Cower not, fierce reader! This day we look at the latest book of the Revelations cycle, or the Four Horsemen universe. I can hear someone say, "But that came out last week!" . What can I say? I fell behind in my reading. Anyway, enough about my slacking. To the review!
After his first entry, Asbaran Solutions, I had thought that perhaps Chris was the weaker writer of the pair, though still quite competent. This book proves that he just needed to find his ground. With this, he most definitely does. Perhaps it was the characters of the first book that kept me more distant, but this drew me in.
One treat with this story is that it isn't just centered on one character, we see a return from one featured in the anthology as well. And while you don't need to have read that story for this one, it's a nice treat to see some aftermath from a determined and tough character.
That's not to say there isn't plenty to like about the characters created for this book. There's an interesting dynamic, of family, redemption of sorts, and paranoia. The Enkh family runs and makes up a large portion of the Horde, based in Uzbekistan. They make a big deal about having and using information faster and better than anyone else. To kill aliens on strange planets.
We even see a return of our favorite failed logistics officer, Sommerkorn. This time, well, let's say he stays employed and even redeems himself for his mistakes. A bit of a tragic character this, and in this volume, there's no comedy.
Oh, you want to know about the book's crimes? Right. It encourages paranoia, more than suggests government complicity in undermining its people, decisions of great import made without approval of authorities, and well, would be characterized as xenophobic by the SocJus crowd. But I don't believe in making friends with Tortantulas and MinSha for the most part, that's just a bad idea. As Nick Cole and Jason Anspach have written, KTF.
8 of 10 fell deeds.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Monday, August 7, 2017
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Clarifying my posts on Superversive
Given the amount of traffic, and some of the comments, my posts this week on the Superversive Press/movement issues, I figured I should clear a few things up.
First and most important, I don't consider this a fight. I'm seeing problems I would like fixed. This is not to say I don't see issues with Castalia House, or the PulpRev, I do. If, as many authors(Mr. John C. Wright included) state, readers are the bosses of authors, then we need to know things.
The biggest thing we need to know is WHEN STUFF COMES OUT. I literally only knew about Astounding Frontiers launching because Lou Antonelli posted on his Facebook account, I didn't see it in my Twitter feed or on any author blogs at the time. There was no launch announcement on either Superversive page. If your boss doesn't know you completed a job, don't expect to hold that job for a long time.
Brandon Sanderson is an excellent example here. Now, I haven't read him much since the Torcott began, but take a look at the top left corner of his blog. Right there. Progress bars for multiple projects. I'm not saying the Press or sf page need to do this, it's just cool to see, and it does build a measure of both trust and anticipation. Then, on the right side of the first blog entry, he has a module for buying his last release, whatever it happens to be at the time. You can select country, format, and vendor. Again, it's a lot, but it is cool.
Another huge issue is that the Superversive Press page is pretty much a waste of space as it currently exists. Sure, the scrolling slideshow has links to project pages, but that's honestly distracting, and timing could send someone to the wrong volume. There's no other way to get to the books, either. Author pages? What are those? Nobody needs to know about our authors.(Yes, I'm being a bit snarky.) Now, I have been informed reliably that this will be changing, hopefully the website management gets passed sooner than later.
And, since so much of what the movement is working on is for the Press, where are the announcements for any of those anthologies? I know there's a series of planetary anthologies, some of which still need submissions, and some are still a ways out. Where are those requests, and what about for future Astounding Frontiers(more on that in another post)? If it's for pulp style stories, I'd think Jason would want the PulpRev guys sending in some stuff.
Now, if they want to keep submissions to a closed group, that's their prerogative. But that seems to run counter to the welcoming attitude they state they have.
But my biggest issue is the still near total lack of outside communication they have. If they're going to get on more social media and interact, spend a little less on Facebook, and converse on Twitter or Gab. TODAY. This doesn't take a group decision, get off your cat pictures and talk crap about stupid stuff with me in front of everyone. It'll be fun. Keep in mind, a week is very long on the internet.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
First and most important, I don't consider this a fight. I'm seeing problems I would like fixed. This is not to say I don't see issues with Castalia House, or the PulpRev, I do. If, as many authors(Mr. John C. Wright included) state, readers are the bosses of authors, then we need to know things.
The biggest thing we need to know is WHEN STUFF COMES OUT. I literally only knew about Astounding Frontiers launching because Lou Antonelli posted on his Facebook account, I didn't see it in my Twitter feed or on any author blogs at the time. There was no launch announcement on either Superversive page. If your boss doesn't know you completed a job, don't expect to hold that job for a long time.
