Remember A Glorious Dawn, the awesome auto-tuned Carl Sagan (and Stephen Hawking) video clip?
John Boswell of Symphony of Science made another, this time featuring Sagan, Richard Feynman, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Bill Nye.
The only correct response to any post or comment by ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
bana05 is "Write bitch write". No really, she keeps showing me original fiction that should be published. So I'm going to need ya'll to...encourage her to focus on stories for the next 5 years. I'd read a lot more romance novels if she was the one writing them.
bana05 is "Write bitch write". No really, she keeps showing me original fiction that should be published. So I'm going to need ya'll to...encourage her to focus on stories for the next 5 years. I'd read a lot more romance novels if she was the one writing them.- Mood:
cheerful
Roasting the turkey was successful, though it did resist dismembering at certain points (I must get a boning knife, that's just all.) The gravy and the turkey, carefully and attractively arranged in a foil pan by light and dark meat, are now in the fridge waiting for tomorrow. Tomorrow I must make a big batch of mashed potatoes, which Bear is going to peel for me, and then we will have our contribution all together. Happy.
I cooked a frozen lasagna of mine for dinner, as I knew I couldn't eat anything like turkey. It's an odd quirk of mine. If I stand over the stove for hours smelling it, I then can't eat it.
I cooked a frozen lasagna of mine for dinner, as I knew I couldn't eat anything like turkey. It's an odd quirk of mine. If I stand over the stove for hours smelling it, I then can't eat it.
- 12:55 Dropped the amount we need by what we just paid (sent along w/begging letter). Still need help though! bit.ly/2EeMez Please RT! #
- 13:12 Need to make baby girl lunch & put her down for her nap. Once she's down I'm off to pick up youngest from school. Note to self: No FF today! #
- 13:19 I need to email the DII members so I can be sure they all get the info about the move & whatnot coming up. We'll be giving then Dec. off. #
- 14:13 Leaving in a few to pick up youngest, but baby is fed and napping. Don't have time for writing/revising, so I guess I'll wander the web. #
- 14:14 *slaps hands* NO FFVIII! :P The temptation is great. But it sucks the brain and motivation and energy.... #
- 14:29 Time to stop reading LJ & get ready to pick up the youngster. I wanna whine "do I haaaaaaaaaaave to?", but I already know the answer. lol #
- 23:27 You know that whole warning to myself to not play FFVIII? Um, yea, that tanked pretty quickly. Bad domy, bad bad bad domy. :P #
OTCAMP: A Life pattern which simulates any outer-totalistic cellular automata, including Life itself.
Each simulated cell is 2048x2048 cells large. With Golly you can run fairly large-sized patterns... but, it's only feasible to run with the HashLife algorithm, which cheats by memoizing the evolution of Life patterns rather than simulating every cell. Golly includes a few patterns using OTCAMP as samples.
(I totally need to upload my PokerStars icon here, if I can remember where I put it...)
Each simulated cell is 2048x2048 cells large. With Golly you can run fairly large-sized patterns... but, it's only feasible to run with the HashLife algorithm, which cheats by memoizing the evolution of Life patterns rather than simulating every cell. Golly includes a few patterns using OTCAMP as samples.
(I totally need to upload my PokerStars icon here, if I can remember where I put it...)
I really liked lots of the character bits in this, but was majorly distracted by some plot and situational points that just didn't seem to hang together at all. So it gets a squee with reservations from me. Do better, Mentalist writers! You're so close!
- Mood:
frustrated
Others have already posted on the controversial "Harlequin Horizons" situation--many more eloquently than I can probably manage--but I still think this is such a critically important issue that the more people who get the word out there, the better. First, a little background for those who don't know. Harlequin Enterprises Limited (AKA HQE) is one of THE major publishers worldwide, predominantly producing books that appeal strongly to women. Many know them for their various lines of category (or series) romance novels and tons of aspiring authors submit to them hoping to be the next writer whose manuscript is picked up out of the "slush" pile.
Which is exactly what Harlequin Horizons (HHO)--or should I say, its parent company, media conglomerate Torstar--is banking on.
Just a few days ago, HQE started bombarding the world with announcements that it had "teamed up" with infamous vanity publisher, Author Solutions, to form Harlequin Horizons, a new "imprint" for aspiring romance authors to use should they choose to self-publish. Only problem is, the option HHO provides is most emphatically not self-publishing. It is, pure and simply, vanity publishing.
So, what the heck is the difference between the two? Good question. According to Writer Beware, a volunteer outfit dedicated to author education and protection, a vanity publisher is one that "prints and binds a book at the author’s sole expense. Costs include the publisher’s profit and overhead, so vanity publishing is usually a good deal more expensive than self-publishing." (http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/wri
Self-publishing, on the other hand, may require the author to bear all costs of printing as well, but there the similarities pretty much end. Writer Beware describes it thus:
The core difference between the two, then, is that with vanity publishing, the vanity publisher retains control over the publishing process, including profits and payment to the author. In self-publishing, however, the author retains complete control over the entire process from start to finish, and also reaps 100% of the profits once the publishing costs have been taken care of. With vanity publishers, on the other hand, the publisher is controlling how much of the profits the author actually sees on the back end.
Which is exactly the case with Harlequin's new so-called "self-publishing" imprint, Harlequin Horizons. Not only is HHO charging exorbitant fees to publish (or should I say print), editor, or market (and yes, those last two will cost you extra--a LOT extra) an author's books, it will also hold on to all profits except for 50% of the net profits, which it will "generously" forward on to the author as royalty payments. This tidbit according to statements released by Harlequin representatives (not to mention the HHO website).
Let me explain why this quite simply sucks for the author. First, it's important to understand how author payments are typically calculated in the publishing industry. Major "traditional" publishers often pay their authors a percentage on the cover price of the book. This is exactly what authors should hold out for. Paying on the net, on the other hand, means that the publisher calculates an author's percentage not on the cover price, but on whatever net profits the publisher makes on the book--AFTER deducting any discounts given to booksellers.
Wait, you say, discounts--what discounts??? The way the publishing industry currently works is that publishers give retailers and wholesalers a significant discount on books, usually anywhere from 40-60%. Let's do the fictional math for my debut urban fantasy, Red Hot Fury, coming out in summer, 2010. Amazon.com lists the cover price for the paperback as $7.99. Let's say my royalty rate per book is right in the middle of the average--8%. My cut per book if paid on the cover price (once I earn out the advance my fabulous publisher paid me and start earning royalties) would be approximately 64 cents. Now, doing the math based on royalties on the net, we come up with a much lower number. We'll take the middle-of-the-road discount of 50%, which takes my cover price from $7.99 to just under $4.00, slashing my 8% cut in half to 32 cents. Ouch. That's a significant difference.
Career-minded authors--like me!--should never stand for having their take-home pay slashed by 50%. Especially in a supposed self-publishing venture where already paid all costs associated with publishing the book. True self-publishing ventures result in 100% of the profits going straight to the person in control of the entire process: the author.
I can say with wholehearted enthusiasm that I would never in a million years recommend HHO's current business model for any aspiring author. True self-publishing has its place and can be an awesome option for certain authors--especially non-fiction experts or niche writers. But a particularly-expensive, thinly-veiled vanity publisher is not one I would recommend.
Aspiring authors should always keep in mind Yog's Law, formulated by SF author James D. Macdonald, staunch author advocate: Money flows to the author. Not away. Always.
Professional authors receive rejections--both before and after making their first sales. Receiving a rejection isn't personal. It just means something about the submitted manuscript didn't work for a particular agent or editor at a particular time. Whether because the writing isn't quite up to snuff, the story just didn't float that person's boat, or the editor just bought a book similar to yours--doesn't mean you should give up. Keep writing, keep learning the craft, and keep submitting. Remember that publishing is a business, and a subjective one. Just because one agent or editor tells you no doesn't mean that all will. And just because this book didn't result in an agent or editor offer doesn't mean the next one won't.
Even if you still decide that self-publishing is a viable option for you, there are much better-priced options, such as Lulu, that will allow you to retain control of the process. Just remember that most vanity and self-published books sell an average of 75-100 copies. Maybe you'll beat that average--but maybe you won't.
