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When you have a loan or a credit card and you get behind, the company that has the loan will want to know why you haven't brought them their money. First, they'll send a few letters in the mail and then they'll start calling you.

When you're broke and owe money, there is nothing worse than hearing that phone ring. It may be tempting to just let it keep ringing and avoid talking to them completely. I understand, it's humiliating to tell people you have no money, but ignoring the calls won't make them go away.

In fact, it could put them on to the next step, which is a civil lawsuit. Instead of ignoring them, answer the phone and tell them your situation. If you can pay something at that time, then do it. If not, tell them when you will be able to make a payment.

One thing to be careful of is getting into a pay schedule that you can't handle. The person the phone may suggest a payment number or tell you that's the least we can receive, but if it's too high tell them no. Give them what you can afford and odds are, they'll accept it. They may not be happy about it, but getting something is better than nothing.

Creditors are a villainous group that will use trickery, subterfuge and lying to get you to pay your debt. The further behind you get the more aggressive they become. Don't ignore them, but don't get suckered either.  

There are two primary ways a short story writer can get their name and stories out there in the world: a contest or an anthology. It's not easy breaking into the writing world and even if you have a book written, you're going to need a little street cred before sending it to an agent.

Anthologies are a great way to earn that street cred. Most of the time an anthology is written around a specific topic and you must write a story that fits with that topic. You then send it in and if it is accepted, then you not only get paid for it, but also get published. You may also get royalty payments from the sale of the book.

There are many anthologies out there every year from big and small publishing companies. They allow you to start getting a fan base and the more you get published, the more fans you get. Your fan base is always a consideration when agents look at your work.

Contests are much more loose and may not have a specific topic. Generally, there is an entry fee for each manuscript you enter with most of it going to pay the winner. In some of the larger contests, you can win thousands of dollars and have it published in a special anthology or in the magazine.

These are great because you can win money and earn respect. Some of these contests are major and can catapult you into cross hairs of agents and publishing companies.

It’s a problem that every growing trend has to face at one time or another - when the assholes start showing up.  For me personally, that involves the comic convention scene.  Now that movies like The Avengers and Iron Man are hugely popular, every two-bit geek wanna-be is trying to dress up in a tin-foil costume and head down to their local con. 

This means that the rest of us have to deal with new problems, or perhaps old problems that used to be diverted through strength of numbers.  One of the biggest issues happens to involve girls in sexy cosplay being harassed by men with small brains (usually located in their penises) and no ability to discern respectful human boundaries.

The women that have grown up as nerds and suffered persecution in many aspects of their lives go to conventions to get away from the problems of the real world.  They dress up in these costumes (yes, often sexy ones) to take on a different persona for a while. 

This makes them feel comfortable and sometimes even gives them the power to express their own sexuality.  Don’t misinterpret - this is not the only reason that girls cosplay, but it is one reason.  But regardless of whatever those reasons are, they certainly don’t need jerk-wads trying to grope them or making lewd comments.

If the convention scene is allowed to continue in this fashion, then the security of being among our fellow geeks will cease to hold the same meaning that it has for all these years.  It will become little more than a glorified frat party filled with idiots and the geeks who are too gullible to fight against the rising tide.  These pricks are ruining my scene and I’m mad as hell about it.

So if you happen to go to conventions, remember to have the backs of your fellow geeks, especially the ladies who are there portraying many of the characters you love.  If you see someone who is out of line, make sure to get in their face the make them aware that what they are doing is unacceptable and that people like them are not welcome in our space.  If we don’t defend our world, who will?

When you're first starting out as a professional writer, it's easy to get seduced into saying yes to anything that comes along. You're in it to get experience and a portfolio started, so any job is a good job. Besides you don't know when that next job will come along.

I had this problem for a long time. Any job, big or small, I accepted and pretty soon I was overloaded with a lot of low pay work. Sure, I could make $20, but I needed to write ten 500-word articles. I either ended up spending all day and night working or focusing on the higher pay jobs and promising to pick up the other stuff later.

What ends up happening is you start getting a reputation as someone that can't hit deadlines. That's s death knell in this business. Instead, you have to learn to pick and choose what jobs you take. I am an avid gamer and have done a lot of gaming writing through the years. One day, I saw a listing for a game writer and applied.

I found out they wanted to spend $3 per in-depth article. I told them that I don't write articles of that length for less than $20 and that I would be unable to accept their offer. I'm sure they weren't happy about it, but they should pay writers what they are worth.

Never be ashamed of turning down a job because of pay. You're not there to make them happy at all costs, you're there to provide a service. If they think you're worth it, then they should pay you something comparable.