VANITY
M.C.A. Hogarth

noshan ekain — funny story/stories (this word has no numbered form). An anecdote where the humor derives from something odd, absurd, strange or unexpected. This is the kind of story that you might start by saying, "So I was walking to work and the funniest thing happened to me..."

      The first time I showed up at Shame's door, he sent me away. He also sent me away the second time, and the third. The fourth time I kicked the shrine door and yelled, "I am so wicked only you can Correct me!"
      He opened it and said, "Go home." ( Read more... )

The Admonishments of Kherishdar.

Tags: ai-naidar, excerpts, the admonishments of kherishdar

I just got an email inviting me to the grand opening of the Academy's new salle, where there will be (I quote), "Appetizers, pizza, beer and fencing."

Um....

o_O


Stardancer Home.

Tags: fencing, humor
Current Mood: one of these things does not go together....

I notice that The Ursa Major Awards have a Wikipedia entry. It's even got my name in it! But clicking on my name for some reason leads to the entry on the name Micah, which totally makes no sense. Particularly since I'm not listed on the "Micah" entry.

This is only slightly better than the anemic Wikifur entry that makes me sound utterly uninteresting.

Someone should put up a "cyberfunded creativity" entry on Wikipedia and cross-link it to "new publishing paradigms" and people like shadesong and the communities on Livejournal. How can anyone take us seriously if we're not on Wikipedia? Come on. Don't let people fool you, it's not an encyclopedia. It's where the Net goes for information on what's important to people who are on the Net. It's a cultural marker.

Anyone want to pitch in on this?


Stardancer Home.

Tags: culture, networking, new publishing paradigms, technology, writing
Current Mood: hmph

I had high-minded plans to paint tonight, but instead I got sucked into re-reading a really good book that I was planning to give a friend.

Which is out of print, though it came out in the late 90's.

Which I had to buy used, which put no money in the author's pocket, because I couldn't find a copy any other way.

In absence of a legitimate paper copy, I tried to find an electronic version and couldn't. I went to the publisher's website, which lists no information on how to contact them to tell them there's at least one reader who wants to give them money for an e-book version. Or any version. Because no publisher would really care about whether readers want to buy copies of their backlists.

For maximum frustration and prevention-of-sales, the publisher's website doesn't even tell me how I can contact the author, so I can at least give him money for a copy if he's got some extras in his garage.

Compounding this problem, the author has neither website nor any web presence at all that I can find. Because a man who won the Robert Heinlein medal, two Prometheus awards, a Seiun award, a Sturgeon award and received five Hugo award nominations FOR HARD SCIENCE FICTION apparently doesn't do that internet technology thing.

When I was researching literary contracts in hopeful preparation for the time I'd need the knowledge (and I did need it, if only to turn down three horrendous offers), one of the things drummed into my head was how important the reversion clause was—the clause that allowed an author to get back their property if the publisher wasn't selling it—and I believed it.

But how, exactly, is this book making the author any money now?

That used copy? I bought it for one cent.

Try and tell me this industry isn't messed up. Please.


Stardancer Home.

Tags: marketing, new publishing paradigms, technology, writing
Current Mood: seriously irritated