This is nutty. One might think that a better April Fools' Joke might come out of people with higher intellects, but apparently not. This comes directly from my "Stars for 'Tards" class on basic astronomy -
Gravity is a relative problem. Since the moon is slowly moving outside of the Earth's gravitational fiel, the tides are much lower than they were only a few years ago, which means that the massive amounts of erosion of the planet via the tides has made it so the environment is being changed. Eventually, it is possible that the moon will break off and begin orbit of the sun on its own, rather than orbiting the earth. If, like Saturn, the Earth was large enough, there would be a threshold where the moon's interiro gravity would break it apart prior to "crashing" into the earth, and thus make a planet with rings of matter around it. However, we'd have to have a medium-sized planet, and because the Earth is a dense planet instead of a gaseous planet, we have a solid moon.
It doesn't make sense to use waves for long-term energy solutions, since eventually we won't have them anyway. And if this was an April Fools' Joke, it was a pretty lame one. Solar energy expenditure will more than likely be the method which humans will turn to provide more electric energy. Right now, I've seen people working on solar panel systems on their houses in California that are able to heat the water in their houses and sell electricity above what they use back to the grid.
This is nutty. One might think that a better April Fools' Joke might come out of people with higher intellects, but apparently not. This comes directly from my "Stars for 'Tards" class on basic astronomy -
Gravity is a relative problem. Since the moon is slowly moving outside of the Earth's gravitational fiel, the tides are much lower than they were only a few years ago, which means that the massive amounts of erosion of the planet via the tides has made it so the environment is being changed. Eventually, it is possible that the moon will break off and begin orbit of the sun on its own, rather than orbiting the earth. If, like Saturn, the Earth was large enough, there would be a threshold where the moon's interiro gravity would break it apart prior to "crashing" into the earth, and thus make a planet with rings of matter around it. However, we'd have to have a medium-sized planet, and because the Earth is a dense planet instead of a gaseous planet, we have a solid moon.
It doesn't make sense to use waves for long-term energy solutions, since eventually we won't have them anyway. And if this was an April Fools' Joke, it was a pretty lame one. Solar energy expenditure will more than likely be the method which humans will turn to provide more electric energy. Right now, I've seen people working on solar panel systems on their houses in California that are able to heat the water in their houses and sell electricity above what they use back to the grid.
Having worked for a company that was created specifically to help self-publishers get to market, and being an author myself, I specifically know about this. In fact, I've a specific website dedicated to the self-published author's market. It's called LOSER, dot com.
I wish I could be more encouraging than that. But realisitically, the success of a book is contingent upon how well the author, the book, and the material contained within is sold. Most authors have no clue as to how to be a marketing drone, and most of the techies I've worked with have sneering attitudes to the profession similar to my own about cigarette salesmen. (Hell, I'll smoke a pack of their product a day, but they're on the same ethical level as toadshit.) The reality is, the majority of people who work in the bookpublishing business are there to provide support for new authors.
What I find ironic is that the people who decide that they're "selling out" by signing a contract with the major record label are usually the ones who seem to become recognized authors, with respectability. This is on the same level as the guys who play in Fugazi - sure, they're internationally recognized, but Fugazi hasn't released anything new in over five years, their music gets no play on the radio, and they're the musical equivalent of Abbie Hoffman - their allure is only in their refusal to "sell out" to the record companies.
Any author serious about providing entertainment (and let's face it, all works of fiction are in some way, a form of entertainment for the individual) needs to accept the position of "writer" like they'd accept the position of "lead product designer" and network within a community of writers to find a market for their contribution to society.
Hemingway had an agent. So did Fitzgerald, Faulkner, and millions of other people whose words populate the shelves of the local Barnes & Noble. What I find distressing, specifically, is that people who do qualify for my website / clearinghouse of self-published material are never going to be considered authors.
Authors write to be read. Writers write. Publishing is the thing that makes someone's voice get heard.
Before I go onto another tangent, one of the realities of the Internet is not that it's made everyone's voice irrelevant, it's that it's given everyone the ability to have their voice heard. In a media-driven society where there's little catalogue distinction between voice by a third party, people have to seek out novelists and entertainment on their own.
