This post went to Patronizers at the beginning of September, and to the public at the beginning of October. Not a Patronizer? You could be!
Despite my nature, I am committing socialization once a week. It’s either that, or pillage my next book title from the Simpsons.
So I’m visiting friends a few weekends ago. We’re looking through their movie library for the evening’s entertainment, because nothing says “hang out with introverts” like a social activity that requires no interaction with live humans. They go past Lord of the Rings and say, “yeah, that’s great, but it’s twelve hours.” I said, “Yeah, one day I have to make time to see that.”
Everyone in the room froze. I’m pretty sure I heard a record scratch.
One says, “Are you saying you never saw Lord of the Rings?”
“I wasn’t a full time writer yet. I spent that time writing.”
Silence.
“That’s how it’s done. You want to be a writer, you give up fun things in favor of writing.”
The group silently achieved immediate consensus. I found myself inexorably propelled to a prime seat directly in front of the big screen while someone queued up The Fellowship Of The Ring–the extended version, obviously. I didn’t get a vote, because my decision-making skills are clearly so deficient that I shouldn’t be allowed one. Once that movie finished, an appointment was declared to watch The Two Towers.
Anyway, I have now seen the entirety of The Lord of the Rings.
I have read LotR several times, of course. The world is magnificent. Every reread renews my deep objections to Aragorn’s whole Chosen One narrative and the authoritarian premises underlying it. A rightful king won’t save us. On the other hand, one man does make a difference–but only with the support of a broad community. Except he fails at the end and a friend must rescue him. That part’s pure truth. Also, women have always fought. That’s a long way to go to say that every time I reread LotR, I fight an impulse to do my own take on the saga. The movies also triggered that urge.
But first: finish works in progress.
OpenZFS Mastery is progressing. The book will have 21 chapters (numbered 0-20 of course), making it the largest Mastery book by far. It will be, as the kids say, a “chonk.” It’s an aggregated, rewritten edition of two books so that makes sense. When FreeBSD Mastery: ZFS and FreeBSD Mastery: Advanced ZFS came out, print-on-demand technology couldn’t cope with thick books. It can now. The downside is, it will also be the most expensive Mastery title. I’m thinking that the ebook will be $19.99 USD. Prices here in the US are going up, though, which makes me think that perhaps I should raise the price of all my ebooks. That’s a huge amount of work, though, so I’m going to continue letting the thought simmer on my brain’s back burner while I cook new books up front.
I hope to launch the Twisted Presents Kickstarter on 22 September, depending on various legal issues to be discussed the day before. The campaign is ready to go and a print proof is on its way to me.
Given the recent price increases for printing and shipping, I revisited my cost spreadsheet to recalculate how I needed to price the paperback and hardcover. To simplify the next recalculation, I documented the process of doing so in the TWP knowledge base and, in an effort to make other people’s lives easier, shared that doc on social media. Reaction was very positive. Apparently many people calculate their Kickstarter prices by looking at what successful campaigns charge and doing that, to which all I can say is “golly jeepers, you’re gonna lose your home that way.” I did my first indie cost calculations in 1991, so I had forgotten just how overwhelming this can seem to the uninitiated. I also did that calculation without a spreadsheet, uphill in the snow both ways, barefoot, so feel free to insert an old man rant here. Anyway, that made me realize that I have enough material to write the oft-requested “How I Make a Living Writing” book. I’m not sure I want to write that book, though. The title alone feels even more narcissistic than the rest of my books. I did sketch out an outline for it, but mostly to confine the idea to paper in the hope that it leaves my brain.
On the fiction side, I’m loading the Giant Fiction Project back into my brain and contemplating smaller things. With another 10,000 words or so I could launch a Rats’ Man’s Lackey collection. I’m about 35,000 words short of the next Prohibition Orcs collection, which is a bigger reach. At least that one has a title: “Found Meat.” It’s a good day when you find meat. I have most of the parts to do the final $ git commit murder novel, but if I keep getting diverted I’ll never finish Big Fiction Project. One could argue that BFP is a diversion from the mystery trilogy, though. I want something on Kickstarter during my Penguicon GoH appearance, though, and OpenZFS Mastery had better be launched several months before then.
Really, the key is to get back to routinely making words. Mind you, my Amazon wish list now includes the Blu-Ray of LotR, so there might be… issues.
From the pit of my tarry heart, I thank you for your support.