About Jim C. Hines

https://www.jimchines.com

Posts by Jim Hines:

A Comic for Online Drama

I wanted to put some of my thoughts about the Internet these past few weeks into stick figure comic form.

Have a great weekend, all!

Go Away

A Good Negative Critique of my Work

First off, a few more things from yesterday…

The Libriomancer sequel has a title! Book two of the Magic ex Libris series will be Codex Born.

My Parents’ Cat is on SF Signal! – I wrote a guest post for SF Signal, talking about some of the behind-the-scenes stuff from Libriomancer. Including the true identity of the bookstore cat from the book.

Interview at The Editing Essentials – An interview I did with my friend Brittiany Koren, who edited several anthologies that included short fiction from me.

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On to the critique. Alex Cranz wrote a piece in FEMPOP about the treatment of women characters. Warning: While Cranz avoids specifics, this will probably spoil the ending of Snow Queen’s Shadow for you.

I know why I made the choices I did in that book. That doesn’t in any way change the fact that Cranz raises very good, valid points. Whether or not I had valid reasons for those choices doesn’t change the fact that those choices do fall into a larger pattern.

While I’m sad that my book bummed Cranz out right before a wedding, I’m glad she cared about the books enough for them to have that impact, and I’m even more pleased that she chose to write this essay and start up a conversation about these tropes.

I recommend checking out her piece. Not to defend my book. (Please don’t.) But because it’s thoughtful and important and a conversation we should be having.

Also, according to her bio, Cranz trained her dog to do fistbumps, which is just awesome.

Libriomancer Roundup and Giveaway

Months ago, I thought about how August 1 marked the end of the Hugo voting period, which meant I could go on my blog and post something like, “Now that voting is over, I can stop worrying about pissing off the entire internet and tell y’all what I really think!” Or words to that effect.

And then I pissed off half of Reddit five days early, and COMPLETELY RUINED THE TIMING FOR MY SMARTASS JOKE!

D’oh!

Anyway, Libriomancer [Amazon | B&N | Mysterious Galaxy] comes out in six days. Yes, I’m excited. Yes, I’m freaking out. Here are some of the book-related things taking up my mental real estate right now…

  • My German publisher made an offer for Libriomancer and the sequel! Woo hoo! This is the first foreign deal for the book, but hopefully not the last 🙂
  • Booksignings! Next week I’ll be running all over Michigan to read, chat, and sign books with some of my favorite stores and people. You should totally come!
    • August 7, 7:00 p.m. Schuler Books – Eastwood Location. Lansing, Michigan.
    • August 8, 7:00 p.m. Nicola’s Books. Ann Arbor, Michigan.
    • August 9, 7:00 p.m. Schuler Books – Alpine Location. Walker, Michigan.
    • August 10, 7:00 p.m. Kazoo Books – Parkview Location. Kalamazoo, Michigan.
  • Reviews! Justin at Staffer’s Book Review posted a review of the book (and some commentary about the Reddit thing). He says, in part:

“Libriomancer … communicates a passion for genre fiction that I felt can only be captured with one word–Joy.  Jim C. Hines’ novel is an ode to genre and all the joy it’s brought him. A joy that he brought me as I read it … It’s a fantasy novel written by a fan, for fans. I would strongly recommend anyone who’s characterized themselves as such to read Libriomancer as soon as possible.”

  • The Little Red Reviewer said, “This might look like a run of the mill urban fantasy, but it’s a character driven story that will keep you thinking into the small hours of the night.”
  • SciFiChick was a bit disappointed by the romance, but liked the book overall, describing it as “fast-paced, action-packed and full of entertaining humor and suspense … a fantastic world of magic, mystery and excitement.”

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And now for the giveaway! I’m gonna keep this simple. If you were given the power of libriomancy, the ability to create anything described on the pages of any published book, what would it be? Per the rules of libriomancy, you can’t create an intelligent being, and whatever you create has to fit through the pages. No TARDIS-making, sorry!

