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Fictional InfluenceCreating stories that change the world Author: Kristin McTiernan
Nonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own termswithout begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them. www.fictionalinfluence.com Language: en Genres: Film Reviews, Society & Culture, TV & Film Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Jason Hunt - Author Habits That Kill Reviews Before They Start
Episode 19
Wednesday, 3 June, 2026
Jason Hunt founded Sci-Fi4Me in 2009, right after the sci-fi channel became "SyFy," and has spent 17 years covering science fiction, fantasy, and horror through reviews, commentary, and his interview show Live from the Bunker. In this episode, he joins us to break down what makes an author pitch an instant yes, why so many writers sabotage their own marketing, and how the Hugo Awards went from a career-defining honor to a warning label.In This Episode* The Rebrand That Started a Network: When the sci-fi channel became “SyFy” and filled the schedule with wrestling and cooking shows, Jason saw an abandoned audience up for grabs. He started blogging from a basement like everyone else. Seventeen years later it’s become reviews, commentary, and a live show.* Wearing the Franchise Like a Skin Suit: Creators don’t like what they’re making, and they’re gutting beloved properties to use as a platform for message fiction.* The Hugos Are a Mean Girls Sleepover: Sad Puppies, Larry Correia, and the year the whole thing burned to the ground. Now a Hugo sticker tells you to stay away. Locus and the Dragon Awards still carry weight; the Hugos are the Oscars now — a club patting itself on the back.* Baen vs Tor Tells You Everything: Whether a book leads with story or ideology comes down to the imprint, not whether it’s hard or soft sci-fi.* Choosing the Bear: The romantasy wave where the heroine ends up with the monster, and how women becoming the gatekeepers — editors and agents both — shapes what gets greenlit and what never makes it past the slush pile.* What Gets an Indie Book a Yes: Pitches come through PR firms or email, and page count matters more than authors think — a 150-page book beats a 700-page tome on time alone.* The Headshot Nobody Has: The single most common media-kit failure. A blurry, half-lit phone selfie is not a headshot. He walks through what a kit actually needs — bio, blurbs, links to past interviews — and why follow-up is where authors blow it.* Nobody Markets You Anymore: Unless you’re Stephen King or George R.R. Martin, you book your own podcasts, signings, and conventions. A.C. Crispin told him the same thing years ago. Trad or indie, new authors get thrown in the deep end.* What Makes a Guest Worth Having Back: Knowledge of the craft, a list of things you can talk about beyond the plot, and the discipline not to spoil your own book. The James Doohan line he lives by: he may have heard the question a thousand times, but it’s the audience’s first time hearing the answer.* What Actually Drives Traffic: Hating on Star Trek and Kathleen Kennedy news does numbers, but author interviews pull just as well as actor interviews. It’s the conversation, not the name on the marquee. If you’re interesting, people stay for two hours.* The TikTok Press-Tour Problem: Clip-bait reviewers asking vulgar questions they don’t care about the answer to, and why a host who does real research lands as a relief.* When to Push Back: He’ll press on a loaded statistic or something outrageous, but keeps it a conversation, not an ambush. * Step One With Zero Audience: Headshot, a simple website, and active socials with the politics dialed way down.* 800 Words a Chapter, on Purpose: His novella experiment, where every chapter is exactly 800 words and the last one lands on 666. A brutal drill in word choice and cutting the fat. He’s sold maybe 15 copies in 12 years and has no regrets.* Read Outside Your Genre: Write sci-fi, sure, but go read a Western, read some Fenimore Cooper. It freshens your approach and gives you new structures to steal. * Where Sci-Fi 4 Me Goes Next: COVID blew up the live-from-conventions plan, the elections scattered the volunteer crew, and YouTube keeps changing the algorithm. The goal now is getting a few shows back on the air.Guest Links* Youtube: @SciFi4Me* Website: SciFi4Me.com* X: @SciFi4Me* Substack: SciFi4Me * IG: @scifi4meKristin’s Links* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristinTimestamps00:00 - Meet SciFi4Me’s Jason Hunt.03:59 - Hugo Awards Fallout.07:23 - Hard vs Soft SciFi.09:26 - Indie vs Trad Trends.14:13 - Choosing Books to Review.18:17 - PR Pitches and Press Kits.23:18 - Great Author Interviews.25:32 - Tech Angles for Sci-Fi.30:06 - Fresh Questions Beat Clickbait.32:56 - When to Push Back.34:39 - Author Visibility Basics.36:39 - Building an Audience on YouTube.37:41 - Writing with Word Limits.40:35 - Discipline and Reading Habits.42:41 - Future of SciFi4Me.46:41 - Where to Find Them.47:33 - Thanks and Wrap-Up.About This PodcastNonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.New episodes weekly.Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kristinmctiernan.substack.com