Brandon Sanderson is an excellent example here. Now, I haven't read him much since the Torcott began, but take a look at the top left corner of his blog. Right there. Progress bars for multiple projects. I'm not saying the Press or sf page need to do this, it's just cool to see, and it does build a measure of both trust and anticipation. Then, on the right side of the first blog entry, he has a module for buying his last release, whatever it happens to be at the time. You can select country, format, and vendor. Again, it's a lot, but it is cool.
Another huge issue is that the Superversive Press page is pretty much a waste of space as it currently exists. Sure, the scrolling slideshow has links to project pages, but that's honestly distracting, and timing could send someone to the wrong volume. There's no other way to get to the books, either. Author pages? What are those? Nobody needs to know about our authors.(Yes, I'm being a bit snarky.) Now, I have been informed reliably that this will be changing, hopefully the website management gets passed sooner than later.
And, since so much of what the movement is working on is for the Press, where are the announcements for any of those anthologies? I know there's a series of planetary anthologies, some of which still need submissions, and some are still a ways out. Where are those requests, and what about for future Astounding Frontiers(more on that in another post)? If it's for pulp style stories, I'd think Jason would want the PulpRev guys sending in some stuff.
Now, if they want to keep submissions to a closed group, that's their prerogative. But that seems to run counter to the welcoming attitude they state they have.
But my biggest issue is the still near total lack of outside communication they have. If they're going to get on more social media and interact, spend a little less on Facebook, and converse on Twitter or Gab. TODAY. This doesn't take a group decision, get off your cat pictures and talk crap about stupid stuff with me in front of everyone. It'll be fun. Keep in mind, a week is very long on the internet.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Dragon Short List, and the recommendations of Injustice
As most of my readers are likely aware by now, the shortlist for the Dragon Awards was announced a couple of days ago. So, I'm going to go through each category and discuss what I've read/played, and my recommendations. My selections are strictly based on what I've read, and believe to be the best book of those, not my relationship with the authors.
Best SF Novel- I have read Escaping Infinity, The Secret Kings, and The Collapsing Empire. I have literally NO idea how people thought Scalzi's book was worth nominating. Of the two others, I prefer Brian's The Secret Kings, though Richard's book might be a touch more accesible. My vote: The Secret Kings.
Best Fantasy: I've only read Vox's book. And I haven't read anyone outside of him, Corriea, and Ringo in the shortlist here. So, I have to say: A Sea of Skulls.
Best YA: The only one here I've read is Swan Knight's Son, and that was the BEST book I read last year. Period.
Best MilSF: I've read Rescue Run, Starship Liberator, Cartwright's Cavaliers, and have also read a couple of Richard Fox's other novels. I actually doubt there's a BAD book in the category, though I did find Starship Liberator a bit weak. The Eric Flint book will likely win, but my vote is going to Cartwright's Cavaliers.
Best AltHistory: My only read from the category shortlist to date is No Gods, Only Daimons. My vote is there, and I would not be surprised if he, Turtledove, or Flint won.
Best Apocalyptic: I've read Codename: Unsub, and A Place Outside the Wild. Both are good, but A Place Outside the Wild was WOW.
Best Horror: I've only read Live and Let Bite, though a lot of my friends like Blood of Invidia. Outside those, I've little likelihood of reading them.
Best Comic Book: Saga converged hard over the last two years. I'm actually surprised there's only one hero book.
Best Graphic Novel: Look, I don't care for Butcher's work(don't read it), but good grief, the rest is so SJW that I want to puke. Girl Genius? What is this, the Hugos? Lousy writing and art that is entertaining in a magazine strip.
Best SFF show: I DON'T CARE
Best SFF movie: I saw Wonder Woman. That's it. It was pretty good.
Best PC/Mobile categories: No opinion, aside from Mass Effect: Andromeda closing the studio and being in GOODWILL inside a year should disqualify it.
Best Boardgame: My vote is going to Scythe, though I think the only bad choice is the Betrayal expansion.
Best "other" tabletop game: I haven't played any, though I'll be happy with anything but Magic.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Best SF Novel- I have read Escaping Infinity, The Secret Kings, and The Collapsing Empire. I have literally NO idea how people thought Scalzi's book was worth nominating. Of the two others, I prefer Brian's The Secret Kings, though Richard's book might be a touch more accesible. My vote: The Secret Kings.
Best Fantasy: I've only read Vox's book. And I haven't read anyone outside of him, Corriea, and Ringo in the shortlist here. So, I have to say: A Sea of Skulls.
Best YA: The only one here I've read is Swan Knight's Son, and that was the BEST book I read last year. Period.