Either way, knowledge is key. Make sure you educate yourself and go into any publishing venture with eyes wide open. Remember, a vanity-publishing venture that calls itself a self-publishing venture and has a powerhouse publishing company behind it is still a vanity publisher at heart. If it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck, and sounds like a duck, it's still a duck even if it calls itself a swan.
And when it comes to Harlequin Horizons as it currently stands, I just have one thing to say. Quack, quack, baby!!!
Which is exactly what Harlequin Horizons (HHO)--or should I say, its parent company, media conglomerate Torstar--is banking on.
Just a few days ago, HQE started bombarding the world with announcements that it had "teamed up" with infamous vanity publisher, Author Solutions, to form Harlequin Horizons, a new "imprint" for aspiring romance authors to use should they choose to self-publish. Only problem is, the option HHO provides is most emphatically not self-publishing. It is, pure and simply, vanity publishing.
So, what the heck is the difference between the two? Good question. According to Writer Beware, a volunteer outfit dedicated to author education and protection, a vanity publisher is one that "prints and binds a book at the author’s sole expense. Costs include the publisher’s profit and overhead, so vanity publishing is usually a good deal more expensive than self-publishing." (http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/wri
"A vanity publisher relies on its authors as its main source of income–whether by charging fees for publication or other services, or requiring authors to buy or pre-sell their own books. It often presents itself as a publisher (sometimes claiming to be a “traditional” publisher and concealing its fees) rather than a self-publishing service, claiming to be selective despite employing little meaningful quality screening. Adjunct services (editing, marketing, and/or distribution) are generally minimal or of dubious value. A vanity publisher claims various rights by contract, and owns the ISBN and the completed books, which remain in the publisher’s possession until sold. Payment to the author is in the form of a royalty."
Self-publishing, on the other hand, may require the author to bear all costs of printing as well, but there the similarities pretty much end. Writer Beware describes it thus:
"However, rather than paying for a pre-set package of services, the author puts those services together himself. Because every aspect of the process can be out to bid, self-publishing can be much more cost effective than vanity publishing; it can also result in a higher-quality product. All rights, the ISBN, and completed books are owned by the author, who keeps all proceeds from sales."
The core difference between the two, then, is that with vanity publishing, the vanity publisher retains control over the publishing process, including profits and payment to the author. In self-publishing, however, the author retains complete control over the entire process from start to finish, and also reaps 100% of the profits once the publishing costs have been taken care of. With vanity publishers, on the other hand, the publisher is controlling how much of the profits the author actually sees on the back end.
Which is exactly the case with Harlequin's new so-called "self-publishing" imprint, Harlequin Horizons. Not only is HHO charging exorbitant fees to publish (or should I say print), editor, or market (and yes, those last two will cost you extra--a LOT extra) an author's books, it will also hold on to all profits except for 50% of the net profits, which it will "generously" forward on to the author as royalty payments. This tidbit according to statements released by Harlequin representatives (not to mention the HHO website).
Let me explain why this quite simply sucks for the author. First, it's important to understand how author payments are typically calculated in the publishing industry. Major "traditional" publishers often pay their authors a percentage on the cover price of the book. This is exactly what authors should hold out for. Paying on the net, on the other hand, means that the publisher calculates an author's percentage not on the cover price, but on whatever net profits the publisher makes on the book--AFTER deducting any discounts given to booksellers.
Wait, you say, discounts--what discounts??? The way the publishing industry currently works is that publishers give retailers and wholesalers a significant discount on books, usually anywhere from 40-60%. Let's do the fictional math for my debut urban fantasy, Red Hot Fury, coming out in summer, 2010. Amazon.com lists the cover price for the paperback as $7.99. Let's say my royalty rate per book is right in the middle of the average--8%. My cut per book if paid on the cover price (once I earn out the advance my fabulous publisher paid me and start earning royalties) would be approximately 64 cents. Now, doing the math based on royalties on the net, we come up with a much lower number. We'll take the middle-of-the-road discount of 50%, which takes my cover price from $7.99 to just under $4.00, slashing my 8% cut in half to 32 cents. Ouch. That's a significant difference.
Career-minded authors--like me!--should never stand for having their take-home pay slashed by 50%. Especially in a supposed self-publishing venture where already paid all costs associated with publishing the book. True self-publishing ventures result in 100% of the profits going straight to the person in control of the entire process: the author.
I can say with wholehearted enthusiasm that I would never in a million years recommend HHO's current business model for any aspiring author. True self-publishing has its place and can be an awesome option for certain authors--especially non-fiction experts or niche writers. But a particularly-expensive, thinly-veiled vanity publisher is not one I would recommend.
Aspiring authors should always keep in mind Yog's Law, formulated by SF author James D. Macdonald, staunch author advocate: Money flows to the author. Not away. Always.
Professional authors receive rejections--both before and after making their first sales. Receiving a rejection isn't personal. It just means something about the submitted manuscript didn't work for a particular agent or editor at a particular time. Whether because the writing isn't quite up to snuff, the story just didn't float that person's boat, or the editor just bought a book similar to yours--doesn't mean you should give up. Keep writing, keep learning the craft, and keep submitting. Remember that publishing is a business, and a subjective one. Just because one agent or editor tells you no doesn't mean that all will. And just because this book didn't result in an agent or editor offer doesn't mean the next one won't.
Even if you still decide that self-publishing is a viable option for you, there are much better-priced options, such as Lulu, that will allow you to retain control of the process. Just remember that most vanity and self-published books sell an average of 75-100 copies. Maybe you'll beat that average--but maybe you won't.
Either way, knowledge is key. Make sure you educate yourself and go into any publishing venture with eyes wide open. Remember, a vanity-publishing venture that calls itself a self-publishing venture and has a powerhouse publishing company behind it is still a vanity publisher at heart. If it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck, and sounds like a duck, it's still a duck even if it calls itself a swan.
And when it comes to Harlequin Horizons as it currently stands, I just have one thing to say. Quack, quack, baby!!!
- Mood:
thoughtful - Music:Book Chatter Chat re Harlequin Horizons
What do a mirror and sex have in common?
- Mood:
amused
Yesterday's post was all about stating the obvious. I wouldn't have had to write it if so many people didn't assume that income is optional for many writers.
Today I'm going to work through the list of overheads and expenses and other stuff. Like any small business, these items vary from writer to writer and the problems that need to be addressed also vary*. Keep in mind that writing income can fluctuate wildly and that if a writer draws on their reserves to meet one of the needs listed below, they may not have income to cover basic living expenses. Or they may. It's unpredictable. We can't just spend up to the limit of our credit card and wait for Thursday**.
I've divided all the material various writers have given me into categories, to simplify things. Since businesses vary so considerably, the line between what's normal for a business and what has to be done for a particular person to be able to work in the business can be drawn in a number of places.
Business expenses (sort of an overview)
Sean Williams has broken down a bunch of the business expenses in the post I quoted so extensively yesterday. He emailed me the link and I looked and thought "Neat – I remember him posting this." Then I remembered "I ought to look closely at it." Then I thought "Why don't we all get safe public service jobs and give up on novels?" Here's a blown-up version of the most important graphic.
Basic equipment
Things like computer and peripherals, office consumables, phone. The easiest way to think about it is to consider that a writer has an office or formal workplace. The office/workplace may be oddly configured sometimes, but it still exists and it needs office equipment. It's hard to talk to an editor with no phone or internet.
I don't know how one would write a novel without basic equipment. Even Jane Austen needed paper and pen and a table. She also needed a blotter to hide her current work, so that no-one would know she was writing, and the capacity to post her finished manuscript to London. This leads us to services.
Services
Writers' offices require certain servicing. These can overlap with household needs when we work from home. Services include things like electricity, water, sewer, garbage/rubbish collection, telephone, internet, insurance, rates and/or property taxes, post. Various forms of insurance, bank fees, paperwork could fit in here, or even have their own heading. Time costs as well as financial ones need to be allowed for whenever services are involved. Every time a writer queues to pay a bill, that's time they're not working on fiction. The same goes for wear and tear – replacing or fixing things takes time out from writing, and so is a cost.
Wear and tear
A standard work-related expense. Just as crucial as disposing of rubbish and having electricity. A lot of things fit into wear and tear – anything that's essential to a writer for work that breaks down or gets old, basically. A dead computer is a serious problem when that computer is used to earn their income. There's also wear and tear on the body and mind, which brings me to leave.
