If You Can't Say Anything Nice...

I'm very pleased to announce that Patrick Swenson of Fairwood Press will be publishing my next short story collection, to be titled Over the Darkened Landscape. This will be my fourth book and my second collection (after the late, lamented Wasps at the Speed of Sound). Official publication date is set for November of this year, but the book will be out in late October, I am told, in time for World Fantasy in Toronto.

The reprints in this book will again, like the previous book, span a wide range of my career. My second-ever sale (and Aurora nominee) "Body Solar" will be in this book, as will my last piece of short fiction, "Ancients of the Earth" from Tesseracts 12. I won't give the rest of the titles yet; once the order is settled, though, I'll toss it up here for all to see.

Also unlike Wasps, there will not be any sort of theme. Wasps was a book of eco-SF (sometimes if you looked at the stories from just the right angle). Over the Darkened Landscape will be a mix of fantasy and science fiction, and will also include my four published "Magic Canada" stories, stories that take events in Canada's history and then give them a little bit of a fantastical spin.

There will be more updates as time goes on. We have already lined up a great author to write the introduction, but until that's in I'll hold off on saying anything. And Patrick and I have already been knocking around some cover ideas (remember, I used to be the Art Director for On Spec), and I think we'll have something very soon.

I'm excited about this. Patrick does excellent books, and has published many friends of mine. As with ChiZine, I'm going to be keeping good company and will be handled by a publisher who cares about his writers.

Labels: books, collection, Fairwood Press, publishing, stories, writing

I missed this one when it came out. Among other things he says the book is "kind of like Highlander except with numbers instead of swords" and "(m)inds may have been blown." Nice to still see good words popping up.

Labels: ChiZine Publications, Napier's Bones, publishing, reviews, writing

A short, one paragraph review of Napier's Bones was published on the web early in November, but I only just found it tonight. She misspells my name, but that's fine. You can read it all here, but I wanted to give you the marvelous money quotes: "This book is like putting a nerd in a blender. It hits so many nerd spots. You read it and go, 'Oh, that kind of nerd.'" And also: "... I'm really happy that this book was published, because it's not doing a lot of the things we seem to be assuming books all have to do, but it is getting its nerd on with great gusto and comprehensiveness."

Labels: blogging, ChiZine Publications, Napier's Bones, publishing, reviews, writing

I spent a few years as a board member with SFWA, I've posted plenty of times about writing and publishing scams, and yet I don't make the boycott list. Oh, I see: it's because I didn't mention these guys in particular.

Well, have at it then. The Write Agenda are a bunch of tools who are pulling all sorts of silly stunts and who are quite obviously identifiable as affiliated with scammers. Or, at the very least, have some very strange complex about the good work that Ann and Victoria and Jim are doing. If you write, especially if you're newer, and don't know about it yet, Writer Beware should be one of your best friends.

Labels: publishing, scams, writing

I'll be in Calgary for the first When Words Collide, which is being touted as something of a readercon. My schedule that weekend is fairly light, but if you happen to be there, do drop by one or more of these and say hi:

Friday 9pm Foothills 1 and 2 - Blurring the Boundaries

Saturday 2pm Room 527 - Reading (probably a bit from Napier's Bones and a bit from the WiP)

Saturday 7pm Foothills 1 - Turning History Into Fiction

And that's it. Which is fine, actually, since I see that quite a few friends I have not seen for a long time will be there.

Labels: conventions, Napier's Bones, writing

In case I haven't noted it before, Napier's Bones has not been getting a whole lot of love from any local sources. CZP sent copies to the Star-Phoenix here in Saskatoon and also the the Journal in Edmonton (Edmonton will qualify as a local source because I grew up there, because I used to write for that paper, because I have family there and regularly visit, and because part of the novel takes place there), but no reviews were done, no articles written, no mention made of my launch at McNally Robinson here in Saskatoon. In addition, no launch took place in Edmonton (in spite of some hopeful signs, but in the end all that arrived was frustrating silence), and it took some effort to therefore convince the libraries to order in copies of the book. And don't get me started on how Saskatoon Public Library has now shelved the novel as YA. In the end, aside from the launch at McNally and a later signing at the recently-refurbished Coles in downtown Saskatoon, the only local push I got was an interview in Planet S, the local free arts paper. Even Indigo, which had a co-op deal with my publisher, made a hash of things, and the manager-who-no-longer-works-there neglected to order the books until it was too late to get at the front (or even middle) of things.

