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Another of Jim’s Self-Publishing Plans

Kind of a follow-up to yesterday’s post, I’ve been thinking about another way I might self-publish.

I’ve got an anthology invitation sitting in my Inbox.  These days, I rarely write short fiction without an invite.  Much as I enjoy short stories, I just don’t have the time.  But even with an invitation, there are no guarantees.

I’ve worked on some invite-only anthologies where the approach was, “If you’re invited, you’re in, no matter how much we have to work with you to get you there.”  I’ve seen others where a large number of invited authors were rejected.  (I remember the outrage from some big name authors who were rejected from Sword & Sorceress XXI.)

So with this invite, I know it’s not a sure thing, and that makes me nervous.  I’m planning to do a goblin story, and I know one of the two editors is a big goblin fan, but what if the other one hates my goblin humor?

And then something clicked.  Jig the goblin has a good-sized fanbase.  I could always set up some sort of crowdsourced funding model online.  Maybe micropayments of $1, or I could post the first half and see if people will pay enough to match the 5 cents/word rate for the anthology, or just post the whole thing with a PayPal tips button, or who knows.  My guess is, if I do it right, I could probably make as much or more than I would from the anthology sale.

Wait, what?  Is Jim C. Hines saying you can make more money self-publishing than by selling to a commercial publisher?

Maybe.  In this particular case.  And I obviously don’t know for certain.  But there are several factors to consider:

  1. I’ve built up a bit of an audience with my commercially published fiction.  There are people who trust me as a writer, and are therefore willing to pay for my work.
  2. The Goblin Quest books have sold tens of thousands of copies, and a lot of people would love to see another Jig story.
  3. I don’t have the biggest blog on the Internet, but I’ve built a pretty good following, so I have some means to get the word out.
  4. I’ve only outlined the story, but if all goes as planned, there will be zombies.  And few things pack more messed-up entertainment value than goblins vs. zombies.

I doubt this would work as well if I posted an original story, one not related to my books.  I know it wouldn’t work as well if I were an unknown author, or one without any sort of readership.  But in this situation, I suspect it could work.

It’s probably a moot point.  While I’ve been rejected from invite-only projects before, it’s the exception rather than the rule, which means the goblin/zombie tale will probably show up in a year or so when the anthology hits the shelves.  But if it does get rejected, I’m no longer worried.

It could even be fun.

What do you think?

Thursday Miscellany

I’ll be at the Durand Fantasy Expo this Saturday, for anyone in the area.

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I missed a friend promo yesterday, ’cause my brain sucks.  Yesterday was the release date for my friend Deborah Blake‘s new nonfiction book Witchcraft on a Shoestring [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon].

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Fixing one problem with a car should not require trips to four separate car repair places.  I’m just saying…

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Signal boost from cloudscudding from yesterday’s post:

I just launched “The Circus of Brass and Bone”, an apocalyptic steampunk serial story and podcast that follows a circus traveling through the collapse of civilization.  I’m doing this to raise money for my mother’s cancer treatment–she was diagnosed with Stage3c ovarian and endometrial cancer while working at a school in India, so she doesn’t have health insurance. Coming back to the United States for treatment means both my parents had to give up their jobs,too.  And because of their choice of careers–helping others–they don’t have much in the way of savings to fall back on.  All donations go to pay for my mother’s cancer treatment and related costs.

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Finally, I haven’t done a LEGO bit in a little while.  My Facebook friend Karen Gould sent me a link to her husband’s recreations of medieval castles in LEGO. What makes this especially cool is that he’s done Harlech Castle, which was my starting point when I designed Whiteshore Palace where Danielle et al. from the princess books live.

Whiteshore Palace is, well, white, and I modified the scale and design a bit, but this is probably the closest I’m going to get to a LEGO set for one of my worlds.  Click the pic for more.

Back from Vegas

Back from Las Vegas. Friend is successfully married. Yay!

