After a while, it was the only way to sell my books.
Now, the entire Pius trilogy has come out. Books two and three came out last year.
Seriously, what the hell are we still doing here? Especially now that the Puppies have taken over the blog?
You'd think that this would be something obvious. Look above, under the giant blog banner. You'd think I don't get much clearer than that.
But, when I posted one of my Sad Puppies Bite Back posts over in the comments of a blog called File 770, I was met with some ... interesting replies in the comments. Including derision, people who thought that SPBB was about threatening the anti-Puppies, and people who wondered what the site was even about.
But, it did occur to me that there would be some people confused about what this site's common thread was, considering we've veered so wildly from the original point of glorified marketing.So, what's it all about?
It's about stories. How do you create them? How do you shape them? How do you assemble dreams when the world is so busy trying to stomp on them and take them away from you? That's why I dissect political opinions of Superheroes, or examine bad comic book storylines, or try to predict where things are going. That's why I look at faith in fiction, to see just how much of the writer goes into the story, and how much should go into the story. This blog will also address the Catholic faith in particular because, well, I'm Catholic -- it's part of me, and who I am, and part of my stories, so it comes with the package.
But, as fiction is not just about how a story is made, but also about the process of selling it. That's why I look at women in fiction, or the politics of publishing, etc.
(Honor At Stake, from Eternal Press, due September 1st -- subtle plug, subtle plug).
That's why I've allowed my brain to be taken over by a parody universe that won't leave me alone. I mean, it's not like I can make money on Sad Puppies Bite Back, despite how popular it is.
And yes, for the record, I cannot make money on it at this point. Can. Not. Why not? Because I use the real names of real people, like George RR Martin, and Scalzi, and the Haydens, David Gerrod, Moshe Feder, and additional psychos.
Yes, they're parody -- and boy, are these guys parody -- but there are also lawyers, and you don't need to have a leg to stand on to file a lawsuit. And while I would probably win any lawsuit, and any countersuit, the legal fees would probably kill me before we got to the countersuit phase.
If it gets a Hugo Nomination? It's more than likely I will publish it. Why? Because it would be a Hugo nominated work, and I don't think anyone would want to draw attention to the fact that they are so thin-skinned, they can't take a joke.
But, one disaster at a time, folks. One disaster at a time.
However, even though I can't sell it, Sad Puppies Bite Back has brought hundreds of people to my blog, and has improved my sales a lot. It won't get me into the big money territory, but it's a lot more than I've been getting.
It's also gotten me some interesting friends along the way, which is an improvement for an introvert like me.
So, to the trolls who lurk under the bridge at File 770, that's what the blog is about.
As for all you newcomers who want a laugh, or want a book recommendation, or some music to listen to as you pen your destruction of an alien civilization, or comic book trivia, or just want to look into the brain of a deeply deranged writer, welcome, my friends, to The Pius Trilogy.
The party is just warming up.
I'd never heard of File 770 until I started seeing references to it here and a few other columns I access daily. Finally got around to looking at it. I don't see anything terrible or stupid there - in fact, there are several quotes from Peter Grant, you, & Vox Day. These quotes weren't presented in a condemnatory manner, either. AFAIK, F770 seems to be a pretty decent over-view of what's going on in the industry (although I found it boring to read the long lists of who-won-what at cons, I can understand how that would makes those winners feel good) and its spin-offs (such as the new Star Trek Communicator cellphone case).
ReplyDeleteMy point is: Why is F770 spoken of so derogatorily?
Mike Glyer isn't the problem. Personally, I don't mind his posts. The problem? The people who comment there. There is no moderation, no civility, and general mayhem. Try reading some of the comments some days.
DeleteShort version? I'm told that Clamps / Marston comments there regularly, and is accepted into their tribe as one of their own. That's the problem.
Some people want to attribute it to Glyer not moderating -- though how you moderate a few hundred comments a day and still have a life, I don't know. But there are days that his blog seems to have become a hangout for every deranged puppy kicked on the planet.
My "worst" experience with 770 is that, once, I posted a Sad Puppies Bite Back link into their comments. I saw what you did: "Someone quoted me? Huh. Maybe they'd be interested in the followup."
Commenters then screamed that Sad Puppies Bite are death threats. Uh huh.
I tweet: File 770 thinks that Sad Puppies Bite Back parodies are death threats .... really. @sadrbtpuppies
File 770 cites the tweet and says: "Declan Finn is a man of great simplicity of mind."
I tweet: File 770 thinks some #SadPuppies are simple. We've read your comments section, Mike. Don't go there. :)
@sadrbtpuppies
770: "Very brave, Declan, pretending what I said about you was addressed to Sad Puppies in general. Now go and change your armor…"
Uh huh...
Yes, even though I wrote it in the format of the "Sad Robot Puppies" ... the people I tagged in *both* tweets .... because I was expecting them to steal it BOTH TIMES, hence the format.... no, Glyer used the opportunity to make it seem like I was blowing up his comment instead of MAKING FUN OF IT. But Glyer couldn't be bothered to pay attention.
I'm told he does that a LOT, though that was my only experience with it.
I hope that explains it somewhat.