MCM's Blog, page 54
July 25, 2009
Nicest Email Evar
The geographic distribution of readers of "The Vector" is amazingly even across the world, which makes me anxious because I've taken a lot of criticism about my portrayal of non-North American characters in the past.
Last night I got a short email from someone named Nikolai. It really made my day:
Thank you for writing about Russians that aren't drunks or villains. It is nice to see a Russian protagonist who we can sympathize with!
I didn't set out to make Eva (who is half-Russian) some kind of a
July 24, 2009
Announcing The Vector in Print
You asked (and threatened) and I listened. And then I forgot. And then I remembered, and now I'm doing something. Announcing The Vector in print!
No, it's not available right now. It needs some tweaking first. A better blurb for one. A few typos people have found. And then there's this: there are going to be two editions…
Paperback
The paperback version should be available via Amazon in the next few weeks. I need to check the proof, but after that, you should be able to snag a copy. It's 3
July 23, 2009
Why Books Don't Need Pages
This will into things a lot of people won't care about, but some will care very passionately about. It's the future of books, and more specifically, the technical and UI considerations of how pages work in eBooks.
The thing that got me was this post on the always-exciting eBook Test. In particular, this bit:
For example, while held in landscape mode, an eBook reader could display two pages, side-by-side, just like this current online software at The Internet Archive:
Now, The eBook Test is a very
July 22, 2009
Contest Time!
So you may have seen that The Vector was mentioned on the incomparable io9 today. Seriously, the highlight of my month. Really great write-up, except for one tiny thing…
What this blurb doesn't capture is the creepy, dark feel to the prose in this well-crafted novel.
The blurb doesn't capture it. Bugger. See, this is why you should never write your own blurbs.
WHICH IS WHY… I am having a contest! Write me a better blurb for the book, and you can win the very first paperback copy of the book!
Wednesday Fun
Random things for a happy, sunny Wednesday that I will only see through the window because I never leave my computer…
Guest Posting!
Today, I have guest posts up at Brian Spaeth's site and also at Dyscultured! I have been a busy bee. Please read them, and comment extensively.
Best Conversation Ever
A TV producer acquaintance (who shall remain nameless) gave me permission to post this summary of this discussion we had yesterday after he looked over my website.
Producer: I saw your website. That Tor
July 21, 2009
Open Question: Connecting with fans
All right! Brainstorming time! Put on your thinking caps, cause it's time to use that noodle! The question is this: what can I be doing better to connect with my fans? And by fans, I mean people that read my books on purpose. Very broad definition, I know.
I already reply to tons of email every day, make fun of people on Twitter, and comment on other sites here and there. But is there something else I should be trying? Some otherwise obscure idea that might work?
Email, comment or twitter.
Me on Novelr
This is a post by me to recommend a post by me. On the excellent site Novelr, though! So it's a little different than usual.
It was a fun post to write, and hopefully a fun post to read. In it, I explain all the ways I've tried to sell books online. Lots of interesting stats. More fun than… well, anything I've ever written here.
I've tried PayPal buttons in various places around my sites, and this is what I know: a link in the right sidebar gets clicked 0.21% of the time. The same button in t
July 20, 2009
Quick Vector FAQ
I've received a bunch of questions today about The Vector and I want to cover some of them before I get too distracted by shiny objects.
Why aren't you publishing on Smashwords?
I will, but not quite yet. The problem with Smashwords is that a) their conversion engine makes me shiver, after all the work I put into careful design and pagination; and b) synchronizing their "preview" feature with my serialization is tricky. I have to do things by % of total words, and that doesn't usually connect to
The Vector (6 to go!)
Today I am happy to announce the release of The Vector, the first serious novel out of 1889 Labs. This is a book I've been working on for years (on and off) and I'm so relieved it's finally out! Here is the back cover description:
It's the age of the home-made virus, and humanity is dying. It just doesn't know it yet.
In Prague, a young woman named Eva returns home to escape the plagues, only to find her mother missing and the police blaming her for the worst outbreaks in recent memory. Events a
July 17, 2009
Press Release: Book Policy Adjustment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1889 Labs today announced it has changed its mind about the consumption of its books — especially the evolving crime novel Fission Chips — and is henceforth revoking all public reading rights to its catalogue.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time, having an audience," said Smithers Winston, president-in-chief of 1889 Labs. "But when you really think about it, if people can read what you've written, they might feel some sense of satisfaction, which goes against our corp