Leave your entry in the comments. I’ll pick one random winner this weekend and send them a personally inscribed copy of the book.

Have fun!

Reporting Sexual Harassment in SF/F

Please see http://www.jimchines.com/2013/07/reporting-sexual-harassment-2013/ for the most current version of this post.

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I want to make it as clear as I can that if you’ve been sexually harassed, it’s your choice whether or not to report that harassment. It’s not an easy choice, and as we’ve seen, even written policies don’t guarantee the outcome. But I can tell you that if someone has harassed you, it’s 99% certain that he (or she) has done it to others. You’re not alone.

Reporting to Publishers:

As a general rule, if you’ve been sexually harassed by an editor or another employee of a publisher, complaints can be directed to the publisher’s H.R. department. Please note that reporting to H.R. will usually trigger a formal, legal response.

I’ve spoken to people at several publishers to get names and contact information for complaints, both formal and informal. I’ve put asterisks by the publishers where I spoke with someone directly.

  • Ace: See Penguin, below.
  • Apex Publications*: “Any harassment issues related to Apex Publications should be sent to Jason Sizemore.” jason -at- apexbookcompany.com.
  • Baen*: Toni Weisskopf, toni -at- baen.com. From Toni, “You would come to me with any complaint about the company.”
  • DAW*: Sheila Gilbert (sheila.gilbert -at- us.penguingroup.com) or Betsy Wolheim (betsy.wolheim -at- us.penguingroup.com). They can be reached during normal office hours, Tuesday through Thursday.
  • Del Rey/Spectra*: HumanResources -at- randomhouse.com.
  • Edge*: Brian Hades (publisher -at- hadespublications.com).
  • Harper Collins: feedback2 -at- harpercollins.com.
  • Orbit: Andrea Weinzimer, VP of Human Resources. andrea.weinzimer -at- hbgusa.com. Inappropriate conduct can also be brought up with the publisher, Tim Holman tim.holman -at- hbgusa.com.
  • Penguin: Contact page links to an e-mail submission form.
  • Random House: Contact page has some info.
  • Roc: See Penguin, above.
  • Solaris Books: Please use the Contact Page.
  • Tor*: Report the incident directly to Macmillan Human Resources, or to Beth Meacham, at bam -at- panix.com or in person.

Publishers – I would love to expand this list with better information. Please contact me.

Reporting to Conventions:

Often harassment doesn’t come from editors, but from authors or other fans. If this happens at a convention, another option is to contact the convention committee. Many (but not all) conventions include harassment policies in the program books.

A convention committee doesn’t have the same power as an employer. However, if harassment is reported at a convention, the individual may be confronted or asked to leave. In addition, reporting harassment by guests (authors, editors, etc.) is very helpful to the convention in deciding who not to invite back.

To any convention staff, I would encourage you to make sure you have a harassment policy in place, and equally importantly, that your volunteers are aware of that policy and willing to enforce it.

The Con Anti-Harassment Project includes a list of SF/F conventions and their sexual harassment policies (Note – As of October 2011, this list is rather outdated.)

Other:

Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) – Per John Scalzi, current SFWA president:

If there is an instance where someone feels that they have been harassed at a SFWA event or in SFWA online environs, they may contact the board. This should ideally be done through their regional director, or by contacting SFWA’s ombudsman, Cynthia Felice, at ombudsman -at- sfwa.org. SFWA takes very seriously the responsibility to have its events and online areas be places where members and others feel safe and valued.

What to Expect:

Ideally, someone who was sexually harassed could report it and expect to be treated with respect. Her or his concerns would be taken seriously, and all possible steps would be taken to make sure the behavior did not happen again, and that the offender understood such behavior was unacceptable. Disciplinary action would be taken when appropriate.

This is not a perfect world. Employers are required to follow the laws and their own policies, which may mean a report results in nothing more than a warning (particularly if this is the first report of harassment). And as we’ve recently seen with Readercon, there are no guarantees that a convention will even follow its own policies.