Best MilSF: I've read Rescue Run, Starship Liberator, Cartwright's Cavaliers, and have also read a couple of Richard Fox's other novels. I actually doubt there's a BAD book in the category, though I did find Starship Liberator a bit weak. The Eric Flint book will likely win, but my vote is going to Cartwright's Cavaliers.
Best AltHistory: My only read from the category shortlist to date is No Gods, Only Daimons. My vote is there, and I would not be surprised if he, Turtledove, or Flint won.
Best Apocalyptic: I've read Codename: Unsub, and A Place Outside the Wild. Both are good, but A Place Outside the Wild was WOW.
Best Horror: I've only read Live and Let Bite, though a lot of my friends like Blood of Invidia. Outside those, I've little likelihood of reading them.
Best Comic Book: Saga converged hard over the last two years. I'm actually surprised there's only one hero book.
Best Graphic Novel: Look, I don't care for Butcher's work(don't read it), but good grief, the rest is so SJW that I want to puke. Girl Genius? What is this, the Hugos? Lousy writing and art that is entertaining in a magazine strip.
Best SFF show: I DON'T CARE
Best SFF movie: I saw Wonder Woman. That's it. It was pretty good.
Best PC/Mobile categories: No opinion, aside from Mass Effect: Andromeda closing the studio and being in GOODWILL inside a year should disqualify it.
Best Boardgame: My vote is going to Scythe, though I think the only bad choice is the Betrayal expansion.
Best "other" tabletop game: I haven't played any, though I'll be happy with anything but Magic.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Injustice Quick Reviews 2.11
Cower not, fierce reader! This day we run the gamut from true comedy to space opera to thriller and more. Let us take a look at our docket!
Noble Vengeance by William Miller- This is a second story, continuing months later. We've got a lot of internal intrigue within the intelligence community, the Mexican drug cartels, and a very on the nose political campaign. Major crime: Let's just say there's a LOT of mirroring and speculation on the last election. 8 of 10 fell deeds.
The Lawdog Files by Lawdog- There's a lot for people to like in this collection of nonfiction humor. Some of the stories, I didn't see were that big a deal, but this book is both humorous and tender in turn. Major crime: There's a few crimes in here, but to the narrative? That cops are human. 7 of 10 fell deeds.
Adventure Constant by Jon Mollison- Jon's first novel shows a lot of his growth process as a writer coming to fruition. This book is outstanding, unbelievable fun, and feels like an older book, but one that is a slight bit self aware. It claims to be Jack Dashing book 1, and as it establishes a multiverse, I'm wondering which approach it will take: following the same one, Jacks of multiple earths, or a combination? Will there be a Dashing Adventure League? Pulp Readers must know. My ONE complaint: get a copyeditor, please Jon, there's enough mistakes it was a bit jarring at a few points. Major crime: Big adventure, big heroism, big virtue. 8 of 10 fell deeds.
Young Man's War by Rod Walker- Mr. Walker continues to write the finest Heinlein works RAH never wrote. There's aliens, conspiracy, and encouragement of the best in mankind. With this being the first official book in The Thousand Worlds, it appears he might be preparing to enter the grand stage of such works as Known Space and the Alliance Union universe. Major crime: Government ignoring real threats and instead pushing personal agendas for their legacies. 9 of 10 fell deeds.
The Long March by Richard Fox - This is the second in The Exiled Fleet series. There's a lot more in the way of cool space battles, we've got pirates and a free city, sabotage, and a whole lot more. The bad guys get badder, and the good guys well, more real. Major crime: Struggling with nobility and doing right by an enemy. 8 of 10 fell deeds.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Noble Vengeance by William Miller- This is a second story, continuing months later. We've got a lot of internal intrigue within the intelligence community, the Mexican drug cartels, and a very on the nose political campaign. Major crime: Let's just say there's a LOT of mirroring and speculation on the last election. 8 of 10 fell deeds.
The Lawdog Files by Lawdog- There's a lot for people to like in this collection of nonfiction humor. Some of the stories, I didn't see were that big a deal, but this book is both humorous and tender in turn. Major crime: There's a few crimes in here, but to the narrative? That cops are human. 7 of 10 fell deeds.
Adventure Constant by Jon Mollison- Jon's first novel shows a lot of his growth process as a writer coming to fruition. This book is outstanding, unbelievable fun, and feels like an older book, but one that is a slight bit self aware. It claims to be Jack Dashing book 1, and as it establishes a multiverse, I'm wondering which approach it will take: following the same one, Jacks of multiple earths, or a combination? Will there be a Dashing Adventure League? Pulp Readers must know. My ONE complaint: get a copyeditor, please Jon, there's enough mistakes it was a bit jarring at a few points. Major crime: Big adventure, big heroism, big virtue. 8 of 10 fell deeds.
