A Month of Days

February 11th:

One thought for next month’s column is to come up with one column idea every day, and write them down. At the end of the month I should have a bounty of ideas for future columns, and I’ll be able to pick from whichever of them most interests me at the time I sit down to write.

February 12th:

Today I found a first printing copy of Scratch One by John Lange… I listed it to start for sale, and I’m looking for some of the other “John Lange” books I have around, like Binary. I wound up telling Jen about the oddity of Michael Crichton selecting the pseudonym John Lange under which to write his early books… thus preventing people from potentially knowing that their doctor was a novelist… while very shortly afterward, John Lange selected the pseudonym John Norman to write his early books, thus preventing his students from learning that their professor was a writer. I have some good anecdotes about pseudonyms, and can discuss their good and bad points.

February 13th:

ConDFW 2010 is this weekend, and I couldn’t go as a dealer because of conflicts with the regular job. This is an absolute nightmare for me; I typically run three to five tables there and do fairly well, and I could have used the extra money. Still, I was able to get there as an attendee, and was surprised by how many authors couldn’t attend (mostly due to the unexpected massive snowstorms.) The regular attendance was great, but with fewer guests I’m not certain that missing the dealer’s tables is as bad as it might have been, or even that I’d have pulled a profit. Typically, works by attending authors make up at least a third of sales. The mechanisms for planning for a con and expected sales breakdowns might make for a decent column.

February 14th:

Valentine’s Day, and John Rosenman’s talking about winning awards. I really should do a follow-up to the essay I posted shortly after arriving here, regarding the construction of the Karl Edward Wagner rediscovery award. The notion was well received by the person in charge of Wagner’s memorial site and he wanted to know how we would go about it… unfortunately, I think he mistook my authentic desire for such an item as being equivalent to having the resources to publicize or initiate it. Such an award would be absolutely worthless, in my opinion, without some push behind it. NESFA has done a great job, whether intentionally or not, of getting the works by authors featured by the Cordwainer Smith award back into print. Paul Linebarger’s family and fans have assembled a wonderful, informative website. Lacking print connections or the expertise and time to do a decent website, my contributions to such an award could be at best as an aide. But the idea is still solid, something to remind people of the work of those who have gone before.

February 15th:

All hail the Anchor Bay. Jen’s been picking up DVDs for resale while we’ve been out on my usual book runs, and I’ve learned the love that AB has developed over time. Not all of their movies are sought by collectors; most of their contemporary horror, for example, isn’t very expensive. But the smaller print run, limited release time movies (many horror and thriller) seem to have an unusually large fan base and command decent prices. As these are the sort of things that many horror fans might have, an essay about money hidden on their shelves is a possibility. Especially for movies where the big draw is a commentary which they might have already heard, or a film they’ve seen once and have no real desire to see again. Jen’s still watching for the AB Straight On Til Morning, and if she’s hunting for a film, it’s got to be hard to find.

February 16th:

Had a great idea today; I remember that much. Unfortunately, I don’t remember what it was. However, there’s a saving grace, in a column idea: the value of always keeping something, anything, on hand both to write with and to write on.

February 17th:

The eBay store is doing fairly well. I’m seeing different selling trends there than on the regular auctions. Essay idea: differentiate between the two and explain the positives and negatives of both, and also provide information about the sales trends. Expand that into recent trends in secondary market sales.

February 18th:

A stack of Omni magazines reminded me of just how much I love Ellen Datlow. The woman’s been editing fiction for decades, and has produced not just new work nor reprints but both; that requires an incredible knowledge of existing material and an ability to recognize the best in new fiction. She’s one of a handful of editors who can make that sort of claim. More to the point, she’s the only one I can think of who is an editor exclusively when it comes to fiction. She can certainly write; her many introductions and essays display that fact. But unlike Gardner Dozois, she’s not a fiction author; unlike David G. Hartwell, she doesn’t have a history as a reviewer; unlike Otto Penzler, she’s not a bookseller or publisher. She’s an editor, and she’s among the best to have worked within the publishing industry; arguably the best working today. Definitely worth an article.

