Michael and Evo: Wingin’ It!

Scholastic Books is holding a contest to see which library in the 50 states gets to display the very first copy of the American edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, one that’ll be signed by J.K. Rowling.

Despite what such a book would sell for on eBay, the rules of the contest clearly state that the book must remain on display in the library’s collection, most likely not available to be loaned out.

July 16, 12:01am is when the book’s official release date is, and I’m curious how many folks will be lined up outside of bookstores at midnight to snag their copies.

Here’s a free tip to all of you would be authors out there. When taking a break from a long day of writing while working on a particularly difficult section of a chapter, I recommend not spending that break watching any play by William Shakespeare. Nay, I daresay two hours of exposition to any of the classics might impede one’s ability to return to the previous work and bring forth the prose necessary to spin the tale complete.

Though Podcasting for Dummies in iambic pentameter might be interesting….

Methinks listeners of Wingin’ It! might assume we have a drinking problem. Regardless, I think we’ve got our weekend project!

Guinness Ice Lolly

Thanks, Chris!

John Scalzi was a guest on our show not too terribly long ago talking about his book Old Man’s War. John also runs a very active and popular blog called Whatever. While I don’t get a chance to read it as much as I’d like (read: hardly ever), articles like “Writing in the Age of Piracy” make me kick myself in the ass for not making the time. He’s talking about writers figuring out new business models which personally work for them and go well beyond “1) collect underpants 2) … 3) profit”:

No, these new business models are not going to work for everyone. Guess what: The publishing model now doesn’t work for everyone, either. And guess what else: The group of Writers Making Money in the Pirate Age will not be the same as the group of Writers Making Money in the Age of Publishing. Why? Because some people can’t do it, and some people won’t do it. Furthermore, some people will make less money in this new age of piracy. But guess what again? Some people will make more, too. Will the per capita income be as great? Doubtful, since this pirate age model will encourage more people whose writing would have been laughed out the door in the publishing age to make a go at monetizing their work. But I don’t know how much time you need to spend worrying about the per capita income number. You have to worry about your income number.

Brilliant stuff again, John. Can I interest you in producing a podiobook?

Need.
I.
Say.
More?

Scotty Lynch has written an entry for all spouses and significant others of those who fancy themselves an author, and refuse to get a job…

…allow me to present the Honda Writerbo, the world’s first fully-functional robotic author simulator. From the very first moment you start giving it feedback, Writerbo makes you wish you’d fallen in love with a fucking plumber instead.

I’m ordering my wife a model right now! (Thanks Mur for the link!)

Lots of podcasters are looking for other podcasters to produce promotional spots. So I did one for Wingin’ It!. Michael thinks there is something wrong with me. He’s probably right.

Do with it what you will. I wash my hands of it.

Geek Sexuality - Wingin’ It! promo (NSFW)

Received an email today from a fan telling me they’ve nominated us for the 2005 TopCast awards. How very cool.

It appears as though anyone can nominate, though it isn’t clear if multiple nominations has any impact on the the outcome of individual awards. And while there is not “best sci-fi podcast”, there are a variety of other nominations where we might fit.

Nominations will be taken until June 15, 2005.

What’s on this week:

Evo’s Cult is Growing.

 

 Dragon Page Wingin' It #12: Evo Wants a Cult [48:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (458)

Just a reminder, you can read a review of Kelley Armstrong’s new book Haunted here.