Leave
The fact that the writer pays by not working rather than an employer giving days off still has to be factored in. Same with bereavement leave, holiday leave and any other sort of time off. Being self-employed (which is essentially what most novel writers are) means that the money and time for all kinds of leave have to be factored into finances.
Taxes
Writers who are not hobbyist pay taxes. Refunds usually come in the following tax year (well, they do for me and the writer who commented on US taxes). What this often means is we pay taxes up front on big lump sums (like advances) and then recover some of it later on. Most writers also have an accountant. I did my own taxes when I wasn't self-employed, but then it became complicated and now I need help (I probably need all kinds of other help, too, but let's not go there).
Health and retirement
Two big items are superannuation and healthcare. With no employer to provide, they have to come out of the money a writer makes. Whether you regard them as business overheads or not depends on your definition of human resources, I suspect. The truth is, though, that not many writers have enough money left after everything else to get superannuation. Healthcare provision (its nature and extent) depends heavily on which country you're in – it's a giant other topic.
Research
Research can include books, internet access for internet research, my recent trip to Sydney and a bunch of other things. So many non-writers ask where ideas come from. One of the answers is 'through research and hard work.' Sometimes it just takes time (time is a cost, remember), but research expenses can be significant. Like other expenses and overheads some are tax deductible, but some aren't.
Promotional expenses
In a dream world, books sell themselves or publishers do all the work. The reality is that, more and more, writers are expected to do a substantial amount of work (time cost) and even in making and distributing promotional material. Getting the word out about a new book or project is a part of the writing business these days. Examples various writers gave to me included making bookmarks, fridge magnets, business cards, travelling to cons, donating services (time cost as well as donation of the service itself).
Memberships in professional organisations
Just what professional organisations do writers join? It varies from writer to writer. Just like everything else.I'm not a member of every professional organisation I ought to be, because of the cost.
Personal expenses
Some basic living expenses have to be taken otherwise writing cannot happen. This includes things like food, drink, clothes, education, healthcare, childcare, care of frail relatives. Technically, they're mostly not business expenses or overheads, but, as Sarah Zettel said "I suppose I could plunk my kid in front of the TV for eight hours a day while I work..."
These are just as much issues with writers as they are with anyone else in paid employment. That many writers work from home can mask this. Basically, if something can't be done by someone in a normal fulltime job, then the writer has to sort it out and allow money for it or take time out of their job (writing) in order to meet the need. This comes out of the income earned part of a writer's life ie the money made from a book after tax, agent's fees etc have all been taken out. Remember that portion of the % of a % of each book sold is the writer's equivalent of a salary.
How many books does it take to make a liveable wage for a writer? That's the big question. A liveable wage is what's left after the business essentials are dealt with. Some of these essentials are overheads. And that was what started these posts.
* These two years my biggest timesink is deaths, oddly, and long phone calls sorting out the consequences of deaths. I'm hoping that relatives and friends will decide to live forever, starting tomorrow, and that I shall have more time to be self-centred and obnoxious and maybe follow up with more of the promotional stuff I really ought to be doing with 2 new books and a rash of short stories.
** Australian Federal Public Service payday. I live in a city where every second Thursday lots of people go shopping and drinking and celebrate having money again.
Today I'm going to work through the list of overheads and expenses and other stuff. Like any small business, these items vary from writer to writer and the problems that need to be addressed also vary*. Keep in mind that writing income can fluctuate wildly and that if a writer draws on their reserves to meet one of the needs listed below, they may not have income to cover basic living expenses. Or they may. It's unpredictable. We can't just spend up to the limit of our credit card and wait for Thursday**.
I've divided all the material various writers have given me into categories, to simplify things. Since businesses vary so considerably, the line between what's normal for a business and what has to be done for a particular person to be able to work in the business can be drawn in a number of places.
Business expenses (sort of an overview)
Sean Williams has broken down a bunch of the business expenses in the post I quoted so extensively yesterday. He emailed me the link and I looked and thought "Neat – I remember him posting this." Then I remembered "I ought to look closely at it." Then I thought "Why don't we all get safe public service jobs and give up on novels?" Here's a blown-up version of the most important graphic.
Basic equipment
Things like computer and peripherals, office consumables, phone. The easiest way to think about it is to consider that a writer has an office or formal workplace. The office/workplace may be oddly configured sometimes, but it still exists and it needs office equipment. It's hard to talk to an editor with no phone or internet.
I don't know how one would write a novel without basic equipment. Even Jane Austen needed paper and pen and a table. She also needed a blotter to hide her current work, so that no-one would know she was writing, and the capacity to post her finished manuscript to London. This leads us to services.
Services
Writers' offices require certain servicing. These can overlap with household needs when we work from home. Services include things like electricity, water, sewer, garbage/rubbish collection, telephone, internet, insurance, rates and/or property taxes, post. Various forms of insurance, bank fees, paperwork could fit in here, or even have their own heading. Time costs as well as financial ones need to be allowed for whenever services are involved. Every time a writer queues to pay a bill, that's time they're not working on fiction. The same goes for wear and tear – replacing or fixing things takes time out from writing, and so is a cost.
Wear and tear
A standard work-related expense. Just as crucial as disposing of rubbish and having electricity. A lot of things fit into wear and tear – anything that's essential to a writer for work that breaks down or gets old, basically. A dead computer is a serious problem when that computer is used to earn their income. There's also wear and tear on the body and mind, which brings me to leave.
Leave
The fact that the writer pays by not working rather than an employer giving days off still has to be factored in. Same with bereavement leave, holiday leave and any other sort of time off. Being self-employed (which is essentially what most novel writers are) means that the money and time for all kinds of leave have to be factored into finances.
Taxes
Writers who are not hobbyist pay taxes. Refunds usually come in the following tax year (well, they do for me and the writer who commented on US taxes). What this often means is we pay taxes up front on big lump sums (like advances) and then recover some of it later on. Most writers also have an accountant. I did my own taxes when I wasn't self-employed, but then it became complicated and now I need help (I probably need all kinds of other help, too, but let's not go there).
Health and retirement
Two big items are superannuation and healthcare. With no employer to provide, they have to come out of the money a writer makes. Whether you regard them as business overheads or not depends on your definition of human resources, I suspect. The truth is, though, that not many writers have enough money left after everything else to get superannuation. Healthcare provision (its nature and extent) depends heavily on which country you're in – it's a giant other topic.
Research
Research can include books, internet access for internet research, my recent trip to Sydney and a bunch of other things. So many non-writers ask where ideas come from. One of the answers is 'through research and hard work.' Sometimes it just takes time (time is a cost, remember), but research expenses can be significant. Like other expenses and overheads some are tax deductible, but some aren't.
Promotional expenses
In a dream world, books sell themselves or publishers do all the work. The reality is that, more and more, writers are expected to do a substantial amount of work (time cost) and even in making and distributing promotional material. Getting the word out about a new book or project is a part of the writing business these days. Examples various writers gave to me included making bookmarks, fridge magnets, business cards, travelling to cons, donating services (time cost as well as donation of the service itself).
Memberships in professional organisations
Just what professional organisations do writers join? It varies from writer to writer. Just like everything else.I'm not a member of every professional organisation I ought to be, because of the cost.
Personal expenses
Some basic living expenses have to be taken otherwise writing cannot happen. This includes things like food, drink, clothes, education, healthcare, childcare, care of frail relatives. Technically, they're mostly not business expenses or overheads, but, as Sarah Zettel said "I suppose I could plunk my kid in front of the TV for eight hours a day while I work..."
These are just as much issues with writers as they are with anyone else in paid employment. That many writers work from home can mask this. Basically, if something can't be done by someone in a normal fulltime job, then the writer has to sort it out and allow money for it or take time out of their job (writing) in order to meet the need. This comes out of the income earned part of a writer's life ie the money made from a book after tax, agent's fees etc have all been taken out. Remember that portion of the % of a % of each book sold is the writer's equivalent of a salary.
How many books does it take to make a liveable wage for a writer? That's the big question. A liveable wage is what's left after the business essentials are dealt with. Some of these essentials are overheads. And that was what started these posts.
