Monthly Archives: September 2004
Talking Contracts
Posted on September 15, 2004 3 Comments
In the comments thread to “Why a Shitty Deal is a Shitty Deal” someone asked about what new writers do when they negotiate with publishers; Michelle Sagara fielded the question at her LiveJournal. Here’s what she has to say. In general, in conforms pretty well (with certain personal variations) to my experience with negotiating the […]
The Most Amusing Back-Handed Compliment of the Month
Posted on September 14, 2004 13 Comments
From Demolition Woman: “Actually, I like John Scalzi. He’s young, terribly earnest, somewhat cute, and obviously kissing all the right ass. A writer to watch, if you’re into that kind of thing.” This is sort of compliment I can get behind; it’s not too nice. Anyway, this makes up for no one looking at my […]
The Most Amusing Back-Handed Compliment of the Month
Posted on September 14, 2004 10 Comments
From Demolition Woman: “Actually, I like John Scalzi. He’s young, terribly earnest, somewhat cute, and obviously kissing all the right ass. A writer to watch, if you’re into that kind of thing.” This is sort of compliment I can get behind; it’s not too nice. Anyway, this makes up for no one looking at my […]
Why A Shitty Deal is a Shitty Deal
Posted on September 14, 2004 27 Comments
A small press publisher named Jeremy Lassen, who is clearly not getting enough hugs, took exception to the Real World Book Deals definition of a $3,000 book advance as “shitty,” and responded with a comment which I’ll elevate here for you to admire as much for the spirited use of profanity as the content itself. […]
Why A Shitty Deal is a Shitty Deal
Posted on September 14, 2004 27 Comments
A small press publisher named Jeremy Lassen, who is clearly not getting enough hugs, took exception to the Real World Book Deals definition of a $3,000 book advance as “shitty,” and responded with a comment which I’ll elevate here for you to admire as much for the spirited use of profanity as the content itself. […]
Happy Birthday, Whatever
Posted on September 13, 2004 6 Comments
Did you know (and its immediate corollary, do you care) that today marks the sixth anniversary of the existence of the Whatever? Well, it does. No one is more surprised about its longevity than I. The Whatever has been very good to me; directly or indirectly it has been responsible for the existence of four […]
Happy Birthday, Whatever
Posted on September 13, 2004 6 Comments
Did you know (and its immediate corollary, do you care) that today marks the sixth anniversary of the existence of the Whatever? Well, it does. No one is more surprised about its longevity than I. The Whatever has been very good to me; directly or indirectly it has been responsible for the existence of four […]
Albert and Cthulhu, Sitting In a Tree
Posted on September 13, 2004 21 Comments
I have to say, I wasn’t entirely surprised when plush Albert Einstein and plush Cthulhu decided to become an item. After all, the two have tons in common: The love of water, the enjoyment of naps, a fascination with non-Euclidean geometry and a dislike of quantum physics (Al because it engenders spooky action at a […]
Albert and Cthulhu, Sitting In a Tree
Posted on September 13, 2004 23 Comments
I have to say, I wasn’t entirely surprised when plush Albert Einstein and plush Cthulhu decided to become an item. After all, the two have tons in common: The love of water, the enjoyment of naps, a fascination with non-Euclidean geometry and a dislike of quantum physics (Al because it engenders spooky action at a […]
Good News, Bad News
Posted on September 13, 2004 10 Comments
So, the good news is that I wrote 12,500 words this weekend in Rough Guide to Science Fiction Film. That’s 15% of the book’s contractual length. The bad news is that the chapter I wrote all those words for is supposed to be 6,000 words long. Whoops. Gotta reel myself in. On the other hand, […]
Testing, Testing.
Posted on September 12, 2004 2 Comments
This is me trying out my 3.11 install. Can you see this?
Note About Comments
Posted on September 11, 2004 23 Comments
Some jerkwad is depositing several hundred comment spam messages a day on the Whatever, and I can’t run MTBlacklist because my friggin’ hosting service hasn’t updated its version of Perl since 1997. So I did the next best thing, which is to close comments on every entry except this month’s entries. So if you wanted […]
Books & Stuff, 9/11
Posted on September 11, 2004 12 Comments
The ever-rocking Lucy Huntzinger has passed along this picture of me at my Noreascon reading, holding up Old Man’s War. Actually, it’s not really Old Man’s War; it’s the cover to OMW wrapped around another Tor book whose dimensions are near exactly what my book’s will be. But it’s more impressive to hold up a […]
Note of Possible Nonfunctionality
Posted on September 9, 2004 1 Comment
Remember that update to Movable Type 3.11 I was talking about the other day? Yeah, well, I screwed it up, so I’m having a more tech-enabled friend do it for me, and he may do it later today. If the Whatever suddenly goes down, you’ll know why. This is just a head’s up.
My Grandfather’s Eulogy
Posted on September 8, 2004 15 Comments
I thought I had already posted this somewhere on my site, but apparently I had not. And since I had thought I had lost it and only came upon it while searching through my computer for something else (my wife’s resume, still lost), I figure I’ll post it now, so that even if I lose […]
The Real World Book Deal Descriptions
Posted on September 8, 2004 123 Comments
Now, if you’ve read the previous entry about Noreascon, you may have come away thinking that most of what writers do at conventions is drinking and carousing and then possibly drinking some more. And you’d be right. However, I don’t want you to think that nothing of value was accomplished there — or indeed that […]
Noreascon Wrapup
Posted on September 7, 2004 15 Comments
So, except for the fact that I went through a large percentage of the Tor Books party with a massive zipper malfunction (helpfully pointed out to me by the Tor editor who pointed directly at my crotch and said something along the line of “You’re looking a little loose, there”), I have to say it […]
Upgrade Day
Posted on September 7, 2004 8 Comments
After going away and coming back and having to remove 500 pieces of comment spam — and still not being done — I’ve decided today is a fine day to upgrade Moveable Type. So that’s what I will be attempting today. If everything suddenly implodes, you’ll know why. Provided the upgrade is successful, I’ll soon […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying