Cities and suburbs, real and imaginary.

Monday, July 21, 2008

just to let everyone know...

I've heard some very bad news.

I could rant on end about Hasbro's folly, but businesses have been engaged in folly for quite some time, and most of them seem to come out of it all right. As Steve Tem says over at shocklines, "That's Showbiz". These sorts of things do happen, I'm afriad.

I do want everyone to know that to my knowledge I am unaffected by this. My book will have its run. The mass market paperback is coming out.

Wizards of the Coast Discoveries hasn't made any public announcements that I'm aware of, and I'm not going to announce anything here if you don't already know, or can't find out over at shocklines, Steve and Melanie Tem's blog.

I do want to use this opportunity to remind everyone about how writers best deal with career hiccups.

We write new, more, and better stuff. We send out to people who buy it and publish it. We build our audience.

That is always the solution to our career difficulties.

Even scenarios that involve lawsuits... We writers let lawyers be lawyers and agents be agents. We go write new, more, and better stuff. We send it out to people who buy it and publish it. We build our audience.

That is how writers problem-solve. At least, that's what I'm doing, and I'm pretty sure it will work just fine at solving all the problems on my horizon.

7 comments:

Jim C. Hines said...

I'm glad to know this shouldn't affect your book, at least. Will you be able to publish further books with Wizards, or is that something where you have to wait and see what happens?

J m mcdermott said...

My mass market paperback of LAST DRAGON is out in April, at the moment. After that, I had nothing else under contract with WotC, though we had been talking about something new.

I'll let my agent worry about that, though. He can worry productively and solve the problem. All I can do is worry.

Thus, I go write more and better and newer stuff. I try and publish it.

Jim C. Hines said...

Sounds like a good approach to take. My sense is that we all hit career potholes from time to time, and the best solution is just to keep going.

With one well-received book out, I doubt the agent will have much trouble selling your next.

J m mcdermott said...

Jim, you should use this little hiccup as LOLBook fodder.

"Devil's Cape" by Rob Rogers is definitely a good candidate for a LOLBook.

My cover's a leetle too meta...

Larry Nolen said...

I read about it last night on FBS, which linked to Steve Tem's blog. Sorry to hear about it, as the launch books (including yours, of course) were quite good. But as you say, these things happen.

So, how far along are you with the second book? Self-interest asking here.

Lola said...

It's good that you're being so zen about it. If it was me I would definitely be worrying unproductively. That's they best way to look at it. Good luck with the new, better stuff. I'm sure it'll be just as amazing.

Alina said...

Good policy. That's what I'm doing now that I have official word back on the status of my submission to WotC.