* These two years my biggest timesink is deaths, oddly, and long phone calls sorting out the consequences of deaths. I'm hoping that relatives and friends will decide to live forever, starting tomorrow, and that I shall have more time to be self-centred and obnoxious and maybe follow up with more of the promotional stuff I really ought to be doing with 2 new books and a rash of short stories.
** Australian Federal Public Service payday. I live in a city where every second Thursday lots of people go shopping and drinking and celebrate having money again.
The glamorous life of the writer!
Here's my to-do list for the next ten months.
# write Grail
# Schizophrenic levitation time travel vignette secret project thingy (just finished a very rough outline, and might have a draft by the end of the weekend)
# revise The White City and its attendant chapbook, which might be called "The Forty Times Forty."
# revise "The Romance"
# write "The Unicorn Evils" (withcoffeeem)
#write "Spell 81a" (withstillsostrange)
#write "Uniform" (ensemble!)
# write "Ligature"
# write A Reckoning of Men (withtruepenny)
# write The Steles of the Sky if it sells, or do some more work on it to send back out if it doesn't.
# Space opera thingy
# Vampirism thingy
# Noir thingy
# Book reviews and columns as needed
# Maybe write Karen Memory if it sells, or do some more work on it to send back out if it doesn't.
# Continue working on Smile
# Singularity Rent novel
Well, a busy writer is a writer who stands a chance of not starving to death.
Here's my to-do list for the next ten months.
# write Grail
# revise The White City and its attendant chapbook, which might be called "The Forty Times Forty."
# revise "The Romance"
# write "The Unicorn Evils" (with
coffeeem)#write "Spell 81a" (with
stillsostrange)#write "Uniform" (ensemble!)
# write "Ligature"
# write A Reckoning of Men (with
truepenny)# write The Steles of the Sky if it sells, or do some more work on it to send back out if it doesn't.
# Space opera thingy
# Vampirism thingy
# Noir thingy
# Book reviews and columns as needed
# Maybe write Karen Memory if it sells, or do some more work on it to send back out if it doesn't.
# Continue working on Smile
# Singularity Rent novel
Well, a busy writer is a writer who stands a chance of not starving to death.
- Mood:
sleepy - Music:Depeche Mode - Suffer Well (Album Version)
Apparently it is Borrowed today, my very favourite holiday, which actually always does seem to come around the same time of year. Maybe November is the month when things break and I have to go out and replace them.
The thing that broke was my work shoes, little black Mary Jane things that admittedly, I've had for four years and have been wearing pretty much every day. One sole was kinda split in half and the other one paper-thin, and the water that cheerfully poured into my shoe yesterday morning was, ah, unpleasant. So off I went to the mall after work today to fight with shoe stores.*
After winning that battle one pair of new, better-made, more comfortable black Mary Janes** and one pair of surprisingly comfortable and Montreal-stylish black suede ankle boots later****, I decided I had been Very Brave (tm) and already spent a bunch of money anyways, so I might as well hemorrhage a little more without feeling too guilty about it, and got myself a cute black crocheted shrug, the DVD of Mystery Men, and three (3) Godiva truffles too.
Yes. Such is my sybaritic luxury.***
That closes out Borrowed for this year (and hopefully means I won't have to buy shoes again for at least umpteen months) at higher expense than some years, but at a maximum of efficiency. And now I am going to make a pot of tea and put on my new movie and knit, because after this workweek? My brain is too tired for too much else.
*I wear size 11. Most shoe stores stock up to size 10. 'Nuff said.
**A shoe store that stocks sizes 10-13 was located. Booyah. I'm just going there first next time.
***Although it is not Muskokan sybaritic luxury.
****I still technically do need a good pair of sneakers, but we will seriously leave that for another paycheque.
The thing that broke was my work shoes, little black Mary Jane things that admittedly, I've had for four years and have been wearing pretty much every day. One sole was kinda split in half and the other one paper-thin, and the water that cheerfully poured into my shoe yesterday morning was, ah, unpleasant. So off I went to the mall after work today to fight with shoe stores.*
After winning that battle one pair of new, better-made, more comfortable black Mary Janes** and one pair of surprisingly comfortable and Montreal-stylish black suede ankle boots later****, I decided I had been Very Brave (tm) and already spent a bunch of money anyways, so I might as well hemorrhage a little more without feeling too guilty about it, and got myself a cute black crocheted shrug, the DVD of Mystery Men, and three (3) Godiva truffles too.
Yes. Such is my sybaritic luxury.***
That closes out Borrowed for this year (and hopefully means I won't have to buy shoes again for at least umpteen months) at higher expense than some years, but at a maximum of efficiency. And now I am going to make a pot of tea and put on my new movie and knit, because after this workweek? My brain is too tired for too much else.
*I wear size 11. Most shoe stores stock up to size 10. 'Nuff said.
**A shoe store that stocks sizes 10-13 was located. Booyah. I'm just going there first next time.
***Although it is not Muskokan sybaritic luxury.
****I still technically do need a good pair of sneakers, but we will seriously leave that for another paycheque.
- Mood:
wry - Music:Madrugada -- Hands Up--I Love You
Kelly Meding had me at "A Coupla Throw Pillows and a TV News Reporter." That's how she started her introduction thread at the League of Reluctant Adults, and between her obscure references to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (did you catch it?) and her obvious love of things Whedon (especially my favorite, Firefly), it was instant fandom for me. Nevermind that her debut novel (Three Days to Dead hasn't debuted yet -- you can pre-order it at all your friendly local bookstores! Only four days 'til publication!), Kelly impressed me with her awesome over at the League and then at her blog with some of the coolest trivia contests ever to be seen on the Web. I knew that when the time came, I wanted to have her guest blog to promote the novel. And luckily, she felt the same way!
So without much further ado, I present Kelly in her own words, writing about one of her favorite fairy tales, complete with an excerpt from Three Days to Dead. If you (like me) just can't wait the next four days to get your hands on her book, you can read some free fiction set in her new world at Suduvu, where a five part serial will be posted over the next ten days. And now... Kelly!
--
Books and stories have been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember. As a child, many of my favorites were fairy tales, legends, and nursery rhymes. I had a book of Mother Goose tales and a cassette tape that read the tales aloud as I followed in the book. One of my favorite things to watch on television was Shelly Duvall's Faerie Tale Theater.
Urban fantasy has a wonderful tradition of taking those old stories and putting new spins on them. Sometimes they remain recognizable, and sometimes they don't. But what is fiction, if not a chance to take an idea and explore it?
In developing the world of Three Days to Dead, I had a wealth of information and choices at my fingertips. Some folks don't like the "kitchen sink" idea. They prefer a narrow slice of the paranormal. I wanted to toss in as much as I could without bogging down the book. Beyond the staples of vampires and shifters, I wanted Fey and trolls and gremlins and gargoyles, but I had to make them my own.
One of my favorite folk stories is that of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. I can't possibly say why that story sticks with me, but it does. Simply, it's the story of three goats who wish to cross a bridge and feast on the grass on the other side of a stream. Under this bridge lives a terrible troll who wants to eat the goats. The first, smallest goat crosses safely by telling the troll his brother his larger and a better meal. The second, middle goat does the same. When the final, biggest goat crosses, he has big horns and gores the troll to death, allowing the three goats to feast and grow fat.
This evil thing that lives under bridges and demands a toll for crossing is what my mind has always first associated with a troll. I wanted to use trolls in TDTD, but I wasn't sure how to do it. So I Googled.
Google is a wonderful tool. I found hundreds of images, but one in particular really stuck with me—the Seattle Bridge Troll. If you've not seen it, it's an amazing work of art. As soon as I saw it, I knew there was a character in it. I had found my troll. He would still live under a bridge, but he doesn't charge a toll for crossing. In fact, his actual role in this world came out a bit later in the book and surprised even me.
And so was born Smedge, the Bridge Troll.
Excerpt from "Chapter Five," Three Days to Dead, by Kelly Meding
Copyright 2009
"Are you sure he's going to recognize you before he decides to pound on us with a big, gravely fist?" [Wyatt asked.]
"Bridge trolls are blind, remember?" I stomped my foot again. "They don't rely on five senses like humans. He'll know me."