Agents, publishing houses, and critics perform a vital service. They prevent authors whose works should never see the light of day from coming to the surface. (Granted, in the case of the Bridges of Madison County and Emily Dickinson, they failed miserably, but on the average, they've still got a better batting average than the CIA.)
My advice, then, to the fantasy author, is to find an agent who reads and submits fantasy novels, and to hand him 50 pages of the book. If Joe Agent reads it and loves it, he will be the individual who does everything for you. He will provide you with a professional marketer and seller who'll make sure that your work gets what it needs to see the light of day. And it's in their best interest to do so, because they get 10% of whatever you make on the book.
The reality is, I wouldn't even read your book right now for less than $5 a page, since it's what I do professionally for $10. The way you get around people who want to read the latest Dean Koontz, John Grisham, or Michael Crichton drivel is to take it to someone whose livelihood is based entirely upon making sure you get your book published by the RIGHT market for you. (Keep in mind: JK Rowlings has executive authority over her works. All of my work has first North American copyright law established over it in a standard agreement. The shutdown of the Potter sites on the net are in keeping with Rowling's authorial rights, and I wouldn't be surprised if she wholeheartedly approves of Time-Warner's actions. After all, if you wrote a brand-new program that halved processor times, wouldn't you want exclusive profits from it?)
I've finished two novels and I'm in the middle of revising both of them prior to sending them to reviewers. I'm also working on a third novel that's about this guy and this girl in this place that have to deal with this thing that comes up that breaks them up and brings them back together. But the level of professionalism in my writing dictates that I treat this like a career - not a hobby.
Want to run a radio station? Just build it out of parts you find down at Radio Shack and hook it up to your MP3 player. Want to run a media company that shows a profit, affects people's lives, provides information to a broad range of people? Call the FCC and sink $50,000 into a radio station, complete with soundbooth and DJs.
If you're serious about your work -
(Sound of the last lash on the dead horse.)
Find. An. Agent.
Slashdot Mirror
This is nutty. One might think that a better April Fools' Joke might come out of people with higher intellects, but apparently not. This comes directly from my "Stars for 'Tards" class on basic astronomy -
Gravity is a relative problem. Since the moon is slowly moving outside of the Earth's gravitational fiel, the tides are much lower than they were only a few years ago, which means that the massive amounts of erosion of the planet via the tides has made it so the environment is being changed. Eventually, it is possible that the moon will break off and begin orbit of the sun on its own, rather than orbiting the earth. If, like Saturn, the Earth was large enough, there would be a threshold where the moon's interiro gravity would break it apart prior to "crashing" into the earth, and thus make a planet with rings of matter around it. However, we'd have to have a medium-sized planet, and because the Earth is a dense planet instead of a gaseous planet, we have a solid moon.
It doesn't make sense to use waves for long-term energy solutions, since eventually we won't have them anyway. And if this was an April Fools' Joke, it was a pretty lame one. Solar energy expenditure will more than likely be the method which humans will turn to provide more electric energy. Right now, I've seen people working on solar panel systems on their houses in California that are able to heat the water in their houses and sell electricity above what they use back to the grid.
This is nutty. One might think that a better April Fools' Joke might come out of people with higher intellects, but apparently not. This comes directly from my "Stars for 'Tards" class on basic astronomy - Gravity is a relative problem. Since the moon is slowly moving outside of the Earth's gravitational fiel, the tides are much lower than they were only a few years ago, which means that the massive amounts of erosion of the planet via the tides has made it so the environment is being changed. Eventually, it is possible that the moon will break off and begin orbit of the sun on its own, rather than orbiting the earth. If, like Saturn, the Earth was large enough, there would be a threshold where the moon's interiro gravity would break it apart prior to "crashing" into the earth, and thus make a planet with rings of matter around it. However, we'd have to have a medium-sized planet, and because the Earth is a dense planet instead of a gaseous planet, we have a solid moon. It doesn't make sense to use waves for long-term energy solutions, since eventually we won't have them anyway. And if this was an April Fools' Joke, it was a pretty lame one. Solar energy expenditure will more than likely be the method which humans will turn to provide more electric energy. Right now, I've seen people working on solar panel systems on their houses in California that are able to heat the water in their houses and sell electricity above what they use back to the grid.
