Yesterday after taking my son on our usual swimming trip, we bought ourselves bus transfers and headed out to a few local bookstores to sign copies of Child of Fire.
Details and narrative behind the cut, along with a little talk about public transportation. Continue reading
I could not finish Man Bites World this morning before the signing. The end was just too far away.
After the signing, the socializing, and the lunch with an online friend and her family, my family returned home to the site of the copyedit of Game of Cages. It’s due back at the Random House offices on October 13th, which is a Tuesday. And if it’s going to arrive on time by express mail or whatever, I’m going to have to send it on Saturday.
That means I have one week. Did I mention that I’m a slow reader? That I’m trying to teach myself speed reading?
My poor wife is sick of her absent husband, not least of all because shortly after I deliver the copyedit, she’s going to be flying back east to spend some time with her parents. There’s talk of home upgrades for them. Who knows? I’ll be staying here.
However! I did not want to jump into the copyedit with MBW so close to finished. So that’s what I did.
Yep, Man Bites World is now complete in rough(est) draft version. A bunch of story beats need to be spackled over, there’s one section where Ray is too passive for the story to work, and one location that–surprise, surprise–turned out to be the scene of the climactic conflict. I have to go back and change the earlier scene to match them up.
And there are a lot of small changes to make. Plus, I should iron out the text. I’m not exactly Mr. Gorgeous First Draft (although blogging helps). Still, I solved that story.
So, a full copyedit in only one week is a challenge for me, but I’m going to do my best. But not tonight. Tonight I’m going to have another beer out of the celebratory six-pack of Dead Guy Ale my wife bought us, and I’m going to spend some quality time with the Internet.
… Was a success!
I signed 27 books for people in two hours, and caught up with a lot of old friends. Thank you, everyone, for coming down.
It’s the fourth day that Child of Fire has been on sale. Yes, I am still visiting Amazon.com twenty times a day. Yes, I’m still checking for new reviews. Yes, I’m still glancing at the “sales rank.”
No, you don’t need to tell me that Amazon.com’s sales rank numbers are pretty much meaningless. Really, don’t. I already know that. But it’s one of only two ways I have of judging public interest in my book (all copies at my library are checked out or on hold) so I keep looking at it.
Before the release, the sales rank was in the low six-figures. On release day and after, it hung around 3K. At this point, it’s ping-ponging between 10K and 15K. I don’t care that it isn’t a good judge of how the book is selling. It’s the only input I can look at.
Am I the sort of person who makes an excuse to wander into Borders to see if there are fewer books on the shelf? (Apparently.) Am I the sort of person to linger by the shelf because a guy is standing right next to my book with a paperback in hand? (Yes.) Did I see a complete stranger carry my book to the register? (No. Congrats on the sale, Seanan McGuire!) Am I the sort of person who buys other books to hide the fact that I’m basically skulking around the store? (Oh, hell yes. And Mastercard is damn grateful). Were there, in fact, fewer books on the shelf? (Yes!)
Anyway, it’s weird. As Betsy, my editor, mentioned in the chat I linked to earlier in the week, Del Rey acquired my book with a pre-empt–before financial deregulation sent the economy into a nosedive. There are expectations for this book, and it has come out at a time of nearly 10% unemployment.
Which… okay. Perspective: millions of out-of-work people around the world is a bigger problem than the possiblilty that my book will underperform, but I can’t help but link them.
I keep wanting input but it’s slowly fading. I’m going to have to shrug it off soon and put it behind me. Soon. Don’t I know that it’s pretty much out of my hands now? (Yeah, in fact, I do.)
In other news, I hope to finish the rough draft of book three tomorrow morning before the signing. We’ll see.
So!
Today is Book Day. The thing I’ve spent the last 35 plus years working for has happened today. It’s crazy and wonderful and terrifying all at once.
A couple notes: later today, I’ll be having a chat with Betsy Mitchell, editor-in-chief at Del Rey (also my editor), on Suvudu. Start time is 2 pm EST/11 am PST, and everyone reading this is welcome to drop by. Also, you can email a question ahead of time to info@suvudu.com. The main focus of the chat will be my journey from unpublished to published writer.
Also, today my Big Idea essay went up at Whatever, John Scalzi’s blog. I talk about constructing stories out of creative choices I wanted to avoid.
Next, my interview with Sherwood Smith is up on her blog, too. She asked me some really chewy questions and I tried to do justice to them. (At some point I’m going to have to blog about fantasy and atheism.) If you don’t read Sherwood’s books, you’re missing out.
I revamped my website a bit. I put links to online booksellers in the right margin, along with a cover, and I broke them out by country. I’ve had a number of people ask if my book would be available in England or Australia, and it took me until now to realize I could simply look up which sellers would be listing my book and link to them. Duh. It’s not an exhaustive list, but it’s what I had time for.