After getting up at 4:00 a.m. on Monday to check out of the hotel, return the rental car, and catch our flight back to Michigan, I’m still a bit brain frazzled.  But here are some random thoughts from the weekend…

-No, I did not gamble.  Not out of any moral stance, but because I’m good at math.[1. I’m not mocking those who choose to gamble for the fun of it — I do understand the thrill.  But I don’t have the money to spare on this particular pastime.]

-My agent sent me a $700 Czech check right before I left.  My car immediately broke, requiring $700 worth of repairs.

-All of the lights in our hotel room used fluorescent bulbs.  I applaud conservation efforts, but find them rather ironic in Vegas.

-Effective immediately, the Mission: Impossible theme should be played on piano as part of the opening music at all weddings.

-I have once again forgotten how to tie a tie.

-I get way too stressed about travel arrangements, schedules, and details.

-Michigan sometimes gets so cold your snot freezes inside your nose. Vegas and its 110+ temps, on the other hand, dry your snot to the consistency of gravel.  (Because I know you all wanted the Vegas snot update!)

-Delta airlines did a surprisingly good job in terms of handicap accessibility, including providing wheelchairs, getting us where we needed to go, taking my wife’s walker onto the plane, and when possible, moving us to a seat closer to the front.

-Dear TSA: I have no explosives in my sandals.  Thanks for checking, though!

-If someone writes a Jim C. Hines is Awesome blog post, my friends will give me a hard time about it when they see me.

-Jellyfish are nifty.  This is a video I shot at the Mandalay Bay Shark Exhibit.  (The tanks were too dark for photos, but video worked pretty well.)

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Judging the Past Through the Lens of the Present

Today’s rant comes courtesy of debates about Robert Heinlein.  Tor.com has an ongoing discussion about Heinlein and his work, one which has spilled into Twitter and a number of blogs.  Stirring up the anger and ire: claims that Heinlein and/or his work is sexist (possibly racist as well?)

Responses to these claims range from the thoughtful to the religiously righteous.  Fair enough, as the initial accusations probably span that same range.  But I want to focus on two kinds of responses.

1. “[I]t is fallacious to judge deceased writers by the political fads and fashions of the modern era.”  I.e., it’s unfair to judge Heinlein, because his work is “a product of the time.”

Taking that train of thought further, is it unfair to judge the American colonists for the attempted genocide of the Native Americans, because that was just a product of the time?  Is it unfair to condemn slavery, because times were different back then?

Historical context is important.  It’s also good to recognize the lens through which we’re analyzing a text, whether that lens is political, theoretical, or whatever.  And I’m well aware that many countries view the United States’ attitudes toward racism and sexism as a bit wacky.  But to claim that just because your perspective is, like Heinlein’s, grounded in a particular time and culture, it’s therefore invalid and/or fallacious is … well, a little silly.

I can read Tarzan and recognize that views on race were different in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ time.  I can also argue that, given Tarzan’s casual murder of blacks in the jungle, and a text that treats these incidents in precisely the same way as the hunting of animals, there’s racism here.

Is the historical context different than if the book were written today?  Sure.  And I recognize that my own moral framework is far from perfect.  Does that mean I’m not allowed to feel disgust at Tarzan’s joy in killing “savages,” or to talk about the racism in that portrayal?  Give me a break.

2. Then there’s “How dare you call Heinlein sexist?”

There is a valid point here.  As an author, it makes me uncomfortable when people blur the work with the writer.  I’d hate to think of someone reading the goblin books and deciding Jim C. Hines is a closet cannibal, for example.  The work =/= the writer, and I think we need to be aware of that distinction.

Going back to Tarzan, it’s clear that Tarzan never considers blacks as human.  For much of the book, he doesn’t even view himself as human, for that matter.  This is the character’s attitude … but the text never questions this attitude.  Even after Tarzan learns of his own humanity, he never makes the connection that those dark-skinned beasts were people.  The text supports Tarzan’s view, and you can argue that this is due to racism on Burroughs’ part.