Young Man's War by Rod Walker- Mr. Walker continues to write the finest Heinlein works RAH never wrote. There's aliens, conspiracy, and encouragement of the best in mankind. With this being the first official book in The Thousand Worlds, it appears he might be preparing to enter the grand stage of such works as Known Space and the Alliance Union universe. Major crime: Government ignoring real threats and instead pushing personal agendas for their legacies. 9 of 10 fell deeds.
The Long March by Richard Fox - This is the second in The Exiled Fleet series. There's a lot more in the way of cool space battles, we've got pirates and a free city, sabotage, and a whole lot more. The bad guys get badder, and the good guys well, more real. Major crime: Struggling with nobility and doing right by an enemy. 8 of 10 fell deeds.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Thursday, August 3, 2017
New Comics Spotlight
Time for a much more fun post! As yesterday was Wednesday, I went to my local comics shop, and picked up three issue ones. Two of these I have great hope for, and the third, well, it didnt' get mucked up YET. If you don't have a local comic shop, or they have a very limited selection and for some reason won't do special orders, I recommend TFAW, via the link at the left.
First, I'm going to point out the new Robotech comic from Titan Comics. This is a touch more grown up than the anime was so far, but not in a bad way. The art is GREAT, and I'm glad to see signs that real artists still work in comics that are fun. The book is a little short, but I'm actually willing to forgive that if they continue to do this well. I'd rather have well thought out and executed stories than filler.
Second, there's another one that should fit that audience, though it doesn't have any previous IP attached: Mech Cadet Yu from Boom! Studios. This evokes a lot of good anime without being tied to the plots, characters, or conventions that they have. We've got GIANT ALIEN ROBOTS, class divide/warfare, and some philosophy of free will. This book is fun and DEEP, you might want to read the issue a few times to get all the things that make for good discussion in here.
So far, I've talked about books that had no sign of SocJus agenda, at least in the writing. Now, onto one I don't have a lot of hope for, and why.
Turok from Dynamite. So far, the story is good, and I picked it up because of the Sovereigns backup story system they're using for those books. I'd already read two or three small parts to the story, and issue one picks up a bit after those, treating them as a prologue. So far, I think the book is solid. So why am I skeptical of its future? It's written by the most painful Star Wars author, Chuck Wendig. On the other hand, he hasn't engaged in any SocJus here yet, and it seems like he actually might have some understanding of how to write comics. I don't have a history with Turok books, so I can't comment there.
Now, if someone wants to counter my slim hope for Turok, and my thoughts on the other two, I'd like to hear them. And maybe have a good comic geek fight, too.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
First, I'm going to point out the new Robotech comic from Titan Comics. This is a touch more grown up than the anime was so far, but not in a bad way. The art is GREAT, and I'm glad to see signs that real artists still work in comics that are fun. The book is a little short, but I'm actually willing to forgive that if they continue to do this well. I'd rather have well thought out and executed stories than filler.
Second, there's another one that should fit that audience, though it doesn't have any previous IP attached: Mech Cadet Yu from Boom! Studios. This evokes a lot of good anime without being tied to the plots, characters, or conventions that they have. We've got GIANT ALIEN ROBOTS, class divide/warfare, and some philosophy of free will. This book is fun and DEEP, you might want to read the issue a few times to get all the things that make for good discussion in here.
So far, I've talked about books that had no sign of SocJus agenda, at least in the writing. Now, onto one I don't have a lot of hope for, and why.
Turok from Dynamite. So far, the story is good, and I picked it up because of the Sovereigns backup story system they're using for those books. I'd already read two or three small parts to the story, and issue one picks up a bit after those, treating them as a prologue. So far, I think the book is solid. So why am I skeptical of its future? It's written by the most painful Star Wars author, Chuck Wendig. On the other hand, he hasn't engaged in any SocJus here yet, and it seems like he actually might have some understanding of how to write comics. I don't have a history with Turok books, so I can't comment there.
Now, if someone wants to counter my slim hope for Turok, and my thoughts on the other two, I'd like to hear them. And maybe have a good comic geek fight, too.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Superversive? I'm waiting to be uplifted.
Instead of having my hopes raised by Anthony putting up a post, which is promptly pulled down at the request of "leadership". Yeah, I meant the quotes, because I don't know that changes are going to happen. In fact, Amos appears to be the only specifically Superversive voice to have read my last post. I state this based on his comment, but the fact is, from now on, I'll archive anything from there first, because they're controlling their message strongly, and might delete ANY post if they decide to.
