Ebook proposal 2: Dynamic pricing

There is currently a great deal of debate about how much an ebook “should” cost, and much of that debate seems to stem from how much a person does or does not understand about the work involved in publishing a book. I could provide links, but my back hurts from shoveling snow, so I don’t want to take the time.

Anyway, here is the modest proposal of the day: Dynamic, adaptive ebook pricing.

Book Review: The Windup Girl

Spoiler Alert: I like this book. A lot.

Paolo Bacigalupi (a name I only mis-typed twice just now) has delivered a brilliant science fiction novel about the collapse of the global economy, genetically engineered plants run amok, cyborg servants, food wars, militant politics, race relations, religion, and, well, lots of other things.

The Windup Girl is set in Bangkok several centuries from now. Genetically modified animals and crops have (accidentally) swarmed across the world, destroying countless species of plants and animals and bringing most countries to their knees. The dwindling Japanese have created a race of New People to replace their shrinking work force. American companies feed the world with sterile foods that cannot be planted and grown, only bought. Oil-starved machines have been replaced with animal labor. Hideous diseases are constantly mutating to kill plants, animals, and people.

In short, the future looks grim.

A book contract!

Yee haw! Today was a mighty big day. I received my first book contract, pretended to read it carefully, then signed away all my rights and privileges and intellectual property for a sack of gold… or myrrh… or Frankenstein. I should really go back and read that part again.

It’s not a novel, but it is a book, and I’m writing it, and it will be published, and I will make money and call myself a published author. So as the kids say, Epic Win.

In a few months, you will be able to purshase your very own print or electronic copy of … whatever title we settle on. The title in the contract was “How to give an awesome presentation” although I had proposed the far superior “Rockstar Presentations: Standing, Talking, and Pointing at Things.” It’s a short manual on public speaking, the history of speeches and presentations, and some PowerPoint tutorials. I tried to make it funny. I tried.

And there’s no cursing, because this is a family book… about business presentations.

I was thinking about waxing nostalgic about how much progress I’ve made in my writing career over just the past year, and just the past six months, but that would be maudlin and dull, so instead, I say unto you, Yee Haw!

Dollhouse: This is the end… or is it? (No, it is)

I began watching Dollhouse about a year ago because it was Joss Whedon’s new TV show, and I have been a fan of his earlier work. I was looking forward to snappy dialog, fantastical premises, kick-ass heroines, and maybe a few clever musical numbers.

Instead, we all got boring violence, gratuitous attempts to titillate, and a paper-thin premise that made no sense from day one. The heroes were non-people, and the villains were…not entirely villainous. During the first season, of thirteen episodes, maybe three of them presented compelling characters and a thoughtful  plot. The internets came alive with displeasure.

Book review: Leviathan

I hesitated to read Scott Westerfield’s Leviathan because it is for “young adults,” but since it is a new steampunk book, and I tend to find YA books tolerable, I decided to read it in the end.

I found the book an uneven package, so I will start with the strengths. Leviathan is a very well-imagined and executed steampunk world of walking war machines and genetically engineered super-beasts. Set against the outbreak of World War I, the political divide between the German/Austrian alliance (Clankers) and the British/French alliance (Darminists) is overlaid with philosophical and religious differences over the use of machines and the manipulation of genetic material. These fantastic artifacts of engineering are wonderfully illustrated by Keith Thompson, and I would recommend any steampunk fan to at least flip through a copy just to look at the artwork.

Holy catharsis! I don’t care about being published!

Well, this was a real shock. I had just sent out another five queries for Halcyon when I noticed a distinct lack of tension in myself. I wasn’t concerned about how good my query letter is (it’s fair, but not stellar). I wasn’t concerned about how long it will take to receive a response (read: rejection) from the agents. I wasn’t concerned about whether I was wasting my life writing novels that no one will ever read.

I used to be concerned about these things. Now, I am not.

Holy carp! Finnish Wikipedia!

Apropos nothing: My review of Joe Abercrombie’s The Blade Itself is now a footnote / reference on a Finnish Wikipedia page. Woo hoo!