But there are those who’ll say “racist” or “sexist” are the nuclear option, nothing but insults intended to destroy the recipient.  If you dare utter those words, you aren’t interested in conversation or discussion; you’re just name-calling, trying to slander poor Burroughs.

…which makes it kind of difficult to talk about issues of race and gender and discrimination and so on.  But then, sometimes I think that’s the point: to shut down discussion.

If you want to examine the distinction between author and work, and to argue for one or the other, then great.  I love debating literature and exploring different interpretations.  On the other hand, if you’re just going to say “Hey, you called Heinlein the S-word!  You can’t do that!!!”, then to me, you’re simply announcing your unwillingness to discuss or listen.

Lego Puppet

On Thursday, my wife and I will be flying out to Nevada for a good friend’s wedding, so blogging may be a bit sparse for the next week.  The trip should be fun.  Things like packing and figuring out how to get from point A to point 12 and what airport security is going to say about my wife’s walker, not so much.

It’s been over a decade since I lived in Nevada.  I’m looking forward to seeing some friends again.  Any tips for surviving airport madness?

In the meantime, LEGO Puppet. 

Because, come on — LEGO puppet!  This is Gazebo, and he was built by Doctor Mobius.  You can click on the link or thumbnail for more pics, but I’d recommend checking out the video first for the full effect.  I was much amused.

La Gloire du Gobelin

1. Remember when I did those 20 Neil Gaiman facts?  Author Ann Aguirre is running a contest that involves Jim C. Hines facts, and she’s giving away all of my books as prizes.  I just … wow.  Go.  Go now.

2. In further awesome and ego-boosting links, Catherine Schaff-Stump has written up her thoughts on Red Hood’s Revenge.  But this is no ordinary review; this is the English professor treatment, and it is most nifty.

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So anyway, when I posted a picture of my ego shelf a while back, I mentioned that I was missing a single book: La Gloire du Gobelin, the French edition of Goblin Hero.

I finally said the heck with it, went to Amazon.ca, and plopped down $30 to get a copy of the book.  It arrived yesterday.

One of the things I loved about the first book was that they included additional artwork on the back cover.  They did the same for book two.  Here, for your enlightenment, is the back cover art for La Gloire du Gobelin:

Okay, I don’t recall Veka being bald, but it’s been long enough since I wrote that book, maybe I’m misremembering.  And I love that Braf’s back there with his finger up his nose.  Grell and her cane are pretty cool too.

Then there’s Slash the hobgoblin.  Here, take a closer look:

I stared at this for a long time, trying to understand.  Was it a hobgoblin night light?  A PSA about the tragic effects of snorting LEDs?  A rogue pixie who got lost and flew up Slash’s nose by mistake?  Some sort of Christmas–

And then I remembered.  There was a scene where Veka cast a spell on Slash’s nose, wasn’t there?  (It’s been five years since I printed out that manuscript and sent it in.  I’m allowed to forget a few details.)

I’m not going to pick on my former publisher.  I have no doubt the artist did a great job with the directions he or she was given.  But I can’t help noticing that for some reason this book, with nose-glow Slash on the back and Jig in blue jeans and church lady glasses on the on the front, apparently did not sell well enough for my French publisher to pick up the third goblin book.

Ah well.  Overall, I’ve had incredibly good luck with my cover art.  And at least this one gives us Braf with nose-picking action!

What do you think?

Previously, on Princess Trek…

So I’m working on book four of a series, and I’m struggling with is how to provide all of the background information.  I’ve now got 300,000 words worth of “what came before.”  Not all of that information is relevant to the current book, but some of it is.  So how do you work that in?

There’s the “Our story so far…” approach, where the author presents a prologue that sums up the previous books.  I can see where that might be useful in an ongoing story, like book four of Lord of the Rings or part two of a Star Trek episode.