Sure enough, the solid concrete began to vibrate. Slowly at first, like the gentlest shiver. Then it built to a roar, and what was once solid began to run like quicksand. It drew inward, gathering like a miniature tornado beneath the bridge. I raised my hand against the wind, as every bit of dirt was drawn toward its center.
An arm reached out from its whirling vortex, a hand uncurling and dividing into four fingers. Those fingers splayed against the ground by our feet. Wyatt stepped back, but I stood my ground. A second arm joined the first, and then a head pulled out, forming from the dirt and sand and stone, as large as my entire body, with pronounced eyes that couldn't see and a mouth that couldn't taste. A neck and shoulders grew last, until Smedge the bridge troll appeared to have pulled himself out of a giant hole in the ground, only to lounge beneath the bridge, perfectly at ease.
Sounds rumbled deep within his throat, as he remembered how to communicate with other, more verbal species. Bridge trolls were part of the earth itself and communicated through tremors and vibrations of the crust and core, rather than of wind through the larynx. Some of the largest earthquakes in recorded history were because of troll wars--something no one taught kids in geology class.
"Him," Smedge ground out. His voice came across like sandpaper against metal--harsh and unpleasant. "Not…welcome."
"I'll make sure he behaves," I said. "Smedge, do you remember me? It's Stony."
Sandy eyes made a show of looking at me, but I knew better. Air circled me like a cyclone, caressing my skin with fine particles of sand. He was smelling me in his own way, making sure I was telling the truth. I only hoped his unusual senses could "see" past my new appearance and identify his friend.
"Yes, Stony," Smedge said.
So without much further ado, I present Kelly in her own words, writing about one of her favorite fairy tales, complete with an excerpt from Three Days to Dead. If you (like me) just can't wait the next four days to get your hands on her book, you can read some free fiction set in her new world at Suduvu, where a five part serial will be posted over the next ten days. And now... Kelly!
--
Books and stories have been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember. As a child, many of my favorites were fairy tales, legends, and nursery rhymes. I had a book of Mother Goose tales and a cassette tape that read the tales aloud as I followed in the book. One of my favorite things to watch on television was Shelly Duvall's Faerie Tale Theater.
Urban fantasy has a wonderful tradition of taking those old stories and putting new spins on them. Sometimes they remain recognizable, and sometimes they don't. But what is fiction, if not a chance to take an idea and explore it?
In developing the world of Three Days to Dead, I had a wealth of information and choices at my fingertips. Some folks don't like the "kitchen sink" idea. They prefer a narrow slice of the paranormal. I wanted to toss in as much as I could without bogging down the book. Beyond the staples of vampires and shifters, I wanted Fey and trolls and gremlins and gargoyles, but I had to make them my own.
One of my favorite folk stories is that of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. I can't possibly say why that story sticks with me, but it does. Simply, it's the story of three goats who wish to cross a bridge and feast on the grass on the other side of a stream. Under this bridge lives a terrible troll who wants to eat the goats. The first, smallest goat crosses safely by telling the troll his brother his larger and a better meal. The second, middle goat does the same. When the final, biggest goat crosses, he has big horns and gores the troll to death, allowing the three goats to feast and grow fat.
This evil thing that lives under bridges and demands a toll for crossing is what my mind has always first associated with a troll. I wanted to use trolls in TDTD, but I wasn't sure how to do it. So I Googled.
Google is a wonderful tool. I found hundreds of images, but one in particular really stuck with me—the Seattle Bridge Troll. If you've not seen it, it's an amazing work of art. As soon as I saw it, I knew there was a character in it. I had found my troll. He would still live under a bridge, but he doesn't charge a toll for crossing. In fact, his actual role in this world came out a bit later in the book and surprised even me.
And so was born Smedge, the Bridge Troll.
Excerpt from "Chapter Five," Three Days to Dead, by Kelly Meding
Copyright 2009
"Are you sure he's going to recognize you before he decides to pound on us with a big, gravely fist?" [Wyatt asked.]
"Bridge trolls are blind, remember?" I stomped my foot again. "They don't rely on five senses like humans. He'll know me."
Sure enough, the solid concrete began to vibrate. Slowly at first, like the gentlest shiver. Then it built to a roar, and what was once solid began to run like quicksand. It drew inward, gathering like a miniature tornado beneath the bridge. I raised my hand against the wind, as every bit of dirt was drawn toward its center.
An arm reached out from its whirling vortex, a hand uncurling and dividing into four fingers. Those fingers splayed against the ground by our feet. Wyatt stepped back, but I stood my ground. A second arm joined the first, and then a head pulled out, forming from the dirt and sand and stone, as large as my entire body, with pronounced eyes that couldn't see and a mouth that couldn't taste. A neck and shoulders grew last, until Smedge the bridge troll appeared to have pulled himself out of a giant hole in the ground, only to lounge beneath the bridge, perfectly at ease.
Sounds rumbled deep within his throat, as he remembered how to communicate with other, more verbal species. Bridge trolls were part of the earth itself and communicated through tremors and vibrations of the crust and core, rather than of wind through the larynx. Some of the largest earthquakes in recorded history were because of troll wars--something no one taught kids in geology class.
"Him," Smedge ground out. His voice came across like sandpaper against metal--harsh and unpleasant. "Not…welcome."
"I'll make sure he behaves," I said. "Smedge, do you remember me? It's Stony."
Sandy eyes made a show of looking at me, but I knew better. Air circled me like a cyclone, caressing my skin with fine particles of sand. He was smelling me in his own way, making sure I was telling the truth. I only hoped his unusual senses could "see" past my new appearance and identify his friend.
"Yes, Stony," Smedge said.
08:43 This makes me far more gleeful than it probably should. :) RT @shueytexas: 22.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ktdpirLVdi1qz
08:44 I have finally given up and admitted that I'm sick enough that I should stay home. :P On the couch today. #
12:33 Heeeeee. "A neutron walks into a bar and asks 'How much for a beer?' The bartender says, 'For you? No charge.' From bit.ly/1YcA #
13:08 I am all about sharing the funny online today. Publishing industry definitions: bit.ly/M4OL (E.g. "EDITOR: A writer with a day job.") #
Automatically shipped by LoudTwitterThree culinary lessons of the day:
* You can make good pesto out of practically any combination of nuts, greenery and cheese, plus olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. (Okay, I probably wouldn't recommend, e.g., pistachios, beet greens and chipotle cheddar, but nevertheless.) This one? Pecans, parsley, soft cheese from the farmer's market. Mmm. (It's going over pre-prepared butternut squash ravioli.)
* Golden beets are a godsend. They may not have quite as assertively beet-y a taste as regular red beets, but they also don't make me look like I just survived a knife fight.
* Beets and apples roasting in the oven smell awesome.
Posted at Livejournal and Dreamwidth. Comment here or there.
comments currently at DW.
* You can make good pesto out of practically any combination of nuts, greenery and cheese, plus olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. (Okay, I probably wouldn't recommend, e.g., pistachios, beet greens and chipotle cheddar, but nevertheless.) This one? Pecans, parsley, soft cheese from the farmer's market. Mmm. (It's going over pre-prepared butternut squash ravioli.)
* Golden beets are a godsend. They may not have quite as assertively beet-y a taste as regular red beets, but they also don't make me look like I just survived a knife fight.
* Beets and apples roasting in the oven smell awesome.
Posted at Livejournal and Dreamwidth. Comment here or there.
- Mood:
hungry
Random thoughts from my day:
- 08:12 RT @feminismtoday Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance #feminism bit.ly/31oTHx #
- 08:13 @spastasmagoria Fear not. We always go back to philadelphia eventually for mdw as well. Ice storms! :-) #
- 08:18 RT @sfwa Blog: Judge grants preliminary approval to Google Book Settlement bit.ly/18spoZ/ #
- 08:20 @spastasmagoria IME, it's not as bad as the Midwest in winter; not as much time below zero, less wind...more snow. #
- 08:34 @spastasmagoria They do. In SUMMER. When it's cheaper. *sighs* New Orleans in 2011, I believe. #
- 08:49 @spastasmagoria I'd guess, in the aggregate, MUCH cheaper (esp. for convention ctr space) 'cos it's off-season. #
- 09:42 Working away on the comics exhibit. I want to *read* more of them, but right now I need to list them first! #fb #
- 11:43 Brain just gave out for the morning. Time for lunch and some tea to kick-start it again. #fb #
- 16:24 Am brain ded. 80% exhibit labels done. Send chocolate. *thud* #
Fencing, Monday night.
