Anna Frost's Blog, page 9
February 14, 2013
On Piracy
My opinion on piracy has very little weight in the world, so I usually don't talk about it. Thankfully there are well-known authors who think like I do, so I need only link to them. :)
Here's Neil Gaiman explaining how he realized that his sales increased as a result of his books being pirated:
And here's Cory Doctorow explaining why he puts up free downloads of his traditionally published novels on the internet. This is, I think, the most important bit: "For me -- for pretty much every writer -- the big problem isn't piracy, it's obscurity (thanks to Tim O'Reilly for this great aphorism). Of all the people who failed to buy this book today, the majority did so because they never heard of it[...]"
Here's Neil Gaiman explaining how he realized that his sales increased as a result of his books being pirated:
And here's Cory Doctorow explaining why he puts up free downloads of his traditionally published novels on the internet. This is, I think, the most important bit: "For me -- for pretty much every writer -- the big problem isn't piracy, it's obscurity (thanks to Tim O'Reilly for this great aphorism). Of all the people who failed to buy this book today, the majority did so because they never heard of it[...]"
February 12, 2013
My Eyes Bleed
The worst part of getting a book published, in my opinion, is the final proofreading step. The book's been edited and re-edited to the point you can't stand to look at it anymore, but you still have to sit down and read it from start to finish to pick up left-over issues. This step makes me want to slack off, but it's too important.
Normally you're looking for typos, wrong italics, improper formatting, and anything else that may have sneaked past the editors' eyes. But sometimes you end up finding a plot hole in chapter three and scrambling to figure out a quick fix... Not that this ever happens to me, of course not. *innocent look goes here*
Once this step is done, you never have to look at the book again if you don't want to. Yay! ;)
Normally you're looking for typos, wrong italics, improper formatting, and anything else that may have sneaked past the editors' eyes. But sometimes you end up finding a plot hole in chapter three and scrambling to figure out a quick fix... Not that this ever happens to me, of course not. *innocent look goes here*
Once this step is done, you never have to look at the book again if you don't want to. Yay! ;)
February 6, 2013
The Joy of Research
I'm easily distracted. Earlier I stopped in the middle of a scene to google Japanese leeches, just to double-check something. I ended up watching a video of a poor little leech interrupted in its meal, right here. From there, I progressed to a variety of other interesting videos in the user's account. Like this one, which is about those terrifying Japanese hornets that are big like your thumb and quite capable of killing people. Another one, right here, is about Japanese huntsman spiders and how they looove to take shelter in people's homes. That reminded me of a great article I read years ago so I hunted it down to share it.
If you have a spider phobia, don't read this. Even knowing that these spiders are not dangerous (unlike the hornets), this article makes me cringe as much as it makes me laugh. Get ready for...
The Year of Ninja Spiders
Maybe I'll go and actually get work done now...
If you have a spider phobia, don't read this. Even knowing that these spiders are not dangerous (unlike the hornets), this article makes me cringe as much as it makes me laugh. Get ready for...
The Year of Ninja Spiders
Maybe I'll go and actually get work done now...
January 31, 2013
Results of Goodreads Giveaway #1
I figure I might as well share this info for the other authors round here.
The stats:
1 copy
10 days
431 sign ups
206 'to-read' additions
Mistakes I made:
-I underestimated how long it would take to get my giveaway accepted. I thought it would be accepted Friday and therefore be up for two weekends. It was approved Monday instead so I lost out on weekend traffic. Next time I will list much further in advance and set the start date properly.
-I didn't realize the 31th would be a popular end-date for giveaways. This is a problem because the last day is the biggest day (over 1/4 of the entries came in the last 24 hours) and my book never reached the first page of the "ending soon" list. Next time I'll pick a less popular end date so my giveaway can hang out on the front page.
Conclusion:
Worth it? I think so. A lot of people who'd never heard of me before just found out I exist. I will continue running these giveaways for a while and track the results. I'm especially interested in finding out if the winners will leave a review or rating. Next one will go up in a month or so.
The stats:
1 copy
10 days
431 sign ups
206 'to-read' additions
Mistakes I made:
-I underestimated how long it would take to get my giveaway accepted. I thought it would be accepted Friday and therefore be up for two weekends. It was approved Monday instead so I lost out on weekend traffic. Next time I will list much further in advance and set the start date properly.
-I didn't realize the 31th would be a popular end-date for giveaways. This is a problem because the last day is the biggest day (over 1/4 of the entries came in the last 24 hours) and my book never reached the first page of the "ending soon" list. Next time I'll pick a less popular end date so my giveaway can hang out on the front page.
Conclusion:
Worth it? I think so. A lot of people who'd never heard of me before just found out I exist. I will continue running these giveaways for a while and track the results. I'm especially interested in finding out if the winners will leave a review or rating. Next one will go up in a month or so.
January 30, 2013
Movies 2013
This year will be amazing for the little fangirl that I am. Here's my fantasy/scifi squee list:
Star Trek Into Darkness - May
I'm not a huge Star Trek fan, but I did very much enjoy the first reboot.
Iron Man 3 - May
For Christmas I got an Iron Man tshirt with a glowing 'arc reactor.' I will be wearing it to see this movie, yes I will. I have deep love for quirky characters and Tony Stark is endlessly entertaining.
World War Z - June
I'm not sure about this one because I can't stand gory movies. But I must say the book is awesome, so perhaps I'll watch it anyway.
