tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post3836553347049341363..comments2024-03-24T14:47:00.370-07:00Comments on Approaching Pavonis Mons by balloon: Here are my eligible worksAl Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517967406876572177noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-48304617027838727602013-01-25T03:26:13.987-08:002013-01-25T03:26:13.987-08:00Hi Anon - no need, kind as your suggestion is - I ...Hi Anon - no need, kind as your suggestion is - I make a decent living from my writing (touch wood, as they say) and the website, blog etc don't cost much to maintain. If anyone has ever felt motivated to push some money somewhere, I'd suggest donating to a cancer or Alzheimer's research charity.Al Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01517967406876572177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-42064040302500016672013-01-24T14:14:35.970-08:002013-01-24T14:14:35.970-08:00slightly off topic but.. but is there any we can d...slightly off topic but.. but is there any we can donate to mr reynolds? paypal etc...<br /><br />thanksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-64903175436730956552013-01-14T05:16:09.089-08:002013-01-14T05:16:09.089-08:00The problem with awards, is that it is only somebo...The problem with awards, is that it is only somebodys opinion (as with critical reviews). Just because we enjoy a body of work , it doesnt mean that it is award-worthy. As always, sales are a normally a precursor for success, but all best sellers arent necessarily any good - just popular and (sometimes) over-hyped (Dan Brown to name but one).<br />I always enjoy your books and found them all to be award-worthy - and that is just my opinion (for what it's worth!)magicmousemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10869622360423607374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-34823862068495421102013-01-13T11:15:25.494-08:002013-01-13T11:15:25.494-08:00As an avid SF reader, I look to the nomination lis...As an avid SF reader, I look to the nomination lists as a source of new material and new authors. That being said, they frequently cover a wider range of material than I choose to read, so they have a smaller impact on my purchasing decision than you might otherwise think.<br /><br />Of far greater influence on me are the anthologies like Year's Best; I've found quite a few new authors in those pages that I then went on to read full novels from. The short story format gets me reading new material that I may not otherwise choose due to style or subject. But that's a different discussion. Anyway, this reader says the nominations lists are useful, but only a little bit.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15927774756504409585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-35860203791485492632013-01-10T18:53:02.282-08:002013-01-10T18:53:02.282-08:00Mr Reynolds, certainly the perhaps humble, perhaps...Mr Reynolds, certainly the perhaps humble, perhaps unpretentious, sentiment I'm getting from you is appreciated in these quarters. Yet as someone who doesn't read enough in the field at least in any one year to be a knowledgeable voter anyway, I will say that as I travel the blogs of those writers I do read, it bothers me not at all if a writer collects a list of eligible works for people who you would think are already his (or her) fans. <br /><br />Sometimes something like that will point me in the direction of something I'd missed, which is all to the good, and sometimes, it doesn't, which doesn't harm me at all. <br /><br />So, again, the sentiment is appreciated; it makes me think of you as a regular unflashy bloke, much as your mostly excellent taste in music does. But maybe you're beng a little timid? You do, after all, produce excellent work.rastronomicalshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16475251545087211066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-11329307554309882652013-01-09T18:43:57.200-08:002013-01-09T18:43:57.200-08:00This has nothing to do with the award process, whi...This has nothing to do with the award process, which I know little about anyway. I was terribly disappointed that "House of Suns" was not recognized with a Hugo. IMHO it was the best SF published that year. I will go to the Hugo and Nebula nominations page and make a note of the works being considered and try to read most of them. Rarely do I - as a reader - think they are award-worthy. (To mention names: Connie Willis wrote and was awarded properly for her brilliant "To Say Nothing of the Dog" several years ago. But "Blackout" and "All Clear" were just 1,000 pages of the same scene written over and over again. Yet, they won consecutive Hugo's. Go figure!) However, whether you are nominated or not, you are always on my must-read list. Just so you don't think I'm a total kiss-up, I think "House of Suns" crossed into new territory for you: it was a romantic love story and, while much of your previous work "felt" monochromatic, it was in vivid color. Regardless, from RS on I have been hooked. Thanks, and keep doing what you do whether there are awards coming or not. Long ramble, irrelevant to topic, sorry.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16214973691143857861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-34400362679213933642013-01-09T13:25:54.056-08:002013-01-09T13:25:54.056-08:00I don't really get that, though. If I'd re...I don't really get that, though. If I'd read a book and thought it might be eligible for an award, it would be the work of seconds to look up the pub date. Even if I couldn't bring myself to do that, I could always nominate it anyway and let the award adjudication process sort out the eligibility.Al Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01517967406876572177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-18161797313616596352013-01-09T13:19:30.367-08:002013-01-09T13:19:30.367-08:00I have to say that there's one important thing...I have to say that there's one important thing that I think you're missing, and that's that as a reader I have little idea often when a novel was published and therefore for what it is eligible. That's especially true of novel's published in the UK and separately in the US, for things like the Hugos (whichever date came first), or novels published only in one territory; thus, I find it useful of authors whose blogs I read - therefore, almost of necessity, authors whose works I enjoy - to tell me what of their works are eligible that year, so I know whether the book I'm considering is, or is not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-78387780331014857502013-01-09T12:32:25.135-08:002013-01-09T12:32:25.135-08:00My understanding is also that the majority of genr...My understanding is also that the majority of genre awards have little impact on sales, although my evidence is anecdotal.Al Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01517967406876572177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-36218162575671269182013-01-09T12:29:47.174-08:002013-01-09T12:29:47.174-08:00Hi Nisi - you're quite right of course, and I&...Hi Nisi - you're quite right of course, and I'd also say that there is a utility in anthologists listing stories they may have edited - that, after all, is also doing a favour to other writers. My grumble is probably symptomatic of a wider disenchantment with the broad culture of self promotion which seems to have taken a grip on the community in recent years.<br /><br />Of course any public utterance could be construed as a form of self promotion, whether it's hosting a blog, website, being on twitter or just popping up on convention panels. I do all that myself, and I do it primarily to reach new readers and to provide information for my existing readership. But there's a line that I personally feel uncomfortable crossing, and lot of that centers around the current fixation with awards and shortlists.Al Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01517967406876572177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-78254836343113933282013-01-09T08:48:48.565-08:002013-01-09T08:48:48.565-08:00I don't know. The common wisdom I've hear...I don't know. The common wisdom I've heard that, apart from the Hugo for best novel, awards don't actually translate into greater sales. I'm all for celebrating the best work in the field, but I also have the sense that if I have to remind folks of it, it may not have been the best work. :) <br /><br />My guess is that as authors we're probably better served by trying to write a better story next time than promoting the ones we've already done. At least, that's the arms race I'd prefer to run in.Daniel Abrahamhttp://www.danielabraham.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143440998478479157.post-67813444623115366852013-01-09T08:44:02.183-08:002013-01-09T08:44:02.183-08:00Nicely put. Thing is, though, the field is so bro...Nicely put. Thing is, though, the field is so broad now, and publication venues so diverse and widely distributed, that nominators may easily not be aware of eligible works, works they would perhaps enjoy if they found them. Timing is important as well. Possibilities appearling early or late in a year will probably evade notice. In my eye, these two factors pardon the scenario.Nisihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12605458890411772627noreply@blogger.com