Look What I Got in the Mail Today
Posted on November 8, 2010 Posted by John Scalzi 46 Comments
It’s my Fuzzy Nation ARCs! And I may — may — have one to offer up to one of you folks. I just have to think of a suitably sadistic fun contest for it. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, let me just say: Soooooo pretty.
Also, the “Marketing Plans” on the back cover tell me that, indeed, Tor is planning a tour for the book, as well as various other promotional thingies which will require me showing up to do my professional book flogging thing. I do not yet know the extent of these plans, so if you ask me in the comments “where are you going to go on the tour?” I’ll just say “I don’t know — ask me in a few months.” Actually I’ll say, “Did you not read the actual entry?” and then cry small, gulping sobs. And no, that’s not a reason to ask me about it, you bad person.
And now I’m off to pet my new ARC. Pet, pet, pet.
Update: For those of you actual legitimate reviewers and booksellers wondering how to get your mitts on one, my publicist at Tor has just tweeted about it here. Note her caveats, however. I don’t want to see any of you whining.
Yay!! Want!!
That is all…
Good Grief, John. How fast do you read? You get tons of these ARCs and free books and books you buy and…and…how do you find the time to read them all?
I can’t wait! Will there be a grand map of some kind foretelling of book signing or do I have to go to TOR’s website? Ugh. Yeah…I know….ask again in a couple of months.
I feel like Inigo Montoya “I hate waiting”.
soooooooooooooooooooooo
can we action this off for charity so that I can get it before may ??
:D
no really, seriously
can I start the bidding at 500$?
I don’t mind a book that’s been petted, but I better not find any tongue prints.
Please pass that along to Daisy too.
You know, if they really wanted to be clever with their ARCs, they whould have glued on some fake fur to the cover.
Oh, I hope your tour has you returning to Mpls. My weird guilt complex kept me from asking for your signature on more than OMW and TAD, and it was a pleasure to meet you the first time around.
Come to Omaha!!! I promise to keep the badgers away!
Like.
Want.
Etc (or is it ect?).
Also, since the tour schedule is probably still undefined, I propose that you lobby for a USO tour. Screw all the big booksellers and places where you could sell stuff to fans who have heard of you, and come out to the Middle East and give stuff for free to people who have never heard of you! … oh. I see. Well send me a copy, and call it good!
Dislike Intently being @ work & having a Firewall that doesn’t like picutres!
Can’t wait to get home & see the goodies & what’s in store for the rest of us next year.
Will be requesting a “Happy Birthday” type quote when you offer signed copies of FN @ the local bookstore as my son (born in 2000) shares your birthday/FNs release date.
Also wanted to test my Gravatar.
I don’t know what sort of influence you have over Tor’s decision process vis a vis booksigning locations, but I think it’d be really nifty if you could swing by Boston…
But what about us illegitimate reviewers? What are we supposed to do? HOW ARE WE GOING TO SURVIVE UNTIL MAY? *sniffle…*
“You know, if they really wanted to be clever with their ARCs, they whould have glued on some fake fur to the cover.”
Wrong fetish.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=furry
MasterThief @12, you’re not an illegitimate reviewer! You’re a putatively legitimate reviewer until proven otherwise.
I recommend some kind of bake-off, which is both delicious and in which I perceive myself to have an unfair advantage.
My demand for something for free is based solely on my ability to interact with the Intarweebs and the Twitter.
You can blame Al Gore for removing the entry barrier by inventing the internets.
Since you are clearly in every way in charge of where you go on tour, and your itinerary is in no way put together by Tor’s publicity department based on factors that have nothing to do with who comments on your blog, I am here to suggest that you come to my city. If you do I will bring you delicious European cookies that you can probably get at Jungle Jim’s (but I’m going to pretend you can’t).
You will have to guess which city, though. And if you guess wrong you will totally be attacked by zombie hunters. True story; they’re crazy.
So tempted to refer to this book as “Fuzination” from now on.
Author book signings in Salt Lake City always do very well. Just saying.
” For those of you actual legitimate reviewers and booksellers …”
Well, I have an account on Goodreads…
For those of you actual legitimate reviewers and booksellers …
What business is it of yours whether a reviewer’s parents were married at the time of his/her birth? You’re just as bad as those loons who keep harping about Obama’s birth certificate! ;-)
My only question is, will this contest be open to people residing outside the US, say in Canada?