Brett: They're just a bunch of sadists.
Moe: Oh, sadists! I thought you said sabre-ists.
Brett: Jeez, no! That would be worse!
Lab clean-up, today. (I was in charge of taking all of the stuff out of a freezer and defrosting it, and naturally the freezer I was assigned to was the WORST.)
French post-doc: Oh, You have that one, it is dee worst.
Me: Oh yeah? We'll be glad when I've cleaned it then.
French post-doc: It eez awful! I did it the last time. Four months ago!
Me: Wha?!
French post-doc: Oh, and never mind the carcasses in there.
Me: O_O
(It turns out, she was refering to lab mice carcasses.)
Brett: They're just a bunch of sadists.
Moe: Oh, sadists! I thought you said sabre-ists.
Brett: Jeez, no! That would be worse!
Lab clean-up, today. (I was in charge of taking all of the stuff out of a freezer and defrosting it, and naturally the freezer I was assigned to was the WORST.)
French post-doc: Oh, You have that one, it is dee worst.
Me: Oh yeah? We'll be glad when I've cleaned it then.
French post-doc: It eez awful! I did it the last time. Four months ago!
Me: Wha?!
French post-doc: Oh, and never mind the carcasses in there.
Me: O_O
(It turns out, she was refering to lab mice carcasses.)
- Mood:
cheerful
Okay, so on the CiN special (which was probably the first few minutes of the Christmas special?)...
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
[Cross posted to Daydream Believer
Oh, people. I wish I had a spectacular word count update to share and that I could blame my absence on being a writing machine these last couple of weeks, but that is not the case. I have a much better excuse, in fact, and that excuse is this: a bun, my oven has one.
( Read more... )
In related news: Glee COMPLETELY DESTROYED me this week when Finn sang "I'll Stand By You" to "his" unborn baby. Yay hormones!
Oh, people. I wish I had a spectacular word count update to share and that I could blame my absence on being a writing machine these last couple of weeks, but that is not the case. I have a much better excuse, in fact, and that excuse is this: a bun, my oven has one.
( Read more... )
In related news: Glee COMPLETELY DESTROYED me this week when Finn sang "I'll Stand By You" to "his" unborn baby. Yay hormones!
- Mood:
excited
Headlines are:
Fantasy or science fiction stories on the theme of music.
£80 per acceptance
Deadline 30 April
Very specific requirements, so check out the guidelines which can be found at www.music-strange-fiction-submissions.in
Hope to hear from you
Mark
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
Fantasy or science fiction stories on the theme of music.
£80 per acceptance
Deadline 30 April
Very specific requirements, so check out the guidelines which can be found at www.music-strange-fiction-submissions.in
Hope to hear from you
Mark
Today involved writing a book review and getting a tooth filled. I can feel the left side of my face again, which is kind of nice, since there was a long period where all I could feel was the absence of the left side of my face.
You don't realize you can feel your sinuses and your eye socket until you can't.
I've had kind of a seriously cruddy fortnight. I think I'm just going to watch Gone Baby Gone and eat fresh bread and roasted garlic and drink about a gallon of tea. And think about how this book needs to be put together again.
And then I'm going to start reading the next book I have to review.
ETA: oo, a BATH.desperance is a genius.
You don't realize you can feel your sinuses and your eye socket until you can't.
I've had kind of a seriously cruddy fortnight. I think I'm just going to watch Gone Baby Gone and eat fresh bread and roasted garlic and drink about a gallon of tea. And think about how this book needs to be put together again.
And then I'm going to start reading the next book I have to review.
ETA: oo, a BATH.
desperance is a genius.- Mood:
cranky - Music:Pixies - Gouge Away
Good on the SFWA for coming out with this statement denouncing Harlequin's self publishing imprint. And while we're at it, a pat on the back to the RWA for also not tolerating these shenanigans, either.
My hats off to both organizations and those that made the decisions. Especially the RWA. I can only imagine that it was not an easily reached decision on their part, but they acted correctly. Proving that the romance genre does, in fact, possess some of the most awesome people on God's green earth.
Frankly, I'm appalled that Harlequin would do this. It's so clearly a grab for money meant to prey on naive and desperate writers. It's little more than a confidence scheme. The name change tells me that Harlequin knows this and there is some sense of corporate guilt in knowing that they're basically trying to line their pockets on the desperation of the unpublished.
I'm reminded of the guiding principle of the con from Hu$tle, "Find someone who wants something for nothing and give them nothing for something."
arcaedia also known as Jennifer Jackson, has a pretty good write up on it as well, and I echo her sentiments entirely.
There is a time and a place for self publishing, and it's for people who want to stay strictly amateur and have no interest in profits or distribution or recognition. Want to put out a cook book for your church bake sale? Self publish! Want to distribute some family stories and memories amongst relatives and loved ones? Self publish! Want to give a book of your short stories to a few friends who've asked to see them time and again? Self publish!
Yes, some have gotten extraordinarily lucky, but so have some people who buy lotto tickets. All the other millions who buy tickets just blow their money and have nothing to show for it.
When you want significant money and distribution to enter the equation, you need to work with other people on professional terms that ensure that you get compensated for your work.
Unfortunately, the self-publishing con doesn't want you to know this. They want you to think that you're cleverly by-passing those stodgy, elitist publishers and agents and editors who sit around cackling like the witches of endor while breaking the dreams of innocent, unpublished writers who are delicate, special little snowflakes that just need someone to recognize their snowflakeyness.
Those editors and agents and publishers are not some big scheme to break your heart that someone put there just to be mean. It's a system and an industry that functions the way it does because that's, more or less, what works best.
Yes, there are kinks in the system - but the fact that enough people make money (including writers) for it to be an industry should tell you that something.
Even if the industry went paperless and electronic tomorrow, agents, editors, and publishing companies would still exist in some form. The business of getting a lot of people to read this Really Great Book Over here still requires the same steps. Someone has to write the book, someone has to check that the book is actually good, someone has to distribute the book to places (virtual or real) where readers can acquire the book, and someone has to tell lots of people about the book so they will go to that place and buy it.
Which means that companies will still need to exist who profit from marketing and distributing books by having a wider network than a single author could muster on their own, and go-between agents will still exist to mediate between writers and those companies.
And that means that anyone who tells you that you, too, can be a famous author in a few easy steps just by paying a small free is still going to be giant crook. Even a big company like Harlequin.
My hats off to both organizations and those that made the decisions. Especially the RWA. I can only imagine that it was not an easily reached decision on their part, but they acted correctly. Proving that the romance genre does, in fact, possess some of the most awesome people on God's green earth.
Frankly, I'm appalled that Harlequin would do this. It's so clearly a grab for money meant to prey on naive and desperate writers. It's little more than a confidence scheme. The name change tells me that Harlequin knows this and there is some sense of corporate guilt in knowing that they're basically trying to line their pockets on the desperation of the unpublished.
I'm reminded of the guiding principle of the con from Hu$tle, "Find someone who wants something for nothing and give them nothing for something."
arcaedia also known as Jennifer Jackson, has a pretty good write up on it as well, and I echo her sentiments entirely. There is a time and a place for self publishing, and it's for people who want to stay strictly amateur and have no interest in profits or distribution or recognition. Want to put out a cook book for your church bake sale? Self publish! Want to distribute some family stories and memories amongst relatives and loved ones? Self publish! Want to give a book of your short stories to a few friends who've asked to see them time and again? Self publish!
Yes, some have gotten extraordinarily lucky, but so have some people who buy lotto tickets. All the other millions who buy tickets just blow their money and have nothing to show for it.
When you want significant money and distribution to enter the equation, you need to work with other people on professional terms that ensure that you get compensated for your work.
Unfortunately, the self-publishing con doesn't want you to know this. They want you to think that you're cleverly by-passing those stodgy, elitist publishers and agents and editors who sit around cackling like the witches of endor while breaking the dreams of innocent, unpublished writers who are delicate, special little snowflakes that just need someone to recognize their snowflakeyness.