That said, when I originally posted about sexual harassment in fandom, everyone who responded expressed that such behavior was unacceptable. And there were a lot of responses, from fans, authors, editors, con staff, and agents. The backlash against the Readercon decision suggests that a lot of us are taking sexual harassment more seriously.

As a rape counselor, I saw how powerful and important it can be to break the silence around assault and harassment. However, it’s always your choice whether or not to report. Making that report will be stressful. It may be empowering, but there are no guarantees. It may or may not have visible results.

First and foremost, please do whatever is necessary to take care of yourself.

Other Resources:

Please contact me if you know of related resources which should be included here.

The Readercon Mess

Much of the SF/F community has posted about the Readercon mess, where Rene Walling harassed and stalked Genevieve Valentine throughout the convention. BC Holmes has a roundup of links and discussion here.

Readercon’s official statement announced that Walling had been banned from Readercon “for at least two years.” Honestly, my first reaction was relief that they had done anything at all, given how often this sort of behavior gets ignored or excused. But then I read further, and discovered that Readercon has a zero-tolerance policy about sexual harassment:

“Harassment of any kind — including physical assault, battery, deliberate intimidation, stalking, or unwelcome physical attentions — will not be tolerated at Readercon and will result in permanent suspension of membership.”

There was no question that Walling’s behavior fell under this definition. The board at Readercon simply chose to ignore their own policy. I’m sure they believe they had good reason. I’m equally sure it doesn’t matter. Whatever you might think of zero-tolerance policies, Readercon made a promise to its members that sexual harassment would not be tolerated, and would be dealt with in a certain way.

They broke that promise.

I’m not going to write a long rant here, both because I’m still recovering from the last rant, and because so many others have made the points I would have made (usually better than I would have done). Here are a few links I wanted to highlight:

  • Genevieve Valentine’s original post, response to the verdict, and her follow-up.
  • Rose Lemberg: Enough with the Aspie Bit Already.  What she said, dammit! If you hear about someone sexually harassing another person, and your instinct is to assume a) Oh, they must be one of those Aspie types and/or b) that this somehow makes it okay, then please just go the hell away. My son is ASD, and I don’t have the spoons to deal with you right now.
  • Elizabeth Bear: It’s not about the man. From Bear’s post, “We are not calling for Walling’s punishment. We are calling for the right of Valentine and other women to exist in an environment without predators.”
  • Rose Fox: This is the opposite of what I wanted. Rose has decided to remain on the concom for Readercon. I appreciate and respect her for making this choice, and for working from within to try to make Readercon a safer place.
  • Concom member Matthew Cheney has resigned as a result of this decision. “I want to live in a world that’s more about rehabilitation than punishment. But rehabilitation is not the responsibility of an event or its committees. If you hold an event, your job is to make sure the people who attend are as safe as you can reasonably ensure.”
  • Veronica Schanoes’ petition to the Readercon Board.

I hope other conventions are paying attention and taking notes on what to do and what not to do in order to create a safe environment for their attendees.

Why I Cancelled my Reddit Q&A

SERIOUS TRIGGER WARNING FOR RAPE

ETA: It’s almost midnight, and there are now close to 400 comments on this post. I’ve read them all, and I want to thank those of you who contributed to the conversation, on both sides.  A decade ago, I would have been good for at least three more hours, but as one commenter pointed out, I’m old. I’m therefore going to declare this party over, thank you for coming, and kick you out of my house so I can go to bed. (I.e., I’m turning off the comments now.)

I know some people will take this as further proof that I’m a grandstanding, hypocritical, pro-censorship, freedom-hating, puppy-kicking, fascist poopyhead. That’s fine. But with this many comments, I think most of the arguments have been made, and most of the insults hurled.

Have a good night, all.

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One of the events I had lined up for the launch of my new book was a Q&A with Reddit’s fantasy community. I did an “Ask Me Anything” session with them earlier this year and had a great time, so I was looking forward to another round. And then Twitter pointed me to an active Reddit discussion which starts with, “Reddit’s had a few threads about sexual assault victims, but are there any redditors from the other side of the story? What were your motivations? Do you regret it?”

Numerous rapists jumped in to tell their stories. I’m not going to link to them.

The comments and reactions were mixed. Some people were horrified. Others tried to reassure the rapists, to minimize what they had done, or to praise people’s courage in anonymously talking about how they committed rape. There’s plenty of victim blaming, and comments from the “Women lie about rape to attack men!!!” contingent.

Earlier today I emailed the person who was coordinating my Reddit event to tell him I will not be doing it unless that thread is removed. Given the nature of Reddit as an open, relatively unmoderated community, I don’t expect this to happen.

An announcement was already posted that I would be giving away a copy of Libriomancer on Reddit. I don’t think it’s fair to back out of that, so I’m planning to post an additional giveaway on my site and ask my contact to update that announcement with a link to the giveaway. (He has been incredibly cool and supportive of my decision, and agrees that the rape posts are offensive and should be dealt with by the moderators.)

There are aspects of this decision I need to talk about. A Jezebel post called Rapists Explain Themselves on Reddit and We Should Listen talks about the way this thread provides insight into the minds of rapists, and how it’s important to have this conversation in unprotected spaces like Reddit:

“Nothing will change if we discuss rape culture in a vacuum. Taking the discussion beyond that vacuum, however, means opening it up to a wider audience that isn’t necessarily sympathetic. Reddit may not be the best place for that, but it’s certainly a start — and that’s important. It’s in these less-protected, less-sacred spaces where the conversation is needed the most.”

Others have argued that it’s important to understand evil, to see where it comes from and recognize that these are seemingly-normal people who’ve committed horrible acts. One person said that reading the posts helped her to realize that there are men deliberately targeting women, and that her rape wasn’t an accident or a “misunderstanding,” but a deliberate choice by the rapist. In other words, it helped her see that it wasn’t her fault.

That really stuck with me. But for me personally, the harm far outweighs the good.

It is important that we understand why people rape. But there are other ways to find that insight. Books, essays, research, and more. I’ve spoken with rapists and batterers, and it did give me a better understanding as to how this crime happens. But the circumstances of those conversations were very different. They were controlled, with people who had been convicted and held accountable for their actions. People who, as far as I could tell, appeared to genuinely regret what they had done. In situations where excuses were not tolerated.

Some of my problems with the Reddit discussion are as follows.

-Who are these people? My guess is that most of these stories are true, but I have no way of knowing who is telling the truth and who is trolling for attention. In the overall scheme of things though, this is a minor complaint.

-No accountability or responsibility. In none of the stories I read were the rapists held accountable for their actions. Nor did they take responsibility. The pattern tended to be, “Here’s the story of how I raped this girl, and here are all of my excuses. I got away with it, but I feel really bad now of course, so give me cookies!”

-Some of the posts are essentially How-To guides for rapists. Rape is not an accident. It’s not a misunderstanding. Predators practice their technique. They learn how best to target and overpower their victims. And now we have a thread from experienced rapists sharing their successful techniques.

-Rape is a crime of sex and power. I read some of these stories, and I see rapists getting off on the chance to relive their crime. The sexual aspect comes from the graphic descriptions of what they did, and the power comes from the reactions of the commenters. The dynamic I’m seeing here is one that allows a number of rapists to recapture the rush of their crimes.

-The Hurt Outweighs the Good. I won’t deny that some people have taken positive things from all this, but I believe the harm far outweighs that good.

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I know Reddit is not a single unified group, any more than Twitter or LiveJournal or Facebook. My guess is that very few members of the Reddit Fantasy group have any idea what’s happening in the rapist thread, and that many or most of them would be horrified. I feel like I’m punishing innocent people for actions they had nothing to do with, and I don’t like that.

I’m also a big believer in freedom of speech. These people have the right to tell their stories. But that right to speech doesn’t obligate one of the largest sites on the Internet to provide a platform for their speech. Reddit, as I understand it, prides itself on a relative lack of moderation and an “anything goes” approach. To quote one member, “It allows any voice to be heard no matter how uneducated, insensitive or outright wrong.”