Long time readers know I’m something of an NPR junkie–we supported our local station by purchasing a day sponsorship. I’ll be loitering by the radio before noon and 9pm to listen for our message.
I’ve also changed my default LiveJournal icon to the book cover. I don’t care if it’s tacky! I don’t care today, at least.
The Amazon.com page for Child of Fire has a number of reviews on it already, courtesy of their “Vine” program. Of the twelve reviews posted there, eleven are four or five stars. That gives me a warm, happy feeling.
Anyway, after my chat, I’ll be heading downtown with my wife and son to admire the book on the bookshelves. Expect pictures later! And in true Seattle fashion, rain clouds are rolling in. Until then, I’m going to log off the computer and spend some time with my family.
Folks: if you read the book and you like it, let people know, okay?
Is there anything objectively wrong with wrinkled clothes? Is it an workplace safety issue? Do the clothes wear out faster? Does it contribute to global warming?
It’s really down to other people’s preferences, yes? If “the wrinkled look” suddenly came into fashion, we could reclaim the time we waste neatly folding clothes without worrying about how people would treat us.
Let’s make that happen, please.
It’s amazing how much good a little quiet time can do.
We have our first muggy, rainy day in a while, and after a short, brisk walk I find myself… sticky. Gross. Time to go home for a shower.
For some reason, I’m still struggling with the end of Man Bites World. I have no idea why, but I’m pretty unhappy about my progress. Usually, I struggle with a scene because I’m doing something wrong with it, somehow, but in this case I’m pretty sure I have it worked out nicely. I just can’t seem to focus on it. Bad me.
Earlier today, I dropped off a copy of Child of Fire (Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble online, Borders, Powell’s, Mysterious Galaxy, Indiebound.org) with the owner of the bookstore that’ll be hosting my signing. I wanted her to see what she was getting in for, not to mention ask if there was anything she’d need. As it turns out, I need to print up a copy of my author photo for her. No biggie.
Now I need to pick up some thank you cards, my library holds and head home. I have to introduce my son to Godzilla movies and get started on those speed reading books I’ve been meaning to tackle.
I haven’t wanted to say anything about Josh Olson’s often-linked rant about people asking him to read their scripts.
A lot of people have already dissected this from several angles and the only thing I could contribute to the conversation is that Josh Olson used to post in that sort of tone all the time back on the Wordplayer boards. (And the search engines at the site will only cough up one result when I search for Olson and fuck. Hah! I say. HAH!) That was his thing, and it wasn’t such a big deal in that context.
There’re also several posts on the topic by John Scalzi–this is an example of where he stands–and Lee Goldberg.
But what makes me think about this are the political activists outside the library.
See, every time I make my Wednesday trip to the library, there’s a pair (or more) of young, attractive activists soliciting signatures or whatever for lefty causes. And while I support lefty causes (generally) and have a ACLU card right here in my wallet, I don’t want to stop and talk to these people. I don’t have time on my lunch break, and at the end of the day I’m trying to reach a bus.
Most of the time, they’re fine with me shaking my head and looking away as I walk by. Or they’re not so put out that I know about it. But sometimes they go a little too far.
Not too long ago, a young woman stepped up to me as I walked by with her hand extended as though we should shake. As though a busy city sidewalk was a social situation where folks meet and greet.
I perceived that extended hand as an imposition, because I knew she was trying to use social cuing to make me stop what I was doing and deal with her thing. It annoyed me, and I nearly said “Don’t do that.”
And then yesterday, I had a guy walking to intercept me, with his hand extended like he wanted to shake. And since he was moving to block my path, it came across as aggressive.
“Not interested,” I said.
“In what?” he answered, knowing very well that I had no idea what cause he wanted to run by me.
“Talking,” I answered.
Did he think I was a dick? Hell, yeah. I saw it on his face and heard it in his voice. But what that guy didn’t understand is that he was intruding on me and my time. It’s like walking up to a stranger on the street and taking a bite out of the sandwich in their hand.
He should be asking me from a distance. He shouldn’t be moving to intercept me. He shouldn’t be offering his hand to me as though we’d just been introduced by a mutual friend. What he should do is ask me, as I approach “Do you have a minute to talk about the whales (or whatever).” That’s it.
And this is why I have tremendous sympathy for Olson, Scalzi and Lee Goldberg, no matter how I feel about the tone of their comments. Some people do not understand that they are not entitled to your time. They think they get to decide how important my schedule is. They think their needs are paramount.
It’s not that people shouldn’t ask for things. It’s that they don’t know how to do it correctly.