Those editors and agents and publishers are not some big scheme to break your heart that someone put there just to be mean. It's a system and an industry that functions the way it does because that's, more or less, what works best.
Yes, there are kinks in the system - but the fact that enough people make money (including writers) for it to be an industry should tell you that something.
Even if the industry went paperless and electronic tomorrow, agents, editors, and publishing companies would still exist in some form. The business of getting a lot of people to read this Really Great Book Over here still requires the same steps. Someone has to write the book, someone has to check that the book is actually good, someone has to distribute the book to places (virtual or real) where readers can acquire the book, and someone has to tell lots of people about the book so they will go to that place and buy it.
Which means that companies will still need to exist who profit from marketing and distributing books by having a wider network than a single author could muster on their own, and go-between agents will still exist to mediate between writers and those companies.
And that means that anyone who tells you that you, too, can be a famous author in a few easy steps just by paying a small free is still going to be giant crook. Even a big company like Harlequin.
- Mood:
aggravated - Music:Yeasayer - Tightrope
Hmmm, about 19,500 words into my NaNoWriMo challenge and I'm seriously considering stopping and going back to revise. It's not that I want to give up or that it's too hard or that I don't have time. It's simply that I feel I've reached a point in the novel in which continuing on would do more harm than good. It would be too fractured at this point because I'm uncertain about what's come before and it's not worth it to me to write 10,000 more words to fulfill a goal and then simply have to throw it all out or spend all of December re-working it into something comprehensible. I feel bad though. I hate how hard it is for me to stick with things and I'm worried that this is another example of that. I'm terrified that if I stop now I'll never finish. But on the other hand I suspect that is just silliness on my part. After all, I'm not stopping so I can spend the rest of the month watching movies or staring at the ceiling. I'm going to type everything up and revise like mad so that I can figure out what flows from what. And then once I've smoothed things out better I can start where I left off with a better idea of where I'm going and from whence I've come. What do you think of that?
Also, this whole exercise in writing 1,000 words a day, more or less, has shown me that I really must give myself weekends off if I'm to do this regularly. Not that I wouldn't work on writing on the weekends. It's just that writing new material everyday with no breaks is exhausting to me. I LOVE revising. I will be revising in my grave. But writing? Writing is bloody hard. Perhaps I should start referring to myself as a revisor. Hello, what do you do? I am a revisor. Yes, a noble profession indeed. If only I could find myself a troupe of goblins clever enough to do my writing for me. Goblin writing probably requires a great deal of revision...
Also, this whole exercise in writing 1,000 words a day, more or less, has shown me that I really must give myself weekends off if I'm to do this regularly. Not that I wouldn't work on writing on the weekends. It's just that writing new material everyday with no breaks is exhausting to me. I LOVE revising. I will be revising in my grave. But writing? Writing is bloody hard. Perhaps I should start referring to myself as a revisor. Hello, what do you do? I am a revisor. Yes, a noble profession indeed. If only I could find myself a troupe of goblins clever enough to do my writing for me. Goblin writing probably requires a great deal of revision...
- 11:47 just submitted a UDF to cflib and is totally freaking out. It works, but I suspect there are better ways to do it and I'll look like a n00b. #
- 13:37 "Who's university? Our university!" Really, CNN? #
I appeared on TechVi’s Bottom Line today talking about Google Chrome OS with Molly Wood of c|net. Click here to see the show (it’s short — just under 6 minutes). We’re playing around with Chrome OS in the office now and I’m vaguely impressed but hesitant to get excited about it. What will be most cool is that features from the OS will end up in the browser, so everyone will have a chance to experience a bit of Chrome no matter what kind of computer you have.
Crossposted from Chic(k)Tech
I'm sick. Caught a cold, despite all my precautions. Now I'm tired and headachy and the words just aren't coming. I know my word count is good enough that I can afford to take a few days off (39,848 out of 50k), but I don't want to. I set my own word count goal (60k), and for the longest time it looked quite doable. I don't want to let myself down, but I'm just not feeling it today at all. Guess I'll just have to see what I can wring out.
- Mood:
sick - Music:The Cure - "Friday I'm in Love"
There are a lot of stories we tell ourselves as writers. One of mine is that in between drafts of a book I should really stop and give myself at least two weeks away from the project in order to come back with fresh eyes. My question to you writers out there is, do you think this is true? Do you do it? Or can I just continue to plug away?
I want to keep working on it. I have lots of passion for it and boy does it need a lot of work. But... am I walking into a doom trap?
I want to keep working on it. I have lots of passion for it and boy does it need a lot of work. But... am I walking into a doom trap?
Leave me a comment saying "Resistance is Futile."
• I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity.
• Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
• Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.
These Questions came from_earthshine_ Interesting questions.
1) You get to spend a week on the road with any band you want (past or
present). Name the band (and, ideally, the tour or era).
Bob Marley. The era would be the week after he got shot. The spirit of soul to continue a message of peace and hope after getting shot, that would be something to witness.
2) The GM of life let's you edit your character sheet. You can take any
one skill you have in this life and change it to any other -- but the
number of points in the new skill must stay the same as what you had in
the old. What, if anything, do you change?
I'd switch out my useless knowledge skill (really, why do I need to know that Miley is not her real first name?) for a skill in healing or teaching.
3) If you could be the absolute best in the world at preparing any one
dish, what would it be? (You can't answer salmon. ... unless you
really mean it.)
No, not salmon. Osso Bucco, I love eating it, but I'm not good at cooking it.
4) Think of the person in this world you trust the least (politician,
criminal, personal acquaintance, etc.). You can pick one superpower to
give yourself, but that person gets it, too. What power do you pick? (No
need to name the person.)
The power to heal other peoples wounds and diseases. It's the only ability that I would give to someone I distrust.
5) In what ways, if any, does your current spirituality manifest itself
in your day-to-day life (thoughts, practices, actions, perspectives,
etc.)?
I pray, most often while in transit, somehow it feels like the right time to do it. I've been trying to make myself less judgemental, but I still do it.
IN my daily life I have not been the best person for a while. I"m working on fixing that.
• I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity.
• Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
• Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.
These Questions came from
_earthshine_ Interesting questions.1) You get to spend a week on the road with any band you want (past or
present). Name the band (and, ideally, the tour or era).
Bob Marley. The era would be the week after he got shot. The spirit of soul to continue a message of peace and hope after getting shot, that would be something to witness.
2) The GM of life let's you edit your character sheet. You can take any
one skill you have in this life and change it to any other -- but the
number of points in the new skill must stay the same as what you had in
the old. What, if anything, do you change?
I'd switch out my useless knowledge skill (really, why do I need to know that Miley is not her real first name?) for a skill in healing or teaching.
3) If you could be the absolute best in the world at preparing any one
dish, what would it be? (You can't answer salmon. ... unless you
really mean it.)
No, not salmon. Osso Bucco, I love eating it, but I'm not good at cooking it.
4) Think of the person in this world you trust the least (politician,
criminal, personal acquaintance, etc.). You can pick one superpower to
give yourself, but that person gets it, too. What power do you pick? (No
need to name the person.)
The power to heal other peoples wounds and diseases. It's the only ability that I would give to someone I distrust.
5) In what ways, if any, does your current spirituality manifest itself
in your day-to-day life (thoughts, practices, actions, perspectives,
etc.)?
I pray, most often while in transit, somehow it feels like the right time to do it. I've been trying to make myself less judgemental, but I still do it.
IN my daily life I have not been the best person for a while. I"m working on fixing that.
Got a super nice rejection in the inbox last night on one of the two fulls that's still circulating around. The agent said she loved a lot of things about it, but just couldn't put her full passion behind it.
This brings the score card to:
Requests - 2 (1 full, 1 partial)
Rejections - 8
Timed Out - 6
Still Pending - 0
Which means that round two is hanging by a thread. I don't intend to do another round of querying for this novel if it bats zero again, because I feel that I've revised and edited and reworked the story as much as I can. I look back on it and I still am not sure what I could change that significantly that would make the novel different enough to deserve re-querying it.
I've gotten a lot of "I loved so much about it, but..." which tells me that there's something good in the novel, and maybe some of that "I just can't give it enough passion" is more of a "I have no idea how I'd sell this sucker."