Having worked for a company that was created specifically to help self-publishers get to market, and being an author myself, I specifically know about this. In fact, I've a specific website dedicated to the self-published author's market. It's called LOSER, dot com. I wish I could be more encouraging than that. But realisitically, the success of a book is contingent upon how well the author, the book, and the material contained within is sold. Most authors have no clue as to how to be a marketing drone, and most of the techies I've worked with have sneering attitudes to the profession similar to my own about cigarette salesmen. (Hell, I'll smoke a pack of their product a day, but they're on the same ethical level as toadshit.) The reality is, the majority of people who work in the bookpublishing business are there to provide support for new authors. What I find ironic is that the people who decide that they're "selling out" by signing a contract with the major record label are usually the ones who seem to become recognized authors, with respectability. This is on the same level as the guys who play in Fugazi - sure, they're internationally recognized, but Fugazi hasn't released anything new in over five years, their music gets no play on the radio, and they're the musical equivalent of Abbie Hoffman - their allure is only in their refusal to "sell out" to the record companies. Any author serious about providing entertainment (and let's face it, all works of fiction are in some way, a form of entertainment for the individual) needs to accept the position of "writer" like they'd accept the position of "lead product designer" and network within a community of writers to find a market for their contribution to society. Hemingway had an agent. So did Fitzgerald, Faulkner, and millions of other people whose words populate the shelves of the local Barnes & Noble. What I find distressing, specifically, is that people who do qualify for my website / clearinghouse of self-published material are never going to be considered authors. Authors write to be read. Writers write. Publishing is the thing that makes someone's voice get heard. Before I go onto another tangent, one of the realities of the Internet is not that it's made everyone's voice irrelevant, it's that it's given everyone the ability to have their voice heard. In a media-driven society where there's little catalogue distinction between voice by a third party, people have to seek out novelists and entertainment on their own. Agents, publishing houses, and critics perform a vital service. They prevent authors whose works should never see the light of day from coming to the surface. (Granted, in the case of the Bridges of Madison County and Emily Dickinson, they failed miserably, but on the average, they've still got a better batting average than the CIA.) My advice, then, to the fantasy author, is to find an agent who reads and submits fantasy novels, and to hand him 50 pages of the book. If Joe Agent reads it and loves it, he will be the individual who does everything for you. He will provide you with a professional marketer and seller who'll make sure that your work gets what it needs to see the light of day. And it's in their best interest to do so, because they get 10% of whatever you make on the book. The reality is, I wouldn't even read your book right now for less than $5 a page, since it's what I do professionally for $10. The way you get around people who want to read the latest Dean Koontz, John Grisham, or Michael Crichton drivel is to take it to someone whose livelihood is based entirely upon making sure you get your book published by the RIGHT market for you. (Keep in mind: JK Rowlings has executive authority over her works. All of my work has first North American copyright law established over it in a standard agreement. The shutdown of the Potter sites on the net are in keeping with Rowling's authorial rights, and I wouldn't be surprised if she wholeheartedly approves of Time-Warner's actions. After all, if you wrote a brand-new program that halved processor times, wouldn't you want exclusive profits from it?) I've finished two novels and I'm in the middle of revising both of them prior to sending them to reviewers. I'm also working on a third novel that's about this guy and this girl in this place that have to deal with this thing that comes up that breaks them up and brings them back together. But the level of professionalism in my writing dictates that I treat this like a career - not a hobby. Want to run a radio station? Just build it out of parts you find down at Radio Shack and hook it up to your MP3 player. Want to run a media company that shows a profit, affects people's lives, provides information to a broad range of people? Call the FCC and sink $50,000 into a radio station, complete with soundbooth and DJs. If you're serious about your work - (Sound of the last lash on the dead horse.) Find. An. Agent.