally in the early 1990s. Since then, he has published 35 novels.
Helping New Writers Learn
Macdonald is well known for helping new authors. He gives advice on how to avoid publishing scams. Early in his career, an author asked him how much he paid to get his books published. Macdonald then started teaching other writers about problems with companies called vanity publishers. These companies make authors pay to have their books printed.
What is Yog's Law?
As part of his teaching, Macdonald created "Yog's Law." This rule says, "Money should flow toward the author." This means that authors should get paid for their work. They should not have to pay to be published. The rule is named after "Yog Sysop," which is Macdonald's nickname. Many professional authors, like John Scalzi, often quote this rule. They use it when giving advice on how to find a literary agent and get published.
Testing Publishers: The Atlanta Nights Story
One company Macdonald warned against was PublishAmerica. This company claimed to be a "traditional publisher." They said they only accepted good books. Macdonald gathered a group of professional authors to test this claim. They wanted to see if PublishAmerica truly read the books they received.
The group created a book that was intentionally very bad. It was meant to be confusing and unrealistic. Macdonald announced to the public that PublishAmerica had accepted this terrible book. The very next day, the company took back their offer to publish it. This event showed that the company might not have been reading the books carefully.
Awards and Special Mentions
James D. Macdonald has won several awards for his writing. His book Knight's Wyrd won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature in 1992. It was also named to the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list in 1993. In 1997, he received the Best Young-Adult Science Fiction award. This was from the Science Fiction Chronicle for his book Groogleman.