Anyhow, now that I'm done bitching about all of that, I wanted to take the rest of this space to write about a new publication here in town called Bridges, published by the Star-Phoenix as a free weekly, which means even if you don't subscribe to the paper, this will still show up in your mailbox. In a never-ending pattern of plenty of newspaper chains (and Postmedia, the Star-Phoenix's corporate masters), there is a new path towards getting the word out yourself, instead of paying for a real author, real photographer, and real editor to do any kind of real work. The first sign of that is a new feature for local authors to write in and tell about their book, and to of course supply their own photo. Of course, the Journal has also done their own bit to give up more power to the readers, but that is neither here nor there right now.

Will I write a piece for this? I suppose I probably will, seeing how important it is to get the word out about my novel, and doubly so now that the initial window of interest has come and gone. Remember, it's all about What Have You Done For Me Today.

To take this digression a little further, while still staying with the publication at hand, last week's Bridges (only just now online) has a cover article about self-publishing, and I find myself wanting to answer a few things in it. In the interest of ease, I am going to attempt to address these in the order in which they arrive in the article.

1. In the article, Wes Funk says, "Every letter I got was quite praising of the book... But they told me they couldn't afford to take on an unknown (author)."

Now, I may be wrong here, but without evidence, I'm going to suggest that this may be a bit of hyperbole. Every letter? Listen: Editors and publishers want - desire, even - to discover someone new and fresh. It's a big deal to do so. Sometimes, those discoveries come off the slush pile, that stack of unsolicited manuscripts sitting in every publishing office around the world. Hell, the fact that anything worth publishing comes off the slush pile is a reason to celebrate, and no editor is going to turn down that opportunity.

At the risk of hurting feelings, I am going to instead suggest that Wes Funk received rejection letters (not all, of course) that were written in a way to very gently let him down. For whatever reason (and sometimes it has nothing to do with quality of the writing and the story), his book didn't speak to those editors, or perhaps it caught them on the wrong day, or after they'd already read portions of six other books that had similar themes and/or characters, and they decided to pass.

By the way, did you catch that word in the last sentence? Let me repeat it for you: Portions. The bad news here is, if you don't catch the editor or agent in the first sentence, you may have lost him or her already. And then, if the first sentence works but the first paragraph doesn't, again the editor may bail. And if that first paragraph works, but the first page doesn't, or the first chapter, or... Well, you get the idea. I haven't read Dead Rock Stars, so I don't know if it's missing anything in this area, but I will make an effort to track it down and make up my own mind. Because, as I've also noted, it may be that Funk just caught the wrong eyeballs on the wrong day.

2. The article goes on to say, "Any given year, a traditional publishing house, like Random House or Penguin, could receive as many as 3000 manuscript submissions a year. Of those, it's likely only 15 will make it onto bookstore shelves."

I won't speak to how many mss are received each year by the various publishers. I know it is indeed a large number. But a quick Google search tells me that Random House in the US is featuring 35 new titles for Fall orders, and going to "Upcoming Releases" for Penguin Canada kicks out 500 titles (I'll grant that "new" could mean a variety of things here, but bear with me). Are all those titles going to make it to the shelves of McNally-Robinson? Probably not. Are all of them going to appear of a variety of shelves in different stores? Here, I would suggest that yes they will.

3. The article talks about how Funk did everything himself, publishing and media releases and finding stores to carry it and cover design.

Yes, this is pretty much the definition of self-publishing, where you do everything yourself. Now, here is the point where I tell you all that it is not my job to be critical of the author. You may find info and a picture of the cover for Dead Rock Stars here, but without holding that book in my hands I can't tell you whether or not that cover really works for me. Besides, coming as I do from the garish world of scifi and fantasy, who am I to talk? But I will point out that hiring a professional for this sort of task is usually a very good idea.

4. Funk states, "Even a lot of renowned writers and authors are now turning to self publishing."

I will grant that, in spite of the redundancy of the above statement, and will cover a couple of examples at the end.

5. The article says that McNally Robinson in Saskatoon estimate they have over 300 self-published titles on their store shelves right now.

