Monthly Archives: March 2013
The Mallet of Loving Correction Available for Preorder at Subterranean Press
Posted on March 14, 2013 29 Comments
No, not the Mallet pictured above. That’s mine. BUT: The Mallet of Loving Correction, my hardcover collection of Whatever posts from 2008 through 2012, is now available for pre-order at the Subterranean Press Web site. This is is a huge collection — nearly 500 pages — and it’s going to be a limited (1,500) edition. […]
Reminder: I’m at Engadget Expand This Weekend + at RT Booklovers Convention in May
Posted on March 13, 2013 6 Comments
Remember that if you are in the Bay area this weekend and yearn to hang about with techies and nerds and people who are some variation of both, that I will part of the Engadget Expand conference taking place at Fort Mason, in San Francisco. And specifically, here is what I’ll be doing on Saturday: […]
The Big Idea: Jen Larsen
Posted on March 13, 2013 22 Comments
Back in the day — by which I mean the last millennium, y’all — Jen Larsen and I were part of a loose group of “online diarists” (what we called bloggers before blogs were called blogs) who chatted and sniped and busted each other up over the early Web, with Jen being one of the wittiest of […]
A Brief Note on Recent Events
Posted on March 12, 2013 12 Comments
Mostly replicating what I said earlier today on Twitter, but it’s worth repeating: A few folks are giving me credit for Random House’s contract revisions, so let me be the first to say: Thanks, but no. At the very least, there many other people and organizations who deserve more credit. In particular Victoria Strauss, who […]
An Alternate View of Royalty-Only Models
Posted on March 12, 2013 43 Comments
Anyone who has read the site in the last week knows I am deeply suspicious of publishers who do not offer advances, so I thought it would be useful for folks to get an alternate view from someone whose opinion I respect. So: Please meet Evan Gregory, an agent at the Ethan Ellenberg Agency (i.e., […]
Immediate Thoughts on the Random House eBook Imprint Contract Changes
Posted on March 12, 2013 28 Comments
These thoughts come in no particular order, and represent only my thoughts, not the thoughts of any organization I may belong to. These are first impressions. Also, these thoughts pertain to what I’ve read here and here. I have not seen any actual contracts reflecting the change in terms and so cannot comment on how […]
Random House Makes Changes to Hydra/Alibi Contracts
Posted on March 12, 2013 13 Comments
Here is information about the changes from Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware, including a pdf of the actual announcement from Random House. The announcement is also up here. The short version: The imprints will now offer writers a choice of publishing models, and in the profit-sharing version of the model, some significant changes have been […]
The Human Division, Episode Nine: The Observers is Now Live
Posted on March 12, 2013 31 Comments
I have been informed by a source who I believe to be reliable that today once again is Tuesday. Which means it’s time for another episode of The Human Division! This one is “The Observers,” in which — surprise! — there is a crisis to be dealt with: In an effort to improve relations with […]
Who Will Be the Next Douglas Adams? Hopefully, Nobody
Posted on March 11, 2013 105 Comments
Over at the Guardian, David Barnett is asking why, a dozen years since his passing, Douglas Adams (whose 61st birthday would be today) is still considered the “king of comic science fiction.” He mentions some pretenders to the throne — including me, which I appreciate — but considers none of us quite up to the […]
A Public Service Announcement, Via Twitter
Posted on March 11, 2013 34 Comments
It is thus: Folks: I have strong opinions, and I try to make them informed opinions. But if you listen ONLY to me on ANY topic I am scared for you. — John Scalzi (@scalzi) March 11, 2013 Whatever I say, look to others to see what they think about it. If they tell you […]
Ayelet Waldman and I Discuss Used eBooks at PBS’ MediaShift
Posted on March 11, 2013 34 Comments
The headline there pretty much says it all, so: Here’s the link. Knock yourself out. It’s a pretty good story.
A Compilation Of the Week’s Rabble Rousings on Contracts and Advances
Posted on March 11, 2013 26 Comments
For those of you who don’t want to go through the site to find every piece I’ve written in the last week about Random House/Hydra, bad book contracts and why a “no advance” business model is generally no good for writers, even from an eBook publisher, here they all are in one handy list. In […]
First Full Reviews of The Human Division Are Out
Posted on March 11, 2013 15 Comments
They come from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. And they are good, I am happy to say. The Kirkus Review (which, by the way, if you have a Kirkus subscription, has a major spoiler in it for an as-yet-unpublished episode, so be aware) is difficult to quote from, except for the very last bit: A Heinlein-like […]
New Writers, eBook Publishers, and the Power to Negotiate
Posted on March 10, 2013 127 Comments
In writing the pieces about Random House and its egregious, non-advance paying eBook imprints and how no writer ever should submit to them, or indeed work with any publisher that does not offer an advance, there are some folks in the comments and elsewhere on the Internet who are saying things along the lines of […]
Final Reminder: Something Something Hugo Nominations Something Something
Posted on March 10, 2013 1 Comment
Yeah, if you’re nominating for the Hugos, get them in by midnight Eastern time tonight. Or live in regret. Forever. There, I’m done pestering all y’all about it.
Off To The Library
Posted on March 9, 2013 42 Comments
We’re doing a bit of spring cleaning here at the Scalzi Compound, and here you see one result of that: All these boxes and totes are filled up with finished books which are going to be a donation to the local library. There is a similar large stacking of ARCs which are not able to […]
Your Saturday Pile of New Books/ARCs: In Two Parts!
Posted on March 9, 2013 43 Comments
Hey, here are the new books and ARCs that arrived recently at the Scalzi Compound. See anything you like/want/wish other people would buy? Tell the class in the comments!
Thank Zeus It’s Friday
Posted on March 8, 2013 25 Comments
WHY HELLO, LADIES. Yes, the Zeus takes after his namesake. Or would, were it not for this little incident. Anyway, hey! It’s past three on a Friday afternoon. You can officially stop pretending you’re doing actual work. Zeus says you can. And look at him! You gonna argue with that face? Of course not.
And Now, a Mildly Self-Serving Reminder to Potential Hugo Nominators
Posted on March 8, 2013 3 Comments
It is: Hey! Remember that this Sunday is the last day you can nominate for this Year’s Hugo Awards. Here’s where you can do your nominating, if you are so inclined. Don’t wait until the very last minute, however — that’s a fine way to clog up the server and be unhappy. If you’re wondering […]
Advances and Me
Posted on March 8, 2013 115 Comments
A question from the gallery: You seem to take a hard line about advances. Have you ever published with no advance? Yup. But I’ve never published with a publisher whose default position is to offer no advance — or, for that matter, any publisher whose default advance is less than the SFWA minimum for a […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying