Goodreads Choice Awards
about 9 years ago
– Mon, Oct 26, 2015 at 05:34:29 PM
Hey all, Robin again. Michael is busy putting the finishing touches on Age of Myth (incorporating his editor's changes and giving it one last coat of polish) so I thought I'd make a post about an upcoming event.
Each year in early November, the people at Goodreads choose 15 books in each major genre category for their Goodreads Choice Awards Nominations. Michael (and I) are honored that he's had multiple nominations:
- 2010 - The Emerald Storm (Book #2 of Rise of Empire)
- 2012 - Percepliquis (Book #2 of Heir of Novron)
- 2013 - The Crown Tower (Book #1 The Riyria Chronicles)
- 2014 - Hollow World
Because The Death of Dulgath was released in mid-October it just barely meets the qualification criteria for 2015 (awards for this contest run November of previous year to October of current year). For those who don't know anything about the award, it's voted on by readers but the nominations are picked by analyzing Goodreads data such as number of people who have shelved a book, the number of reviews and ratings and whether it is generally favorably received or not.
To be honest, I think our chances of a nomination are slim. After all, this book has only had a few weeks "out there" while there are plenty of other fantasy novels who've had an entire year to get their stats in order. But hey, nothing wrong with hoping.
Why am I writing about this? Well, just wanted to put the word out that if you are a Goodreads member that it would really help if you'd add The Death of Dulgath to your "To be read" pile. If you've already read it, then by all means a rating or review would greatly increase it's chances. Neither Michael or I want you to rate the book if you've not read it, and by all means give an honest rating (even if that means it's not positive). But just putting it on your shelf can, I think, help its chances at getting a nomination.
Even if it isn't picked by the Goodreads staff for the first round, there is always the chance that it is added as a "write-in" before the second round of voting. That's actually how Hollow World got it's nomination. I didn't even realize people were writing in until it showed up in the second round voting.
We don't expect a win...there will be plenty of "big hitters" in the nominees, but it is (a) an honor to be nominated and (b) really helps to shine a spotlight on a book which may get other people to give it a try. Here is an article showing how an Goodreads Choice Award Nomination effected Mark Lawrence in 2013.
So if you are a member, please consider adding it to your shelf. And if you aren't a member, you might consider joining. It's a great site and a place where I learn about a lot of the books I end up reading. I think if you check it out, you'll like it. After all, what's not to like about a site filled with bibliophiles?
Bunches of updates...
about 9 years ago
– Fri, Oct 23, 2015 at 09:03:45 PM
Hey all, Robin here again. Thought I would update you all on a number of fronts.
1. The print book proofing is finally done. It was complicated by the fact that there were so many different versions. We had to do (a) interior (b) paperback cover (c) foil stamp for regular and limited edition (d) foil stamp for rare edition (d) dust jacket for regular edition (e) dust jacket for limited edition. All in all most of it was fine. There were a few corrections made to the final proof content...and when we got the color match proof of the cover we thought Mark's image was printing a tad dark so we lightened it, and also resized it a bit. We just got the proof for the dust jackets today so they are signed off. Just waiting on what day it actually hits the press.
2. I also released a new edition of the ebook - there were a few problem it exhibited that the print edition didn't - such as a few escaped characters that didn't get properly coded such that you saw numbers in words like naive. There also was a few places where double quotes showed up rather than single quotes, and a few other issues. All in all there weren't many of them....and to be honest I blame myself because I was hyper focused on the book (since printing 10,600 of anything is scary for me and after burning out the print I just didn't give the ebook the attention I should have. That mistake has now been fixed and as I said pushed to you all....so check your Backer Kit.
3. A lot of requests have come in for The Making of the Death of Dulgath - it's exciting that people are anxious to read it. Michael wrote his portion long ago, but I still need to copy edit it and add a few comments of my own. So, shouldn't be too much longer. Of course everyone on the Kickstarter will get it - so you don't need to write me for a copy if you are backer. There is a wait list running for people who purchased the ebook outside of the Kickstarter and want a copy.
4. I must admit that I took three days off and spent them out at the writing cabana - I was feeling pretty fried and it was even better than a spa day. I mainly just watched the dog run and bask in the sun. But I'm also putting some finishing touches on it. Currently it's a bit like living in a desert. Really hot in the day and really cold at night. I've ordered some blinds which should help to keep some of the heat out -- It has 8 windows and an all-glass door and that turns it into a virtual greenhouse. I'm also installing a teeny-tiny wood stove to provide heat when needed. I really could have used it during the nights when I was out there - but had a good number of blankets so as long as I was under the covers I was warm enough.
5. Now that the book is at press and the ebook is "out in the world" I'll turn my attention to the comic book, the making of editing, and of course getting the coffee mugs, t-shirts an bags printed. Still, I'm pretty happy with the progress made to date. It's a huge Kickstarter but we are moving toward completion in a way that I'm happy with and I hope you all are too.
That's all for now. More updates as they occur.
Video Diary #4 - Playing "author" in New York
about 9 years ago
– Sat, Oct 17, 2015 at 02:44:08 PM
Things are busy at house Sullivan. Printer proofs are in and minor adjustments are being made. But I did have time to make another Video Diary - so here you go!
https://youtu.be/2hWjBzjX8bM
0.0027% & .0067% - ARGGGH!!!
about 9 years ago
– Thu, Oct 15, 2015 at 12:17:14 AM
Hey all, Robin here again.
Well, it figures...just as I push the book out to you all, some errors have been found. I will be posting updated books at some point, but I want to see if any other ones come in. The errors are small but annoying. I've counted them two different ways:
- 18 characters out of 668,603 which is .0027%
- 8 words out of 118,731 which is .0034%
That's an AMAZINGLY small error rate - especially given how I've been working on these at all hours and lack of sleep is certainly a factor. Still, it drives me CRAZY that there are any errors. If you want updated files before I post them, send an email to [email protected] and I'll send them out to you. As I said, I'm waiting to see if anyone finds other things.
Thanks to those who reported what they found.
Let the reading begin!!
about 9 years ago
– Tue, Oct 13, 2015 at 11:44:22 PM
Well, the proofing went well, and thanks for the people who wrote in with issues they found on the ARC (Advanced Reading Copy). I've made all the corrections and created the official ebook files. So read at will!
Currently, everyone has been sent (via BackerKit) their ebooks. If you requested a signed ebook, they will be coming out a bit at a time - each one has to be made by hand ;-). But will be emailed as we get them done.
As for the print books...all files are with the printer and I'm just waiting for the proofs. I did get one early set of proofs back - and all in all everything looks fine (color of the cover, resolution of the maps, placement of the text on the page, etc. I only ordered a handful of these early ARC's (and they have the pre-proofing errors). I may "raffle" them off for those who want something really rare. Will let you know more if we decide to do this. Robin, might have committed these copies to reviewers.
I hope you enjoy...and please, please, please...let Robin and I know what you think once you read it - great ways to do that is by leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads ;-).