February 19th:

“Quieter Horror” – the terror of the ordinary. Something that I’ve seen a lot more in older horror work, where the fear is generated through telling about things outside of death, pain, dismemberment, etc… – fear of loss, primarily. Bring up a few examples of stories where the fear is created by getting the reader to identify with the main character, then experience their despair alongside them. When the stories don’t work they’re usually dull but when they do they’re magnificent.

February 20th:

I’m going to be selling a book signed by Bela Lugosi, Jr. The man’s a lawyer who has been dealing extensively with the extention of intellectual property rights after a person’s death; in this case, because of his father’s legacy. A little research might provide an interesting essay for the pros.

February 21st:

I used to visit Shocklines and the RLD every day, typically for an hour or so. I haven’t been to either in well over a month. While there have been very informative and thoughtful essays about unplugging, both literally and figuratively, I’m learning there is a hazard to doing the opposite. I find that the more people I interact with, or even whose interactions I observe, the more comfortable I feel around people. Considering how many authors I’ve heard discussing the value of listening to others speak, I have to wonder if authors risk hindering themselves if they withdraw too much from casual activity. For those authors who live in urban areas with people from a variety of places, it’s probably not a big deal, but for those who don’t live in those settings, some online time – perhaps especially if it’s a budgeted time – might be a significant boon. On another note, I look forward to my life getting settled down enough to allow me some decent online time again.

February 22nd:

Forged signatures are rare on books, but they do exist; a few months ago I picked up an Easton Press copy of a Roger Zelazny novel. It had been signed, but as the book was published after Zelazny’s death and the signature didn’t even approximate the one on the Underwood / Miller signed/limited I had, I am willing to say with confidence that the person who signed it wasn’t him. Some things to look for and why it’s so rarely done.

February 23rd:

I’ve noticed that a couple of the times I’ve written an idea down, it’s sounded similar to something I’ve meant to address before. I then scroll through my past essays and check to see whether it’s a topic I’ve written about in the past. I don’t want to repeat myself, but I also recognize that some people are disinclined to read through archives – and some things, such as book repair, are pieces of knowledge which can be extremely helpful and which aren’t shared by many of the readers. When is it appropriate to revisit essay topics? Does there need to be something new to say?

February 24th:

Jen was talking today about something she’d picked up from a William Burroughs book about writing. It reminded me of the column Brian Hodge wrote about reading advice books about writing, and of some of the other pieces of advice I’ve heard. There seems to be a general consensus that writing groups and seminars and advice books help, but that taken in excess they can also hurt, producing people who lack the confidence to ever escape from workshopping. It strikes me that perhaps the best way of proceeding is much like anything else in life: be willing to try new things in the hope that they’ll work for you, hold to the items or advice that expand your abilities, and discard those that don’t. Does this work with writers? At what point does a person have to acknowledge that their artistic vision is flawed and needs improvement? At what point do they have to refuse “help” which undermines the intent of their work?

February 25th:

Just finished reading All Hallows Eve. Wonderful book, but very much a product of its time in terms of the references… much like To the Devil… A Daughter by Dennis Wheatley, another book I recently read. Both books are firmly entrenched in the time of their writing, but both are engaging novels today. Some of the stories written in the 1980s are the same way, while some are little more than time-lost curiosities. When using current or recent events and locations to add color and believability to the story the writer runs the risk of cementing the story in that time and place. The difference seems to be in what the focus of the story is; if it’s a relationship or an ongoing concern the books seem to have a more lasting impact. (expand)

February 26th:

How to distinguish a book club edition; why some are still a bit expensive and which ones are most notable. Also, what different states of bindings and jackets indicate, again with the most notable examples.

February 27th:

“The Time Has Come,” the Walrus Said, “To Talk of Many Things” – Random information is incredibly valuable for authors. A shallow knowledge base about a wide variety of things allows for ideas to bounce off of each other, and when combined with a conscious or subconscious effort to look at established things in new ways can lead to innovative concepts for stories. Combine that with a willingness to research further where appropriate and you find the immense value of esoteric knowledge.