Of course, I could be telling myself that to feel better, but hey. Until someone tells me different, I may as well preserve what's left of my self esteem, right?
Plus, the pool of agents who even want to deal with fantasy is quite limited and I do think in this market there may not be anyone willing to take the chance on an unpublished author with no record.
So should it bat zero, I will start really researching and considering plans to podcast/post the novel. Because I want the story out there and I pretty much knew I wouldn't make any money on it to begin with. Thoughts anyone?
This brings the score card to:
Requests - 2 (1 full, 1 partial)
Rejections - 8
Timed Out - 6
Still Pending - 0
Which means that round two is hanging by a thread. I don't intend to do another round of querying for this novel if it bats zero again, because I feel that I've revised and edited and reworked the story as much as I can. I look back on it and I still am not sure what I could change that significantly that would make the novel different enough to deserve re-querying it.
I've gotten a lot of "I loved so much about it, but..." which tells me that there's something good in the novel, and maybe some of that "I just can't give it enough passion" is more of a "I have no idea how I'd sell this sucker."
Of course, I could be telling myself that to feel better, but hey. Until someone tells me different, I may as well preserve what's left of my self esteem, right?
Plus, the pool of agents who even want to deal with fantasy is quite limited and I do think in this market there may not be anyone willing to take the chance on an unpublished author with no record.
So should it bat zero, I will start really researching and considering plans to podcast/post the novel. Because I want the story out there and I pretty much knew I wouldn't make any money on it to begin with. Thoughts anyone?
Thanks to tlmorganfield for her help this morning with my new Word 2007 that I've been trying out on my new Internet PC. Now that I've got it figured out I decided to install it on my Writing PC. And though I back everything up, I was a little apprehensive to make the final plunge to Word 2007, as I've heard a few writers complain about it. But it works great! (Word 2002 has been giving me problems on my Writing PC.) This may sound silly, but I feel like writing a new story this weekend on Word 2007 with all the fancy (and confusing at first) buttons and knobs. Hell, I feel like writing two new stories!
tlmorganfield for her help this morning with my new Word 2007 that I've been trying out on my new Internet PC. Now that I've got it figured out I decided to install it on my Writing PC. And though I back everything up, I was a little apprehensive to make the final plunge to Word 2007, as I've heard a few writers complain about it. But it works great! (Word 2002 has been giving me problems on my Writing PC.) This may sound silly, but I feel like writing a new story this weekend on Word 2007 with all the fancy (and confusing at first) buttons and knobs. Hell, I feel like writing two new stories!A Message from Polyphony Editor/Publisher Deborah Layne
(NOTE: My story "Bear In Contradicting Landscape" is scheduled to appear in Polyphony 7, but due to economic constraints detailed below the anthology has yet to appear. I'm posting the following at Deborah's request and with my full endorsement)
In 2002, the Polyphony anthology series debuted. Conceived as a short fiction venue for stories that would skate gracefully across the boundaries of science fiction, fantasy, magic realism, and literary fiction, it was quickly recognized as the standard bearer for cross genre work. Since then, the series' six volumes have become a vital, unique collection of voices in literature of the fantastic.
Polyphony has been twice nominated for a World Fantasy Award and the stories therein have been featured in several "Year's Best" anthologies, along with garnering accolades from several award judges and committees. Polyphony authors range from multiple-award-winning seasoned writers to the previously unpublished. The series is truly a melodic interweaving of many voices: old and new, speculative and literary, heralded and unknown. Polyphony has not merely crossed literary boundaries, it has reformed and redefined them.
The harsh economic climate threatens to kill this vital series. Wheatland Press is asking for your help.
The authors have graciously made concessions to make Polyphony 7 a reality. They've agreed to a reduced pay rate to see the volume published. Now we need readers.
In order to publish Polyphony 7, Wheatland Press must receive 225 paid pre-orders via the website by March 1, 2010. If the pre-order quantities cannot be met, Polyphony will cease publication. It's that simple. The preorder link is here.
If the preorder number is met, then Polyphony 7 will be published on or about July 1, 2010.*
We have heard from many in the SF/F literary community that Polyphony is a vital part of landscape. We agree, but we cannot continue without your support. We hope that you will support our fine authors and their art by becoming part of the Polyphony community and pre-ordering a copy of Polyphony 7.
*The fine print: If we do not receive enough orders by March 1, then all preorders will be refunded immediately. Do feel free to buy another Wheatland Press title while you are stopping by the website! Those will, as always, ship immediately.
Saturday October 31, 2009 Star Tribune article appropriate for Halloween: A psychologist had been encouraging a patient's delusions.
She was barred from accepting new patients, and given various other restrictions. Seems to me she should have been barred from having ANY patients, until she'd successfully undergone treatment herself.
***Mnstf Halloween Party at Sharon Kahn's and Richard Tatge's. Good party.
One attendee thought I might be a distant relative of hers. Same ethnicity, ancestors from Belarus (though her family migrated to Samarkand, and mine to near Kiev before coming to the US), I looked like some of her relatives....
***After leaving the meeting/party, I noticed a nearby storefront. One tattoo parlor was being replaced by another, with the modest name of Tattoo Genius.
Besides adding tattoos, Tattoo Genius will remove them. Reminds me of the John Collier story "The Chaser." (That's the one in which a love potion is extraodinarily cheap.)
In the window was a bottle of tattoo aftercare lotion. I hadn't known there were such products, but it makes sense.
She was barred from accepting new patients, and given various other restrictions. Seems to me she should have been barred from having ANY patients, until she'd successfully undergone treatment herself.
***Mnstf Halloween Party at Sharon Kahn's and Richard Tatge's. Good party.
One attendee thought I might be a distant relative of hers. Same ethnicity, ancestors from Belarus (though her family migrated to Samarkand, and mine to near Kiev before coming to the US), I looked like some of her relatives....
***After leaving the meeting/party, I noticed a nearby storefront. One tattoo parlor was being replaced by another, with the modest name of Tattoo Genius.
Besides adding tattoos, Tattoo Genius will remove them. Reminds me of the John Collier story "The Chaser." (That's the one in which a love potion is extraodinarily cheap.)
In the window was a bottle of tattoo aftercare lotion. I hadn't known there were such products, but it makes sense.
- Location:Minneapolis, Baja Manitoba
...This is an experiment! But I keep seeing links I'd like to share, and then I don't do it, because I can't write a whole post around them. So instead, linkspam, with comments.
( Linkspam includes: medieval marginalia, publishers behaving badly, race at the movies, Choose Your Own Adventure books, a requiem for the history channel, feminism and the late show industry, sexual assault prevention, adults and children, three Liquid Story Binder tutorials, and recipes )
Posted at Livejournal and Dreamwidth. Comment here or there.
comments currently at DW.
( Linkspam includes: medieval marginalia, publishers behaving badly, race at the movies, Choose Your Own Adventure books, a requiem for the history channel, feminism and the late show industry, sexual assault prevention, adults and children, three Liquid Story Binder tutorials, and recipes )
Posted at Livejournal and Dreamwidth. Comment here or there.
- Mood:
cheerful
Twenty-Four hours worth of Microblogging
Is this the end for human space flight? Read this and tell me what you think. bit.ly/4spVY3 via @addthis
Automatically shipped to Livejournal via an arcane routing through the Internet by LoudTwitterI’m putting together a list of netbooks and notebooks that would be good to give to kids ranging from 7 – 14 as a “first laptop”. I have several netbooks designed for kids on my list, but wanted to ask the parents out there: what laptops or netbooks have you bought for or allowed your kids to use? Any models or brands you’d particularly suggest to other parents looking for a durable yet inexpensive computer for their kid?
Crossposted from Chic(k)Tech
This morning my editor emailed me the cover to my second novel, the sequel to Spellbent ... the original title was The Devil in Miss Shimmer but that got changed at the last minute. I'm subtitling this cover Bitch, Plz ... I Haz Backup ;-)
The book will hit stores right before or during World Fantasy 2010, which will be here in Columbus, Ohio. Book release party? Hells yeah.
The book will hit stores right before or during World Fantasy 2010, which will be here in Columbus, Ohio. Book release party? Hells yeah.
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- Fairly Merrie
- Merrie Haskell