Work-Related Semi-Hiatus Through the End of May
Posted on May 7, 2019 Posted by John Scalzi 19 Comments
Hey! I have a book (The Last Emperox) that’s due reeeeeeeeal soon, so to avoid the world pulling focus on that, for the next few weeks (i.e., probably through the end of the month, possibly shorter, hopefully not longer) I’m going to be doing a semi-hiatus from social media and the Internet generally.
What does “semi-hiatus” mean? Basically:
- Pulling back on Twitter, Facebook and blogging pretty significantly
- Avoiding news and the outside world generally pretty much entirely
- Answering non-business email only briefly (and sometimes not at all)
I’m calling this a “semi-hiatus” rather than a full hiatus mostly because a) here at Whatever I have Big Ideas scheduled this month, and I also want to note my 50th birthday, which is coming up on Friday, so those posts are definitely coming; b) generally I may have things to announce this month and I don’t want to have to preface them by saying “hey, breaking my hiatus to let you know…”; c) sometimes I will be all done with work for the day and will want to give myself permission to check in with friends online, or, you know, maybe post cat or sunset pictures, or other such frivolous/fun things, that won’t tax my by-then-almost-certainly-deflated brain.
Please note: my intention to largely avoid the outside world means that, barring genuinely world-shaking events, I am unlikely to be posting about politics/social issues, here or on Twitter or elsewhere, to any great extent until the book is done. Depending on who you are, this will either be a bug or a feature. But please know that, for me, any brain cycles spent being annoyed/outraged/upset at current events are brain cycles I’m not using to finish the book. This is how I’m built, and I have deadlines, so I have to prioritize my work. The good news (heh) is that there’s a whole bunch of other people out there to take up the slack while I’m away.
Please also note that when I come back I’ll likely do the annual Reader Request Week, so Whatever, at least, will get back up to speed pretty rapidly.
Regarding email: If you’re emailing me about something that can wait until the beginning of June, it’s probably best to wait until then. With regard to Big Idea queries, go ahead and send them but be aware I’ll likely not have a quick turnaround on responding to those this month.
And in the meantime, don’t worry: I’m fine, the cats are fine, everyone at the Scalzi Compound is fine. I’m just busy writing a book so you can have it to read and enjoy next April.
There it is! And now, a cat picture as a reward for your attention. Enjoy.
Smudge seems to be upside down and hanging on to the patio by a paw!
Isn’t it time for Athena to take over for the next 2.5-3.0 months anyway?
Go, man go! I cannot wait for the next Interdepency book!
I’m chomping at the bit for that book so get busy :)
No worries. We’ll be here when you return!
A very happy birthday to your future Friday self! But how will the Webz survive without your rants…wisdom? Anyway, good luck with the writing, and I’m pleased to see Smudge is taking a hiatus from his hiatus.
Your brain, your rules. Besides, we all want to read The Last Emperox, so we’ll wait for you return.
Thank you for the cat picture
Cool. Have a good month-ish of writing!
The last emperox? Yay!
Can’t wait for the new book! Happy writing!
*NEXT* April?
Ffffff@(%#_)*@$!
Please accept my respectful thanks for planning to avoid another all-nighter to meet your deadline. I would very much rather you did not abuse your health that way (also completely recognizing that it’s your choice should you decide to do so), so I am happy to hear that you are planning to block out extraneous distractions and focus on the task at hand.
And thanks also for the heads-up about approximately when I will need to arrange to take a day off to devour the next installment in one of my all-time favorite book series (special thanks to Tor for releasing in April when I actually CAN take a day off, as opposed to July when I’ll be in fiscal-year-end hell).
Now I will sit here and fidget for the next eleven months.
50 orbits around the Sun? Mazel tov, John. 50? You’re just a kid.
Happy 50th birthday! But what to get for the man who has everything? I know! I’ll make a donation to The Bradford Public Library, 138 E Main St, Bradford, OH 45308. It’s been a while since your fundraising auction in 2011, and I have great childhood memories of reading my way through my own hometown library’s SF section A-Zelazny. I should send them a donation too.
Hope it goes well! I am looking forward to reading all *three* books next April then, having deliberately not read any so far. Be interesting to see how that goes!
I could pass on “genuinely world-shattering events” myself…and I can imagine a lot.
Great, I cant wait to find out what happens at End.
`Only’ 50? Really? I turned 68 late last year. So I’ve been eligible for the draft and had to join the US Navy to avoid that draft thing. Then I got to watch the Saturday Night Massacre come across the teletype wire. live, in a teletype room at a newspaper.
5 bells ringing as a story started over the news wires was an audible warning that real news was coming over one of the networks, and they rang over and over that night, and no one was there late on a Saturday night but the wife and I. The Attorney General got fired, and then the Deputy AG, finally they got Robert Bork, who was willing to fire the special Watergate prosecutor.
It was pretty interesting, and I was pretty sure that Tricky Dick Nixon was a walking dead man after that night.
Happy birthday, John Scalzi!! you’re a good man, I don’t care what they say next door~!!!~