February 28th:

End of month. Deadline for book reviews. Deadlines are addressed often, but they’re all that are on my mind right now. The problems associated with tunnel vision? What are the most effective types of personal motivation?

March 1st:

There is slight potential reward and significant danger in following someone’s literary lead. Michael Shea has shown the positive: his work in the veins of Jack Vance and H.P. Lovecraft has been utterly fantastic. On the other hand, Lin Carter’s efforts at recreating the magic of Conan or Doc Savage were never as good as his original work, but their high profile damaged his literary legacy for some (although not, I hope, as an editor.) Using someone else’s work as a base from which to tell your own stories can introduce additional enjoyment for the reader, but you have to find that which made the original stand out and try to excel at those story elements.

March 2nd:

The size of novels has always been paramount; Doubleday used to insist that the page count of their hardcovers be a certain length, and in the 1980s that length expanded to the current 325 page length expected for adult novels. Authors are allowed to play with that page length in a way which directly corresponds to the interest the publisher has in producing their book, and some books… particularly fantasy novels… are now encouraged to be huge because of previous successes. Examples of titles which break the “rules” and why they are successful or not. Easy example: Eric by Terry Pratchett, one of the lower-selling titles of his in the US (which still means its sales figures crush most other fantasies) in no small part due to its very thin size.

March 3rd:

Reading for content vs. reading for construction. The author’s eye, and why many experienced authors and most editors can be completely accurate in their reviews yet seem to have read a different book than the fan or casual reader.

March 4th:

Magazines are cheap on eBay, despite their comparative rarity when compared to most books. It’s a function of supply and demand. This simple fact can be taken advantage of by the reader who wishes to expose themselves to great older fiction by favorite authors. Moreover, some of the stories published in magazines have never seen book publication, even stories written by fan-favorite authors. A quick guide to some of the horror, sf, and fantasy magazines and what to look for in them.

March 5th:

“Haven’t We Been Here Before?” – Stephen King became an expert in horror literature and continued to read and enjoy it. Robert B. Parker became an expert on certain mystery writers, then refused to read any other mystery work. Both of their approaches allowed them to avoid repeating certain aspects of other author’s works. In King’s case, it meant that he risked using some root idea from a story read decades in the past when constructing his own stories, but it also gave him a breadth of knowledge from which to subvert established tropes and thus stand out. In Parker’s case, it eliminated any chance of getting something from another mystery author but it also meant he risked using the same plot devices and twists which had recently been done elsewhere by a similarly creative person. Which technique is better, and can that even be answered?

March 6th:

Novelizations and licensed-property work. What has been done in the past, some of the arguments for and against them, and which are worth decent cash on the secondary market.

March 7th:

After watching the Oscars, one phrase still bothers me: “The most famous werewolf in film.” This was uttered about the guy from the latest Twilight movie. I may not have the depth of knowledge of werewolf lore that Steve Wedel has, but I’ve got some appreciation for the lycanthrope as a horror icon, and that just begs for some righteous indignation.

March 8th:

“My Parents Went to the Horror Con and All I Got Was This Awesome T-Shirt” – the value of marketing existing work in alternative ways. The value of the immediate attention grab / sale (like putting candy at a table, or free bookmarks) as opposed to items of long-term usage like magnets, coasters, or clothing. Bring up some of my own shirts, etc… and point out that they function as roving advertisement.

March 9th:

I had the day off from work today. It was scheduled long in advance, and Jen and I took advantage of it to go taste prospective wedding cake flavors. Authors are perceived as often being on vacation, and a few rare people I’ve heard from have admitted that (Dennis Lehane and his multiple months of relaxation followed by a few weeks of furious, inspired work spring to mind) but generally they carefully cleave to the notion that daily writing is an absolute necessity. Do any of them take days off? If so, how long? Is it good or bad?

March 10th:

Stuck for a topic to write about.