Archives for January 2014

Sooo it’s that time of year when various people start handing out various awards to various other people, and depending on who you talk to, winning said awards can either make your career or don’t actually matter all that much AND ARE ONLY A POPULARITY CONTEST ANYWAY SO I DON’T CARE THAT I DIDN’T EVEN GET NOMINATED.

Personally, it’s always been my dream to be able to deliver a “It was an honor just to be nominated” speech, and YOU might be able to make that happen!

My first novel THREE was released last July, which makes me eligible for a few awards, and because it was my debut, it lets me splash around in a couple of special categories:

One is the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. 

Another is the Best Debut Novel category for various awards that actually recognize said category.

All in all, there are lots of things going on out there; the Hugos, the Nebulas, the BSFAs.

2013 was an amazing year for books, and competition for any of those awards is absolutely fierce.  Even just looking at the list of eligible authors from Angry Robot Books, I’m amazed at the level of talent and the quality of work that came out last year.

If you’re someone who read THREE and thought it was worthy of note, I’d appreciate any and all support you could throw behind it.

And speaking of other people who are amazing and also eligible for things, here’s a handy list, in no particular order:

Emma Newman

Adam Christopher

Chuck Wendig

Wesley Chu

Ramez Naam

Lee Harris (for Best Editor)

Steven Meyer-Rassow (for Best Artist)

Free advice often gets a bad rap, and there’s usually a good reason for it.  The whole get-what-you-pay-for thing.  But I’ve found that there are actually two kinds of free advice out there.

Okay, that’s not true, there are actual several different kinds of free advice, but I’m just going to go with the whole “There are two kinds of …” thing because reasons.

The first kind is the also the most common: the personal opinion disguised as advice.  It’s the anonymous internet comment person who says your video would be funnier if it had more cats.  The guy who’s been sitting on the couch for the last five hours shouting that the defense needs to “GET MORE PHYSICAL!!!”.  The helpful emailer who points out how much better your book would have been if only you’d had car chases instead of character growth.

In other words, it’s noise from people who don’t actually have any expertise in whatever field it is that they’re commenting on.  And usually they’re not even dispensing their sage advice to you for your own good.  They’re doing it for their own good.  It makes them feel better.

There is another kind of free advice, though.  It may be rare, but it is precious.  It’s the kind you can find from the grizzled vets who’ve Been There.  The men and women who’ve actually gone out there and Done It, who’ve suffered the cuts and the slights, who’ve sweated the sweats and bled the bloods and who once in a while, out of the goodness of their own hearts, take a moment to remember what it was like when they were first getting started.

And if you’re fortunate, you might remind them of their younger selves, and they might just pull you aside and drop you a choice nugget of wisdom.  It might not even make sense to you at the time, not until you hit the situation they warn you is on the way.  But if you sit up and pay attention, you just might find that you don’t have to hit all the same roadblocks that everyone else does, or that when you do, you don’t panic and give up like so many that have fallen before you.

(I won’t comment on which variety you’re likely to find around here of course.)