I don’t think people should be silenced for lack of education, for tone, or for having a different opinion than me. And I’m not going to tell Reddit how to run their sites or communities. Nor am I going to try to say everyone who chooses to stay with Reddit is a bad person.

But I’ve made the choice to walk away, both for myself, and for the hope that it sends a message to those with the ability to make a change at Reddit.

LEGO Helm’s Deep & Book Stuff

As you might have gathered from Wednesday’s post, most of my energy is going into book-related stuff right now, including…

  • A Twitter chat/interview at sffwrtcht. (Transcript is here – includes one automaton-related spoiler detail from the moderator.)
  • An interview with LGBT Fantasy Fans and Writers in which I talk about princesses and Libriomancer and writing advice and a magic marionette.
  • Several other as-yet-unpublished interviews, guest blogs, and essays.
  • Talking to my editor about the cover for book two.
  • Brainstorming a title for book two. (I spent more than an hour staring at the computer last night, just jotting down random words. I also had a title feedback session on Facebook.) The possible titles I finally sent my editor are: CODEX BORN, CODEX BOUND, or CODEX UNBOUND. We’ll see what she thinks.
  • Chatting with Carol Monda, who will be doing the narration for the audio books of the princess series. (Did I make that announcement here? I don’t think I did. Bad author! I know I mentioned it on Twitter and Facebook.)

So while I try to find my brain, enjoy this impressive LEGO recreation of the battle at Helm’s Deep, by Daniel Z. Click the pic for more shots of this set.

Heart of Literary Darkness: Case Study of an Author 13 Days Before the Release of a Novel

ABSTRACT: While the DSM-V does not recognize the condition of Undifferentiated Authorial Pre-release Anxiety (not to be confused with Authorial Prepublication Neurosis), this is a well-known if unofficial diagnosis in the field of Bibliopsychology. Our research presents a detailed portrait of an author in the days before the publication of his next novel, in the hope that our observations and insights might point the way to future research. While there is at present no proven treatment for UAPA, our data finds some hope for cognitive therapy, traditional reinforcement, and clinical doses of mint chocolate chip ice cream.[1. Based on early experiments, we advise against the use of a placebo, as this tended to result in heightened states of violence and aggression in the subject.]

SUBJECT: Jim C. Hines is the author of seven novels and approximately 40 short stories. His 8th novel Libriomancer [Amazon | B&N | Mysterious Galaxy] will be published on August 7 of this year. (See figure 1, right.) This marks the launch of his third series, and will be his first hardcover with DAW Books. At the time this article was written, the book had received generally positive blurbs and reviews. Hines is 38 years old and married. He is employed with the State of Michigan. His medical file lists a diagnosis for type 1 diabetes in October of 1998, and he recently began treatment for depression. According to one family interview, he is “a goofball.”

INITIAL OBSERVATIONS: In the past 30 days, subject has displayed an increasingly obsessive tendency toward Google searches and visits to sites such as Goodreads and Amazon.com. Below is a graph of the subject’s visits to Amazon.com to check his sales ranking over the past nine weeks (figure 2).

A statistical analysis of this trend suggests that the subject will soon devote all available time and energy to clicking the refresh button. In week 12, he will reach the singularity, merging his brain with Amazon’s database and algorithms. We predict increasingly negative outcomes in social interaction, employment, and hygiene.[2. An intervention was attempted in week 8, at which point the subject threatened to ‘dump a nest of fire-spiders in our drawers’ if we didn’t restore his Internet access. Further interventions are negatively indicated at this time.]

The subject has also shown signs of neglect toward email and even his blog. The majority of his time and energy seem to be devoted to interviews and guest posts. On the surface, this behavior appears consistent with the need to promote his work and generate a false sense of control, but we believe he may also be sublimating his anxiety into these projects. In layman’s terms, he appears to be “freaking the hell out.”

