Questions from the Keywords
I’ll occasionally look through the site logs to see what keyword searches brought people to my web page. Some are predictable (my name, book titles, etc.) Others are rather bizarre.
It’s interesting to see how many search queries I get looking for specific blog posts I’ve done. There were also a fair number of questions people had typed into Google or other search engines. And since I had a little time last night, I figured what the heck, let’s answer some of these!
“what font is used on the goblin cover?”
Rhapsodie Swash Caps.
“what are the chances of writing a best selling first book?”
That depends very much on how good a book you write.
“what is the difference between a arc and release copies?”
An ARC is an Advance Review Copy, a bound book which generally has not gone through final proofreading, meaning there may be typos. It may or may not have cover art. ARCs are generally sent out in advance of a book’s release in order to generate early reviews, buzz, and other publicity.
“where can fan fiction be found?”
I recommend the internet.
“why doesn’t she leave?”
There’s no single answer to that question, but I’ve written about it some here.
“why doesn’t she leave jim hines?”
Some days I wonder that myself. I think it’s because she’s a very patient, kind, and tolerant woman, which helps to explain why we’ve made it this far and will be celebrating our 8th anniversary in a few weeks.
“how much do short stories sell for?”
It depends. I generally make 5-6 cents/word for my short fiction these days. Best short story sale ever brought in $2000, but that only happened once.
“how much does a fantasy author make?”
Depends on the fantasy author. It ranges from nothing up to approximately one bajillion dollars (J. K. Rowling).
“party famale wheth woman xhamester?”
WTF? What I really want to know is how this query led someone to my site. Or maybe I’m happier not knowing…
“jig the goblin torrent?”
No. You came to the author’s website to get a torrented version of his work? ::Thwap::
“who is neil gaiman’s agent?”
“how much do first novels earn?”
Check out Tobias Buckell’s study here. (This gives average advances for first novels, but some first novels earn out their advance, meaning the author makes more money over the life of that book.)
“do readers like big novels?”
“grisham self-published a time to kill?”
“whos awesome?”
You’re awesome!
K.T. Hanna
September 22, 2011 @ 9:47 am
Um the guys at work have informed that the WTF question is indeed a porn site. Now I understand why I have to fix their computers so much…
Love the list by the way. It’s fascinating how some people find us sometimes 😉
Jim C. Hines
September 22, 2011 @ 9:51 am
Wait, that’s an actual, specific site? I assumed it was someone’s quest for badly spelled porn, but figured it was a generic search instead of a particular page.
I used to do I.T. support. It’s amazing and often disturbing the things people will save on their employer’s hard drives…
K.T. Hanna
September 22, 2011 @ 9:54 am
Yeah, I was laughing and a couple of the guys stopped by my office to see why. The last word of that sentence is apparently an actual site lol.
It amazes me how many people click on links when they have no idea about the source. The amount of complete re-formats I’ve had to do this year alone… scare me.
Maxine MagicFox
September 22, 2011 @ 10:11 am
It amazes me that so many questions are focused on the “money” aspect of writing. o_O; I’ve never even imagined that unless I’m lucky (prolly won’t be) my novel is not going to generate money. I just want to write it and get it out there. Are people really that daft? Or maybe I’m just fortunate that all the people who inspired me to write were very upfront and honest about the money situation. Still… can’t they think it through? What do they think “free lance” means anyways?
Jim C. Hines
September 22, 2011 @ 10:24 am
Actually, I know a number of freelance writers making a perfectly good living, and I could probably match or exceed the salary I get at the day job if I were to write full-time (it’s the benefits that keep me coming back). Writing definitely isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme, but it’s very possible to make a liveable wage at it.
Swan
September 23, 2011 @ 10:06 am
I think a lot of people think that if they just had the time they could write good books, therefore the questions are about money and making a living. The problem with that viewpoint is, of course, that it’s not nearly as easy to write a (good) book as people think, and if you’re expecting your writing ability to suddenly jump in levels just because you quit your day job, you’re going to have a very rough time of it and a lot of writer’s block. But I think everyone secretly thinks they could write GREAT books if that was their job (me included) so the money question is the intriguing one.
Jim C. Hines
September 23, 2011 @ 10:12 am
I’d agree with you on that. Writing takes a lot of time and practice, just like any other skill. (Roughly ten years on average to sell that first book.) But from the outside, it looks like one of those things that, “Oh, I could do that if I just had the time…”