Hugh Howey's Blog, page 64

Self-Published Books on the NYT List

Last week, fully half of the top 10 bestselling ebooks were self-published. There’s an interesting story on Forbes about this trend, as well as a link to Digital Book World’s analysis.

At this year’s Digital Book World conference in New York, my agent and I were invited on stage to talk about the benefits of hybrid publishing. What seemed a neologism then feels old-hat now. And the number of authors moving from traditional to self and from self to traditional is blurring the distinction between the two. Interestingly, with the commercial success of so many self-published authors, the advice that was mocked a year ago is now being bandied about like a truism: Take control of your publishing future. Do not be afraid of getting your work in the hands of the reader. Ignore the sages of old and listen to your gut. And keep writing.

Hanging Out With Monkeys

At least, that’s what I think I’m doing. Peg Fitzgerald and the APE team (Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch) are having me over for a Google Hangout. If you can’t make it, the interview should be available for your viewing suffering latter. I think this is the correct link.

Going on at 7PM EST. I have dog treats to ensure a Bella cameo.

What does it do?

I honestly have no idea. I was sent this by email. I think it’s from China. If your phone blows up, it’s not my fault.

Well, it is my fault. But I’m not taking the blame.

Okay, I’m taking the blame, but I’m not buying you a new phone.

Jazz Fiction

Just updated the Fan Fiction page to reflect the news stories being released, and I saw Lyn Perry’s comment on the page about what it would mean if I started writing fan fiction within the fan fiction. And this got me thinking about what fan fiction reminds me of. It’s jazz. The literary equivalent of jazz.

Most people have a positive reaction to fan fiction. I’m aware that some (mostly other authors) frown on the stuff. I’m not sure why. One of my favorite albums is Diana Krall singing the greats. She’s singing other people’s music, a common practice in Jazz, but giving it her own spin, her own voice. I remember looking at versions of “Summertime” a while back and finding out that there are hundreds of recordings from various artists. I was tempted to collect and listen to them all.

Some talented writers are playing around with the silos. I could easily see myself jumping in their world and playing with them. How is that different from five or six musicians hopping on stage for an impromptu jam session and riffing off one another’s works (and the works of those not even present or perhaps not alive)? Literary jazz. Some might hate on this; everyone else is tapping their feet.

More Shorts

Two new short stories started that I hope to have finished soonest. Don’t worry, this is in addition to my work on DUST, which is moving along nicely. The first of these is THEY COME FROM THE EAST, which is for a science fiction anthology with a western theme. The challenge here is that it can’t be a western in space, which has been done plenty (FIREFLY was my favorite of these). It needs to take place in the Wild West but be science fiction. Imagine the challenges if you will. We know the history of that place, so you have to take extreme liberties or be quite clever. I’m bad at the latter, but I’m giving that route a shot anyway.

The other short is KILL SCREEN, which is for an anthology with a video game theme. I get asked to contribute to anthologies all the time, and usually have to decline due to time constraints. But I really enjoyed the pitch for these two collections, and I think I have stories that will only marginally be the worst of the bunch. Fingers crossed. One of these is due in two weeks!

(2,000+ words in DUST thus far today, so no hostilities in the comments!)

Dumber than a Sixth Grader

Jordan is in the sixth grade. He made the following book trailer for an English class project. Compare this with my first book trailer, which I made a few years ago. Yup, outdone by a sixth grader. The story of my life since third grade.

New Fan Fiction!

Patrice Fitzgerald just released the second book in her Karma series. The first book (The Sky Used to be Blue) took off like a banshee, and I hear this one is even better. Mike Tabor is doing the covers for her works, which makes me feel a bit like Jon Stewart. Nothing would make me happier than sitting here at my old desk while the far more talented people around me have glimmering careers that put my five minutes of fame to shame. Seriously, I fantasize about such things.

Along with Patrice and W.J. Davies, another writer sure to outshine me is Jason Gurley. The second part of his series is out now. I love these covers. Be sure to check out part one. It’s been doing very well.

You know, I have no idea why people even want to write in a world I made up; it’s surreal to me. I certainly don’t ask anyone to or expect it. But I find it incredibly flattering that talented writers are exploring the silos, and I love that you all are supporting them. I just hope I can ask these authors to write blurbs for my books one day. I notice Jon Stewart’s books are slathered with far more famous names — those people who have gracefully left him in the dirt. Don’t forget about me, Patrice and Wes and Jason!

Celebrating 50 Years of Ignoring Rules

(Or simply not being aware of them)

As a bookseller in a university setting, I sold hundreds of copies of Strunk and White’s classic every semester. And I felt guilty each time. While the work is still mandatory for most college classrooms, I much prefer EATS, SHOOTS, AND LEAVES and wish everyone would read this text instead.

It appears Geoffrey K. Pullum agrees. This incredible refutation of the grammar of Strunk and White is a must-read for writers (I want to argue that everyone should read this, but I realize that many won’t care). Absolutely brilliant. Especially:

There is of course nothing wrong with writing passives and negatives and adjectives and adverbs. I’m not nitpicking the authors’ writing style. White, in particular, often wrote beautifully, and his old professor would have been proud of him. What’s wrong is that the grammatical advice proffered in Elements is so misplaced and inaccurate that counterexamples often show up in the authors’ own prose on the very same page.

End of Tour

It’s been a crazy-busy few months, with very little time spent at home, but my book tour has drawn to a close. Germany, London, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and over a dozen US cities . . . and now I’m back home in Jupiter. A huge thanks to everyone who came out to see me, and an equal thanks to those who have posted comments or emailed me with their encouragement and humor along the way. In every way imaginable, the release has exceeded my expectations, and I credit you all with that. Thanks a heap. Happy reading, whatever you’re digging into. And now, I’m going to get back to writing.

Spring Cleaning!*

I’ve got a new website in the works, and I’m so excited about it that I had a dream last night that it was already live. It was so vivid that I had to check first thing this morning to see if it had already gone up. Instead, I found an email from Tim Grahl with an update on the site design. I love what they are coming up with.

Tim approached me as a fan a while back and asked if there was anything his company Out:think Group could do to give me a boost. I explained my biggest challenges these days, and he laughed at how Cro-Magnon my workflow was. While discussing plans, he suggested some website tweaks. And then he and his design team came up with a way to further your ability to interact with the site.

It’s sad that I have to immediately address the cynics, but the last time we ran a fan art contest and gave away an iPad, someone on Twitter accused us of taking advantage or artists. As if the fan art was going to be used for cover art. It just goes to show how some will see the worst in all possible things. This isn’t about creating content for me; it’s about celebrating the talent of others. I enjoy promoting writers and artists and ask for nothing in return, just the knowledge that they are raising their profiles, seeing something published and enjoyed, or making a buck. Simple as that. And impossible for some to believe, it seems. *shrugs*

Here’s a video from Tim explaining the design:

I’m accepting submissions through May 3rd. After that we’ll go through them and pick a few of our favorites and put the vote to you. Ask any questions in the comments and either Tim or I will jump in and answer them. I’ll also do whatever I can to write up or promote the person whose design goes up. To get started:

First, click here to download the template.

Once you’re ready, click here to submit your design.

Looking forward to what you come up with!

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*An ironic title for this post, considering it’s Fall here in New Zealand