BTW, OT – I just noticed that your time/date stamping of comments hasn’t adjusted for the daylight savings changeback.
The book has been written and some finite number of copies have been printed. Out of curiosity, why does it take so long from the time that the writing and editing have been completed until the book is ready for purchase?
The ARC is not the book; it’s a bound, unedited manuscript of the book.
As for why it takes so long: It takes as long as it does for the same reason a film that has been completed for months waits for a particular release date: Because the folks in charge want to make sure it has the best competitive chance possible out in the marketplace.
Want ARC!
Seriously, when this whole thing started I read Fuzzy Nation for the very first time, and then so did my oldest daughter. It’s one of the few books we’ve both read since she left little kid books behind a couple years ago – so thanks for that bonding moment.
*notes no one has tried reverse psychology, yet*
Tell the PR folks that no matter what you don’t want to go to Grand Rapids, Mi. We don’t even have Coke Zero here. Honest. You’d hate it. Make sure you tell them 8)
That should take care of that.
Mythago – my wife will see your bake off and raise you a coke cake. Delivered still warm.
Joel:
I think you mean Little Fuzzy, there.
I want it. I don’t have five hundred bucks and I am not much of a cook so I suspect I will have to wait. Sigh. I do have a high pain thresh hold so if you go the sadistic er, fun route I may have a shot.
Joel @27 – you’re on. This is not exactly a situation that one can lose, you realize.
Joel & mythago,
I call dibs on judging this here contest. I promise to be objective and gluttonous.
(another situation that one can’t lose)
Mr. Scalzi,
Thanks for the clarification! I look forward to the contest for the ARC.
P.S. I hope you will try to convince Tor that New England would be a nice stop for a book tour in May.
I have a copy of the ARC. No, I don’t. Maybe I do! Maybe I don’t!
Are the mind games working yet?
“Legitimate reviewers”? I have a podcast! I’m closing in on 100 episodes and I have actual listeners ‘n stuff! Can’t hurt to try….
Whatever and whoever the contest is about . . . Mom wants a copy. Smile, coo, love you.
From the Amazon rankings:
#1 in Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > Algorithms > Fuzzy Logic
is, of course, a Kindle collection of out-of-copyright H. Beam Piper stories.
Thank you John – all this talk of fuzzies made me search on project Gutenberg site for “Little Fuzzy”. I am reading it now and enjoy it so far. I am confident that you are up to it – but you have some BIG shoes to fill in re-booting this story. I am looking forward to your book in May. Hopefully your promo tour takes you to Chicago (otherwise I’ll wait to buy from YOUR local bookseller by mail (assuming you do a deal like your Christmas season deal where we can order signed copies )
(I wish the release date was sooner – I’d buy a copy at Capricon ….oooh any chance of pre-release super special signed copies at Capricon??)
Mom! Scalzi’s petting the Fuzzy again!
Maybe a tie-in marketing of bronze chopper-diggers, to be used as letter-openers?
#39 – should be either wood (primitive) or tool grade steel, no?
mmmm and land prawn gumbo!
Jason@37 “all this talk of fuzzies made me search on project Gutenberg site for “Little Fuzzy”. I am reading it now……”
yep, did the same and just finished… while reading it, I couldn’t help but notice how this style (and some content and structure) was so eerily similar to John’s writings (OMW, etc)…. hhhhhmmmm, wonder if Piper was an influence??
And, I could see how a reboot was really needed… looking forward to reading the updated version….
fmcola:
“wonder if Piper was an influence??”
Indeed he was, and I think I’ve noted that before. I admired his clean style and way with dialogue, and spent time looking at how he pulled off his writing when I was thinking of my own.
I look forward to the publication of this novel, and wonder what concern you have that will shine through. (For example, Piper was clearly fascinated by the legal process, as shown in his Fuzzy novels and other stories set in that universe such as Lone Star Planet.)
Just finished “Little Fuzzy” – Thanks John, I had completely overlooked Piper. (I just started “Space Viking”)
Re: the cover blurb – “If Stephen King were to try his hand at science fiction…”
Ummm, not a huge fan of King’s, and I know he is regarded primarily as a horror writer, but he has written plenty of science fiction.