TREATMENT OPTIONS: It would have been unethical to ignore the subject’s clearly worsening condition. Several treatments were attempted, without success.[3. EBear Treatment was not possible due to the unavailability of a Giant Ridiculous Dog.]

  1. The Scalzi Protocol – Subject was fed approximately three pounds of bacon (cooked) each day. We found no visible improvement in mood. Subject began to record more erratic blood sugar readings, and was found taping bacon to his children. Protocol was cut short after four days.
  2. Kowal Therapy – Subject proved resistant to puppet-led counseling.
  3. The Grant-McGuire Treatment – Guided meditation was attempted with the standard protocol and script. Subject became distraught during the zombie velociraptor sequence.
  4. The Wheaton Cure – The lead researcher informed the subject that he was being a dick. Subject promptly punched the lead researcher in the fiddly bits.

CONCLUSIONS: While Undifferentiated Authorial Pre-release Anxiety is believed to be incurable, nearly all subjects recover within 2 to 12 weeks after the publication of their book. We believe there may be a neurochemical element to this recovery, and will be taking samples of the subject’s brain fluid during and after the release of Libriomancer, in the hope that these neurochemicals can be synthesized and artificially stimulated. For the time being, however, we recommend the standard precautionary steps as documented by the Gilbert & Wollheim 1998 study: preordering massive doses of the book in order to mitigate the worst symptoms of the disease.

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Hugo Roundup

As a Hugo nominee, I think I’m required to do at least one reminder post that Hugo voting ends July 31. There’s now a countdown on the Hugo Voting Page.

I’ve posted my thoughts on various categories here:

While I didn’t get through all of the novels, I did have a review of one of the nominated works: Deadline, by Mira Grant.

I voted last week. There are a few categories I left blank, as I wasn’t familiar enough to feel right about voting, and at this point, I wasn’t going to be able to get through the rest. Here are my final, somewhat disorganized thoughts on the nominated works.

Graphic Novel – You’ve got Fables, a story that blends different fairy tale characters, including some kick-ass heroines and an interpretation that blends the two versions of Snow White. Then there’s The Unwritten, which centers on the magic of books and stories. After reading those two, I was half-expecting the next one to be all about an underdog fantasy monster and his pet spider. This was one of the categories I struggled with, trying to rank both the storytelling and the artwork/presentation. For example, the artwork in Digger might not be on the same level as the art in Fables, but I found myself enjoying the story and imagination in Digger more.

Best Editor – Long Form – As a DAW author, I can’t be objective here. Pat Rothfuss talks about his experience working with Betsy Wollheim here, and I think he says things better than I could. Last year, she edited and published a #1 NYT Bestseller (Rothfuss) as well as a World Fantasy Award winner (Nnedi Okorafor). Betsy has been editing for decades, and has never gotten a Hugo for it. I think it’s time that changed. (Pat’s post is also worth reading for the insight into writing-related stress and breakdown.)

Best Related Work – I think the online SF Encyclopedia is an impressive achievement, and worth recognition. Seanan McGuire’s album “Wicked Girls” is awesome, and the title song is award-worthy all by itself (in my not-terribly-humble opinion). I’ve been a guest on Writing Excuses and I think they’re great, but I found myself struggling with the question of whether it was better to vote for something aimed primarily at writers vs. works aimed at SF/F as a whole. I don’t know if that makes sense or not, and I don’t think “specialized” works should be excluded. Just something I had to work through as I was trying to decide how to vote.

Best Fan Writer – I have no comment, except to say once again that I’m honored to be on the ballot with these people.

John W. Campbell Award – This was a tricky one. One author had a fairly short story. Two others had novels. It’s hard to compare. I think that for the short story nominees, it’s a good idea to submit multiple stories, like E. Lily Yu did. It provides a larger sense of the author’s writing and range. I wonder how many people will vote for the novelists, simply because folks tend to see novels as more “valid” than short stories…

No Award – I didn’t vote “No Award” for any of the categories. I wouldn’t deny others their right to do so, but I find that option personally distasteful. The works on the ballot are there because a significant portion of our community feels they deserve to be on the ballot. Even if I disagree, I’m not comfortable saying I’d rather see no award given out than see it go to that person or work.