As opposed to? Does anyone care to take a guess at how many "traditionally" published books are on those same shelves? I haven't asked, but I'll take a wild stab and say that if could be anywhere from 7500 to 20,000 individual titles. Perhaps more, since so many are mass market paperbacks or slim picture books, and there is a 2nd floor as well.

A more sensible statement would be that there are over 300 titles and X percentage of them are selling regularly, even if not briskly.

6. The article also quotes Jeff Smith, who runs a company here in town called Indie Ink. He says, "Frankly a traditional publisher who hasn't figured out that the world is changing is on borrowed time."

As is any business person. The good news here is that most publishers I am acquainted with has indeed figured out that the world is changing. Their reactions are often different as they cast about for what will be the right answer for them and for their creators, but they are making an effort to change.

But let me quote from Indie Ink's website. The home page starts with the words "Create, collaborate, celebrate" and then asks what they mean. It also says "the old model is dying; its carcass huddling inward upon itself, licking its mortal wounds and surrounding itself with the trusted and familiar." That carcass is of course traditional publishing.

Delving deeper into the site, we find this as the only discussion of costs: "So who pays for all this? Maybe we do, maybe you do, or maybe we share the costs. It depends on the project and the players. Every deal is different, but one thing is certain, when everyone has a stake in the game, everyone stays focused and realistic. No fat and no Armani."

Oh-oh.

Just so we're clear, what this says to me is that different people are going to get different deals, kind-of-but-not-really like how Stephen King and I got different advances for our last novels. All of a sudden it sounds to me like a traditional publishing model, except for the part where you have to fork over some of your own dough. Only, if you have Most Favored Nation status, you don't have to pay as much. I think. I'd know for sure, but they're being awfully secretive about it.

Also, Armani? Wow, do we ever live in different worlds. Almost every editor I know, and I know a lot, dresses every bit as well as almost every writer I know (LE Modesitt, Jr is an outlier here). In other words, just like regular people. The same goes for publishers, although I know fewer of them.

There would be more I could say, but you get the point, I hope.

I don't question the wisdom behind self-publishing anymore. If done right and with care, it can be a good thing. I'm seeing that a fair number of my friends are getting into it for ebooks, as a way to bring older works back into "print." Jim Kelly is doing a zine of his short fiction, and Doug Smith is also selling his older short work online. Even more interesting to me is Minister Faust going out on his own for his new book, and I will follow with interest what comes of it. I know that he has opted to print some actual books after initially only going with an ebook. And of course Cory Doctorow has documented (start here) the process for With a Little Help, but I have always contended that Cory is a special case. More power to him, but what he does will not work for all of us.

In case I'm not preaching to the choir, anyone who is thinking about self-publishing needs to make sure that they check out Preditors and Editors for all the info on who and what to steer clear of. If you are paying money to anyone, it needs to be for the printing service, not for all sorts of starry-eyed ideas about how to market your book. Plain and simple, that's what you want. Avoid the Publish America (no link, but lots of stuff on the web about how nasty they are) model at all costs.

And that sort of warning is, I suppose, why I felt the need to write this post. Because the Bridges article had nothing to say about the dangers, and they are many and very real. In the meantime, I have vented, and now I can rest easy, at least until the next time I read something that sparks something.

Labels: books, Napier's Bones, publishing, writing

My numbers at Amazon are not as high as I'd like them these days (although I've had a couple of author friends assure me that's only a small part of the puzzle), but if you go by the slogan of "Think Global, Act Local," then Napier's Bones is doing very well indeed. The local paper has a small Books section in its Saturday paper, and included there is a list of the Top 10 selling books from the past week for McNally Robinson Booksellers here in Saskatoon.

And there, sitting in 4th place, is Napier's Bones. This pleases me greatly, especially since the local press has been no help whatsoever.

Labels: ChiZine Publications, Napier's Bones, publishing, sales, Saskatoon, writing

I had only put up a small piece of it before, but the review for Napier's Bones is now up at CBC's Books site. Go have a look!