But personally, I’m not too fond of the Prologue of Summarized Backstory, and my books are a bit more episodic, meaning I don’t think there’s a need to sum up everything that’s come before.

With the goblin books, I went for the silly.  Book two had a song to the tune of Sweet Home Alabama, which summed up the events of Goblin Quest.  Book three opened with “The Recitation of the Deeds of Jig Dragonslayer,” a quasi-religious goblin-style list of events.

That doesn’t really work for the princess series, which doesn’t have the same kind of goofy humor.  So I’ve been taking the approach that I’ll just write the story and include background info when and if it becomes important, just as I would with any other information.  Even with a brand new story, there’s always “what came before,” and the author has to work that in.

But how much do I have to tell?  Do I assume most everyone has read the first books, and I don’t have to explain — again — where Danielle’s sword came from, or what happened to Charlotte, or who Captain Hephyra is?  Or do I assume there will be new readers which each book, meaning it’s important to add a paragraph or two to explain various details to the new readers … even though people who’ve read the rest of the series might roll their eyes and say, “I know this already.  Get to the good part!”

The latter is a complaint I’ve seen in a few reviews lately.  Not a major criticism, but a minor annoyance, especially for people who picked up all three books and read them at once.

I don’t know.  It’s important to me that the books stand alone as much as possible, so that anyone can pick up any of my books and start reading.  For that reason, I’m thinking it’s important to include some explanation for things from prior books that come up in this one.

Maybe the trick is to find a new way to present the same old information, so that even people who know the background will be entertained, or at least not bored.  Or maybe I shouldn’t worry about explaining, trusting that those gaps won’t throw new readers out of the story.  That they’ll either figure it out from context, or if they’re worried, that they’ll go back and get the earlier books.

What do you think?  Examples, both good and bad, are more than welcome.

Thursday Stuff

I surrender!  Yesterday I wrote, “Does anyone even use Courier anymore, or is it hanging out with other forgotten fonts, drinking and talking about the good old days?”

Judging from your responses, I greatly underestimated the Courier love.  It sounds like a good number of people and places still use it.  Please consider me properly font-shamed.

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I don’t link to every interview I do, but I wanted to point out this one over on the Booklifenow site.  This is my favorite interview of 2010, purely for the throwaway line about Talia kicking Fred Phelps in the nuts.

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As most people know, California’s ban on gay marriage was overturned.  To celebrate, I’m tempted to write an alt-universe story where Snow and Talia get married, share a passionate smooch, and then join Smudge the gay fire-spider in kicking Fred Phelps in the nuts.

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Finally, and most importantly: who would win in a no-holds-barred death match between Optimus Prime, Wolverine, and Papa Smurf?

Changes in Publishing

One of the frustrating things about being a new writer is that you get different advice depending on who you ask.  I remember my confusion that the wisdom of Big Name Pros, the people who had been doing this for decades, was sometimes completely off-base.  But it makes sense — publishing is a changing field, and some of the rules of 20 years ago are different from the rules today.

Imagine my shock when it occurred to me that I started writing 15 years ago … that my own experiences were different than those of new writers today.  (Not to mention the fact that many of my fans hadn’t even been born when I started writing.  Eep!)

I sat down to take a look at some of the things that have changed since I penned my first story in 1995.

1. Electronic submissions.  All of my early stories were printed and mailed.  I went through boxes and boxes of manila envelopes.  Submitting by that new-fangled electronic mail?  Unheard of.  International submissions were sent with an IRC (International Reply Coupon).

2. Electronic markets.  There were few online ‘zines and publishers, and those that did exist were small and often amateurish.  (Strange Horizons showed up in 2000, and was the first professional-looking online ‘zine I knew of.  Happy 10th Anniversary, SH!)

3. Web sites. A web presence wasn’t required, though some of us were experimenting with pages and online journals. I put up my own page on that fancy new Geocities site.