Thor 2 - November
I just want to know what's going on with Loki. I must know!
Hunger Games 2 - November
I was not impressed with the first movie and the nauseating shaky camerawork, but I'm still on board because Hollywood needs us to spell out that yes, we want action movies with women as main characters.
The Hobbit 2 - December
This one is on probation. The first Hobbit was exceedingly pretty, but most of it was also exceedingly boring. Endless battle scenes do not a movie make.
We'll have to see if they turn out as good as I hope.
Star Trek Into Darkness - May
I'm not a huge Star Trek fan, but I did very much enjoy the first reboot.
Iron Man 3 - May
For Christmas I got an Iron Man tshirt with a glowing 'arc reactor.' I will be wearing it to see this movie, yes I will. I have deep love for quirky characters and Tony Stark is endlessly entertaining.
World War Z - June
I'm not sure about this one because I can't stand gory movies. But I must say the book is awesome, so perhaps I'll watch it anyway.
Thor 2 - November
I just want to know what's going on with Loki. I must know!
Hunger Games 2 - November
I was not impressed with the first movie and the nauseating shaky camerawork, but I'm still on board because Hollywood needs us to spell out that yes, we want action movies with women as main characters.
The Hobbit 2 - December
This one is on probation. The first Hobbit was exceedingly pretty, but most of it was also exceedingly boring. Endless battle scenes do not a movie make.
We'll have to see if they turn out as good as I hope.
January 21, 2013
Paperback Giveaway
Here's a giveaway for a paperback copy of The Fox's Mask (Goodreads).
I've also updated my website with more review links. :3
I've also updated my website with more review links. :3
January 19, 2013
SFF Cons VS Japan-centric Cons
I'm already looking up plane ticket prices to attend Worldcon 2013 in San Antonio, Texas, in September. Before that, I plan to hit a small local convention called Nadeshicon in April.
These two conventions are very, very different. Worldcon is a science fiction and fantasy con with a professional angle (it runs the Hugo Awards) and many publishing professionals (editors, agents, authors, etc) gather there. The parties are adult (not in the X-rated manner, but in the "nobody is dancing drunk on the table" manner), the discussions and panels are often industry-related, and many people are there to network a little. The average age of these congoers is certainly above 30.
Nadeshicon is a Japan media con (in other words, it's primarily for fans of Japanese shows, comics, games, etc). It's a fan convention, with only a couple pros attending as guests. Anime cons, especially the bigger ones, are giant geek parties. There's mass costuming (sometimes of the insanely elaborate kind and sometimes of the "mostly naked" kind), photo shoots, panels to discuss such important matters as whether character X should bone character Y or character Z, show viewings, autographs sessions with voice actors, etc. The average age of these congoers is probably around 20.
For a SFF-only con, Worldcon is huge (maybe 4000 people on average?) but that would be considered a small anime con. Nadeshicon is positively tiny, with under 1000 people, but it's new so it has room to grow.
There are other conventions that fall in different categories (like video games) and a couple that are true multi-media monsters. Dragoncon has it all (SFF, anime, gaming and everything else too) and now draws something like 50 000 people. That's like a brand new city popping up in the middle of Atlanta every year!
In short, I can't wait. Both will be fun. :)
These two conventions are very, very different. Worldcon is a science fiction and fantasy con with a professional angle (it runs the Hugo Awards) and many publishing professionals (editors, agents, authors, etc) gather there. The parties are adult (not in the X-rated manner, but in the "nobody is dancing drunk on the table" manner), the discussions and panels are often industry-related, and many people are there to network a little. The average age of these congoers is certainly above 30.
Nadeshicon is a Japan media con (in other words, it's primarily for fans of Japanese shows, comics, games, etc). It's a fan convention, with only a couple pros attending as guests. Anime cons, especially the bigger ones, are giant geek parties. There's mass costuming (sometimes of the insanely elaborate kind and sometimes of the "mostly naked" kind), photo shoots, panels to discuss such important matters as whether character X should bone character Y or character Z, show viewings, autographs sessions with voice actors, etc. The average age of these congoers is probably around 20.
For a SFF-only con, Worldcon is huge (maybe 4000 people on average?) but that would be considered a small anime con. Nadeshicon is positively tiny, with under 1000 people, but it's new so it has room to grow.
There are other conventions that fall in different categories (like video games) and a couple that are true multi-media monsters. Dragoncon has it all (SFF, anime, gaming and everything else too) and now draws something like 50 000 people. That's like a brand new city popping up in the middle of Atlanta every year!
In short, I can't wait. Both will be fun. :)
January 14, 2013
Shinies!
January 11, 2013
January 3, 2013
Obligatory New Year Resolutions
Short and sweet version, go!
1. Finish the third volume of my trilogy. I meant to do that in 2012, but I ended up doing revisions on the steampunk instead. I have, at this time, a third of a draft. 2. Place my steampunk novel somewhere. With an agent or with a small press, but somewhere! I need closure on this thing!3. Write something new. I don't what yet, but I'll find out.
Bring it on, 2013.
1. Finish the third volume of my trilogy. I meant to do that in 2012, but I ended up doing revisions on the steampunk instead. I have, at this time, a third of a draft. 2. Place my steampunk novel somewhere. With an agent or with a small press, but somewhere! I need closure on this thing!3. Write something new. I don't what yet, but I'll find out.
Bring it on, 2013.