Labels: ChiZine Publications, Napier's Bones, publishing, reviews, writing

Today was a bit slower. I did get to one B&N to sign more copies of Napier's Bones, as well as the Strand (where they were for some reason filed under Fiction. I personally didn't mind this, but sober second thought led me to believe that people looking for them would more likely go straight to SF/F). I also hit the Museum of Natural History, which was every bit as marvelous (and crazy busy) as last time. The weather was cool enough I could see my breath, but instead of going inside somewhere to eat I bought a hot dog from a street vendor. For supper I got a sandwich at a deli down the street from where I'm staying in Astoria, and it was quite good.

Tonight, after some hemming and hawing about what time it would be (initial suggestions had me there from 2-3am!), I will be at WBAI recording Hour of the Wolf with Jim Freund from 9-10pm, then rushing back to force myself to sleep before heading out to the airport at about 4:30am. Because it isn't live I obviously won't be taking phone calls, but we'll chat about the book, about writing, I'll read something, and probably listen bemusedly as Jim surprises me with a variety of questions. Should be fun.

Labels: ChiZine Publications, interviews, Napier's Bones, publishing, writing

There was lots of rain today, and as I walked downtown from uptown I smartened up and stopped at a camera store that was wisely also selling umbrellas (one of the short ones for only $4, which is fine as long as it makes it through tomorrow).

I dropped by the one Borders I could find that was still open, but, surprise surprise, they didn't have my book. The four Barnes & Noble stores I hit did, though, and all were keen to have me sign their copies. In fact, Karen at the Union Square store told me that they'd already sold out and had to bring them back in (not that this was huge quantities, mind), and it turns out she'd also a huge ChiZine fan, and has set up a special end cap devoted to their books. This was a delightful turn of events. One of the other B&Ns had me on their New SF shelf, and the other also had me on an end cap, while the 4th had my book mixed in with all the other SF; I'm hopeful that now that it has an "Autographed Copy" sticker on the cover, it'll go face out.

To tell you the truth, I was surprised at how non-blase everyone seemed when I came in, how genuinely interested they were. One woman was even halfway to excited. These are stores that are advertising events and signings by Gwyneth Paltrow and Rob Lowe, for crying out loud, and even some real authors in the mix.

After all that I had lunch at Punch with Amy, my agent, which was a nice time. Great to finally meet her in person, and while we chatted lots about life in general, there was business talk and a couple of potential ideas. And then after that I rushed back uptown and met for a short visit and a cup of tea with Jane Yolen, who was herself in town meeting with agents and editors. I hadn't seen her since Jo and I were in Scotland in 2003, and it was lovely to talk, about both life and business.

Finally, I spent the last hour and a half it was open wandering the first floor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I had a free pass and may go back tomorrow; I do love that place.

Tonight, I am waiting for my host Mark to come back to Astoria from work, and we were going to find a place to eat nearby since his wife Sue is working late, but I have just received an invite to attend dinner in SoHo for Carol Emshwiller's 90th birthday. I just may head out there.

Labels: agents, ChiZine Publications, publishing, travel, writing

Not a review, so much as a reader reaction, something I think is incredibly important and valid. This blog post is from a reader who bought Napier's Bones after reading about it in my Big Idea piece (which was quite gratifying). He says nice things and finishes with, "Overall, it was a fun, fast paced read."

Labels: Napier's Bones, publishing, readers, reviews, writing

Missy's Reads & Reviews has some nice things to say about the book, including: "...this was a great read, fast-paced with an explosive beginning and equally entertaining reading. There's the definite feel of an Urban Fantasy read to it, but other than that it is like nothing that I've ever read before. It's a book to add to your TBR lists, for sure."

On the weekend I had lunch with Guy Gavriel Kay, and he and I were talking about review sites compared to more traditional venues in print, and he expressed his belief that these are the way things are going, with fewer and fewer column inches being devoted to print reviews. That's been my experience, too, with pretty much nothing coming from the local press or from Edmonton (where I used to live, where some of Napier's Bones takes place, and where I once wrote an award-nominated SF review column), and also seeing the larger publications, such as the Globe & Mail, severely cut back what they once had.

It intrigues me to come upon all of these online review sites, and I look forward to finding more. They represent readers who want to still want to discover new works, who care about the written word, and I'm pleased that they have jumped in to fill the void.