4. Submission guidelines advised you to always use a fresh ink ribbon in your printer.

5. Market Research. You still had to do your research, but my first round of agent hunting involved several hours in the MSU library, reviewing the current Literary Agent Guide.  (I can’t recall the actual title of that tome.)  I also subscribed to Speculations, a print publication, to keep up with the short fiction markets.

6. E-books.  Wait, e-what now?

7. Standard Manuscript Format was 12-point Courier.  Two spaces after periods.  Underline to show italics.  Does anyone even use Courier anymore, or is it hanging out with other forgotten fonts, drinking and talking about the good old days?

8. I could walk into a bookstore and introduce myself as an author, and the staff wouldn’t instinctively flinch or hide.  (Also see: Vanity presses, explosion of.)

9. SFWA pro rate for short fiction was 3 cents/word.

10. My hair came down to the middle of my back.  (I maintain that the hair loss is writing-related, caused by stress!)

11. There were agents charging a 10% commission.  I’m not sure exactly when the switch to 15% happened, but pretty much every agent is working for 15% these days.

12. People were bemoaning the Imminent Death of Publishing, as opposed to the present day, when … um … never mind.

Strange to realize that even though my first book with DAW came out a mere four years ago, much of my experience as a new writer trying to break in is already a bit outdated.  And if that’s true, imagine what it’s like for someone who broke in even further back.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t listen to professional authors who talk about this stuff.  However, it’s good to be aware that publishing is constantly changing, and some advice from ten years ago might not hold today.  It’s also good to pay attention to whether the author giving the advice is aware of and in touch with those changes.

So what’s changed since you started writing?  Contributions to the list are welcome (as are regular old comments and discussion).

Brown Belt

Last night was my promotion to first brown belt in Sanchin-Ryu.  This is the last of the kyu ranks, meaning next up is black belt.  (At which point I shall finally learn the much-feared “Boot to the Head” technique.)

Naturally, this was the night my uniform was still in the laundry, so I did my promotion while wearing a Superman T-shirt.  I kind of like that, actually.

Sanchin-Ryu is different from other styles I’ve done in that there’s no formal test.  Or, as Master Cataline puts it, your test is going on every time you come to class.  When he decides you’re ready, you get the paper form for the next rank.  I received that last week, sent it in, and then last night was promotion time.

By “promotion” I mean Jim gets out in front of the class and performs various forms while several of the black belts demonstrate another advanced technique known as “messing with me.”  I did the wrong CBA[1. Combination Basic Advanced.] at one point … but better to do something than to stand there doing nothing while you try to figure it out.  Then came the fun part, where I got to square off against three higher ranking black belts at once.

How did that go?  Well, I’m still alive.  They say when you kumite[2. Controlled practice fight, essentially.], you regress three ranks.  I can testify to this.  But all things considered, I’m satisfied with how I did.  Though this is the second promotion in a row where I’ve used a quick groin kick against one particular master … I suspect if I try that move on him a third time, he’s going to take my foot off 🙂

The next time I’m in class, I want to ask whether they have any suggestions for handling adrenaline.  During the three-on-one, I ended up striking one master in the face with more force than I intended.  That started the adrenaline pumping, like speed injected directly into the veins.  This … is not helpful.

(If you’re curious about the punch, I spoke to the master afterwards to apologize for my lack of control.  He said it was his responsibility too.  He had been told to attack one particular part of my body, and was focusing on that, so ended up stepping into my punch.)

Overall, I feel pretty good about it.  I’ve still got an awful lot to learn … in fact, now that I’ve reached this rank, I feel like I’m finally starting to realize just how much I have to learn.  (Once again, Sanchin-Ryu reminds me a lot of writing…)

But I enjoy learning, and while it’s not all bunnies and rainbows, I’m having fun and feeling good about my study.  And the best part of my style?  According to Sensei Jonathon, all promotions must be celebrated with ice cream.

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