In other news

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When I revise, I accomplish a word count that other writers would do when writing a first draft.

F2F

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Is this also an argument for authors to make public appearances?

(Unless they’re assholes.)

Reviews, part 25

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1) Josh Albritton (@CapnIndigo on Twitter) liked the first book a little: “Holy shit that was an amazing wild ride! Can’t wait to read the rest!”

2) On his “lackluster blog,” Gary Furash really liked Child of Fire: “… another urban dark fantasy novel and, surprisingly, even darker and more noir than [Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim].”

3) On Twitter, Thadeous Cooper says he tore through Child of Fire. “Great book, needs more long term characters though.”

4) On Strange Horizons, William Mingin has many, many, (many) criticisms of Game of Cages, but ultimately calls it compelling, stating: “Besides the pull of sheer event, story, or vicarious identification with risk and triumph, there’s an ineffable quality of style in page-turners, a quality of compulsiveness that some writers evoke—unpredictable, hard to pin down, and unfairly distributed. Anyone experienced in reading the fiction of event knows there’s “good stuff” and not so good, even if the difference between the two isn’t always easy to pinpoint. Connolly writes the good stuff.” That’s sort of good, I guess. Anyway, I knew the big cast of characters would be difficult for a lot of readers. I learn and move on.

5) There have been several kind words from comments in my last thread on Charles Stross’s blog. No quote, but there are quite a few nice ones. See?

6) On Twitter, @timgray101 (aka Tim Gray) liked it enough to read more: “CoF goes from location to location uncovering stuff and having action/peril scenes. 80s action paperback/Call of Cthulhu scenario/car chase.”

7) Noel Rappin put both Child of Fire and Game of Cages on his “Best of the rest, 2010” list: “The first book, I think, works very well. It’s creepy — a town’s children are dying one by one, and as they do, everybody forgets they ever existed. I get kind of creeped out just typing that.” He’s less fond of book two (although it still makes the list) and of Ray’s nicknames for characters whose names he doesn’t know.

Best sf/f novel of the decade?

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Here’s the thing: I like John Scalzi. I’ve never met the guy, but he comes across very well don’t you think? He seems smart and reasonable and I’m pretty sure the wife and child he loves are actually real people that he’s genuinely nice to.

What’s more, I’m grateful to him. The Big Idea essays he let me post on his blog were invaluable. Quite a few people who contacted me after they read my books said they’d discovered them through his site.

So, he’s a nicer guy than I am, he works harder, and he does more good for all of humanity than I do. These are things I believe to be true.

But is Old Man’s War the best sf/f novel of the decade? Um, no. It’s a good book, absolutely. It’s a fun and accessible book, with terrific characters. But the best?

I know, I know. It’s a Tor.com poll and, while I don’t for a second believe the Tor.com folks stuffed the ballet for one of their own, there’s almost certainly an extra helping of Tor readers there.

But come on.

(For the record, CoF got 2 votes, which is 3 more than I expected. Thank you, two crazy voters. Me, I voted for Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.)

The agency model

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So, Random House has switched over to agency pricing for its ebooks. I can’t say I’m surprised but I am sorry to see that the price of my ebooks has been raised to the price of the physical books.

I understand why RH is doing this, but I think it’s too bad. It’s also not something I have any control over; if I’d knows this was coming, I’d have suggested folks buy ahead of the price change. Sorry, guys.

Hit a roadblock on the new project

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It was unexpected, but unavoidable. I’m trying to figure out how to fix it within pre-established parameters, and I think I just about have it handled.

It’s funny, though. I used tear my hair out over this stuff, but today it looks to me like a pleasant little puzzle (more fun than the Minecraft obstacle course my son designed for me, at least) and I know it’ll be stronger for being fixed.

Anyway, I put up a couple of posts over the weekend. I suspect you guys saw my joke post about Pat Rothfuss (I’m just trying to help the guy get his name out there), but I’m surprised no one wanted to talk about the super-low pricing on ebook backlist titles–prices set by a publisher, not an author who’ve had their rights reverted.

I think it’s potentially a great thing for midlist authors and may cement price windowing as a professional publishing business model. It could also hit very hard against indie authors who have been hoovering up all the ultra-low priced impulse-buy ebook sales.

If you are writing a series, would you ask your publisher to release an ebook of book one for $0.99 to help promote book four?

Quick question

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What channel is the Puppy Oscars on? I can’t seem to find it.

Patrick Rothfuss lights a cigar with a $20 bill

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A few days ago, Patrick Rothfuss posted an open letter to Nathan Fillion, in which he points out that he’s a new author but also an international best seller, and that with his new book about to come out, he’s liable to be coming in to a good bit of money.

That’s why he, as a guy with his second book about to come out, wanted to chip in to help Fillion buy the rights to the Firefly TV series.

My first reaction: 0.0

My second: “wut?”

I’m not sure what my third was because things got fuzzy after that. I do remember the nice people helping off the floor of the Starbucks, wiping away my tears with their post-consumer waste paper napkins. They seemed quite worried about me until I assured them that I wasn’t sick at all, it’s just that someone very dear to me had suddenly died.

Anyway, I think it’s great that he’s so successful that he’s considering a time share on a Hollywood property. It’s funny; I’ve always heard that money and success can’t make a person happy, but the only way I’ll believe it is to test it out personally.

So! what else might Mr. Rothfuss’s new-found wealth bring?

1. NASA will launch geostationary satellite magnifying glass that will keep his home at a comfy 76F all winter long. (During the summer, the glass will be angled to shine that heat at Raymond E. Feist.)

2. Just in case book 3 (The Doors of Stone) is delayed, time-traveling historians have convinced the Mayans to extend their calendar to December 2012.

3. Inspired by Charlie Sheen, Pat Rothfuss has hired a team of Swiss surgeons to give him real “fire-breathing fists.”

4. Saudi Princes have booked tours of Pat Rothfuss’s house for decorating tips.

5. In the future, Pat Rothfuss will do all his grocery shopping in a sedan chair carried by fans.

6. If you have to ask about number six, you can’t afford it.

7. Starting March, 2011, Pat Rothfuss’s face will be on the $1 million bill. Might as well, right?

8. Boring garden statues that never change positions will be replaced by fans assuming poses assigned by Pat Rothfuss. Woe to the fan unable to pee in continuous stream while Mr. Rothfuss walks by.

In all seriousness, good for Pat Rothfuss. I hope his next book is million-seller. (Note to readers: I’d be happy with half that, and would gladly join a campaign to purchase the rights to HOLMES AND YOYO.)

World Fantasy Con

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Is all booked up. It’s not happening until the last weekend in October, but all the memberships have been sold and they’re putting people on a waiting list.

Just thought you ought to know.

The heavily-discounted backlist

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Check out this article about a best-selling backlist title.

I know authors are already doing this with titles that have reverted to them. The interesting thing here is that it’s the publisher who’s pricing a backlist title like an app and surprising the hell out of themselves by hitting the NYT Bestseller list.

Obviously, this is not going to work as well as the practice becomes more common, but a surprise like this (and I’m certain that it is a surprise to everyone involved) will almost certainly cement teh idea of windowed ebook pricing: Full(ish) price when it’s a new release and a heavy discount (mumble mumble) months later.

I like it.