Labels: Napier's Bones, publishing, reviews, writing

Not online, of course, but I've managed to get my hands on a new (and mostly positive) review of Napier's Bones which ran in the new issue of Quill & Quire. Here are a couple choice quotes:

"...the book's true pleasure lies in how committed it is to its premise, continually unfolding new permutations..."

"...Napier's Bones is a consistently compelling and inventive read. Think of it as literary prog-rock, stretching the bounds of what is possible..."

He also thinks I do too much exposition, just like many a hard SF author, which is interesting, considering another review equated the book to both urban fantasy and hard SF.

Labels: Napier's Bones, publishing, reviews, writing

I've written a piece about the process of editing for the blog Writer in Residence, and it can be found right here. Head on over, read it, maybe make a comment to show her that someone's paying attention and that it was worthwhile to bring me on.

Labels: blogging, Napier's Bones, publishing, writing

As a precursor to an actual review going up at the Fantasy Book Critic, a smaller review from that person has shown up on GoodReads, and is a 5 Star notice for Napier's Bones. He calls it "a very entertaining mix of [science fiction] and [Urban Fantasy]" and a "positive surprise for 2011." Nice to see this, and to see the list of people piling up on GoodReads who want to read the book when it comes out.

Labels: Napier's Bones, publishing, reviews, writing

This is the poster that Eileen has won (give or take any last-minute tweaks that Martin performs). It is also the colour frontispiece art for the limited hardcover edition.

Labels: art, Napier's Bones, publishing, writing

The numbers have been tallied, and after some adding and subtracting of those same numbers, I've arrived at the list of winners for the Napier's Bones contest. The nice surprise for me was how many people came very close to picking the right number. While some I could dismiss right away, I actually had to go back and make sure about who was closer in several cases, at least twice for each prize.

I'll send an email to each of the winners, but the announcement goes up here first. And so, after inserting the obligatory drum roll:

3rd Prize - The winner of the poster, signed by Martin Springett and me, is Eileen Bell. My number was 1646, and Eileen picked 1630.

2nd Prize - The winner of the trade paperback, signed by me, is Winnifred Smit. My number was 1986, and Winnifred picked 1973.

1st Prize - And the big winner of the signed and numbered hardcover is Charity Fraser. My number was 697, and Charity picked 765.

Congratulations to all of the winners. You'll hear from me probably before you see this post, and soon you'll see your prizes. And thanks again to everyone who entered.

Labels: contest, Napier's Bones, publishing, writing

Just got word that Atlanta Nights by author Travis Tea (say it out loud) has been optioned for a film, kind of a documentary coupled with some dramatizations. The money will go to SFWA's Emergency Medical Fund. Wanting to know about the famed Atlanta Nights? Read about it here.

And you can hear a "dramatic" reading of my chapter here.

I'll note that my chapter is a little more tame than many of the others. I was writing it so it would be bad but not insanely so, and out of sync with what was happening elsewhere in the book. Some other authors went a little more nuts, and more power to them, says I.

Labels: Atlanta Nights, movies, publishing, scams, writing

If you go here and then click on the Proceed to checkout button, it should work now. I hope.

Labels: ChiZine Publications, Napier's Bones, publishing, writing

While I have yet to see it on CZP's website, publisher Brett Alexander Savory has announced on Facebook the Spring 2011 lineup for their books, and I'm surprised and pleased to note that I've been pushed from an initial suggested date of May to March 15. Says Brett, in talking about some of the newer authors they'll be publishing (to go along with a whole slate of returning authors):

But this doesn’t mean that CZP is shy on new authors, according to Savory. “Next spring’s line-up is quite diverse, both in terms of the authors and the books themselves. Whether it’s the mathematical-alchemy-driven Napier’s Bones (by Derryl Murphy), the ultra-hardboiled crime fiction Every Shallow Cut (by multiple-award-winning author Tom Piccirilli), or the dark fantasy The Isles of the Forsaken (by Carolyn Ives Gilman), we are still pushing the envelope when it comes to diversifying our list and the authors as well.”

He also notes:

As with all CZP titles, hardcovers, trade paperbacks, and eBooks will be released at the same time. Pre-ordering for the March hardcovers will begin in October.

Hear that? Napier's Bones will be available for pre-order next month! The countdown has started.

Labels: ChiZine Publications, CZP, Napier's Bones, publishing, writing