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One of the challenges I struggled with was keeping my personal feelings off of the ballot. I know a lot of the nominees this year, which is awesome, but also awkward. I think I was able to judge each category on the merits of the submitted work, but it was hard. (It helps that I have some amazingly talented friends, so in many cases I could vote for them with a clear conscience.)

Have you voted yet? What was the hardest category for you to decide on? Which category or categories did you end up leaving blank?

First Book Friday: Michael R. Underwood

This summer, all of the cool kids are writing *mancy books! Michael R. Underwood (Twitter, Facebook) just celebrated the release of his first novel, in which magic flows from genre tropes, and Ree Reyes (barista-and-comicshop-employee) finds herself drawn into the supernatural side of town, investigating a string of suicides. Geek-powered magic. It’s all the rage. You can check out the first two chapters at Tor.com.

A while back, I blogged and chatted a bit about Book Country, an online community of readers and writers launched by Penguin. I was delighted when Michael offered to share his experience with Book Country, an experience that led to a two-book deal for Geekomancy and its sequel.

Previous First Book Friday entries in the series are indexed here. The submission guidelines are over there.

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There’s a certain way things are done in publishing. Most authors write a manuscript, revise it, revise it again, then revise it some more. They get an agent, then they get a deal, then a year to a year and a half later, the book comes out in paperback or hardcover, etc. This is the way that things are done. And for many people, it works fabulously.

But there are always exceptions. Happily, my story with Geekomancy [Amazon | B&N] is one of those exceptions. At the beginning of 2012, I had just completed the first draft of an urban fantasy called Geekomancy and decided to try an experiment. Like many experiments, the results were unexpected.

I’d put a previous novel up for critique on Book Country, a community for genre fiction authors, and decided that it’d be a good exercise to show my new novel’s whole revision process on Book Country – it’d be a way to have accountability, get feedback as I went, and make a Thing of it.

As it turns out, it was not just a Thing, it was The Thing That Would Get Me Published. A few weeks after I put up an excerpt, Adam Wilson emailed me, introducing himself as an editor for Pocket/Gallery. He’d read what I posted and liked it, and saw that I had a complete draft, and could he read it?

And, because I am a good geek, and I know my Ghostbusters, I had the appropriate quote in my head: “If someone asks you if you’re a God, you say YES.”

And thus, I created my authorial corollary to the phrase: “If an editor asks if they can read your manuscript, you say YES.”

I said YES, and off it went. In the meantime, a Penguin editor also asked to read the full, taking me from ‘Wow, this is cool’ to ‘There could be editorial Thunderdome in store.’ It didn’t get quite that crazy, but in a little over a week, I had an offer. Adam was acquiring for a re-launch of Pocket Star as an eBook original imprint, and wanted to buy Geekomancy and 1-2 sequels as part of the re-launch.

Initially, I was sad to not have a print edition, since I have lots of bookstore connections and I didn’t dream of one day publishing an eBook when I was a kid. But with some reflection, I saw the advantages: as an eOriginal, it’d be faster to market, and it’d be easier to target directly to the demographic sweet spot (geeks and gamers), many of whom are eBook readers already.

I asked for a bit of time to consider the offer, and in that time, I went on a Lightning Round Agent Search, talking to several different agents and signing with the fabulous Sara Megibow of the Nelson Literary Agency. With an awesome agent on board, we sealed the deal.

Story’s over, right? Pack up, go home? Not quite!

A few weeks after the deal was done, Adam came back and asked if I’d be interested in turning the book in a couple of weeks earlier so they could release the book at Comic-Con?

Again, I responded in the enthusiastic affirmative. Comic-Con? A chance to get the book in front of 100,000 members of its prime demographic? Done.

And that’s how I sold, edited, and had my first novel published within six months of signing the deal. Geekomancy is now out in the world, its story a happy exception to the norms of publishing and helping trailblaze one of many new paths in the field.

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