What got put in its place? Brian's initial post that started the conversation. While it's a good post, I don't get why that should be added there. Maybe it's the only part their leaders think is worth reading. Maybe they don't get what the PulpRev crew(at least part of it) actually gets out of arguments.
The arguments they have(I'm on the periphery as I'm just a blogger/reviewer right now, and who reads those guys, anyway?) are both for working through points, convincing others, and teaching themselves how to think about writing. And while the arguments might get heated, that's not out of enmity, but rather the fact that they recognize that fun is serious stuff, far more serious than most things in life.
What's this mean for how I interact with Superversive itself now? Until I see changes, I'm going to be a lot more wary. I'm friends with a few of them, and that won't be affected on my part, but this whole controlling nature really hurts my ability to trust the "movement", and to an extent, the Press.
The whole keeping the rest of the world in the dark gets me down. I can't support something where there's literally no info on it, and since the group won't communicate publicly as a corporate body or individually, there's nothing to be found.
I don't even wanna type it.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
What got put in its place? Brian's initial post that started the conversation. While it's a good post, I don't get why that should be added there. Maybe it's the only part their leaders think is worth reading. Maybe they don't get what the PulpRev crew(at least part of it) actually gets out of arguments.
The arguments they have(I'm on the periphery as I'm just a blogger/reviewer right now, and who reads those guys, anyway?) are both for working through points, convincing others, and teaching themselves how to think about writing. And while the arguments might get heated, that's not out of enmity, but rather the fact that they recognize that fun is serious stuff, far more serious than most things in life.
What's this mean for how I interact with Superversive itself now? Until I see changes, I'm going to be a lot more wary. I'm friends with a few of them, and that won't be affected on my part, but this whole controlling nature really hurts my ability to trust the "movement", and to an extent, the Press.
The whole keeping the rest of the world in the dark gets me down. I can't support something where there's literally no info on it, and since the group won't communicate publicly as a corporate body or individually, there's nothing to be found.
I don't even wanna type it.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Superversive Recovery and PulpRev Direction
Well, it's been an interesting couple of days. Brian Niemeier got a much needed conversation started through this post, based on some long and meandering conversations I happened to be a part of(yes, some of that is from me, but certainly not all). I wasn't going to blog on this, but given some of the more recent outputs, I think I should.
At Cirsova, Alexander talked about how this would push change, and a warning to the PulpRev movement. Part of his concern is the PulpRev website, branding being a killer to a movement. If you haven't, go read it. Part of it is the concern over it becoming ideological, rather than methodical. In response to the second, I have to say, there are a certain amount of ideals(no, I'm not defining, let's not go to purity tests) that are, I'll go with common and consistent with the storytelling that the PulpRev is both rediscovering for the public, and writing. To the first, Todd Everhart has made a good post on the PulpRev site.
Now, to Todd's post. Todd writes clearly and plainly that if you want to join the Discord(I have, but haven't done more than lurk a little), or the website, you can. Todd also then talks a little about quality control, infiltrators, merch, and a bit more. I'm guilty of doing a pulprev shirt myself. I figured it might get some real life conversations started, that's it. Todd's points are solid all around, and I hope they pin the post permanently for easy access.
And, lastly, a post on the Superversive blog by Anthony M. It's great to see an official post about them taking it seriously. They're looking at some changes, and I've got some comments to them. Edit: This post was deleted, so I've put up an archive of it.
To the changing of the Press name, or possibly making Superversive Press an imprint: STOP. You need one Press; it's fine. Imprints are largely silly, they don't get you more money, they get you less, especially when you don't have a deep catalog(50+titles). All imprints do is confuse people. I say this because I didn't even know Jon Del Arroz's For Steam and Country was from them until he told me at LibertyCon. Get the Press website in shape; there's no active links, no text entries, no author pages, etc. In fact, just migrate the blog over to make it easier to find all the stuff. Get an "about us" page up. UPDATE information as it becomes available(you're missing several contributors). Put submission calls/guidelines up, yes, ON THE SUPERVERSIVE PRESS WEBSITE.
To the second, I really hope the WHOLE group takes this to heart. But, I'll believe it when I see John C. Wright, Tom Simon, and Anthony having a blatantly silly chat about something being superversive on Twitter. This is about actively building relationships with readers and each other in public. And some of the folks who have accounts need to be active(Jagi, Marina, Jason). To the other side of publicity, you need to seek out reviewers BEFORE you release, not after. My book money goes to way too many places on my meager pay. I won't complain over more free books. Really.
To the proposed livestream changes: GREAT. I like you guys, but your Roundtables seriously feel like I'm at a family reunion and everybody's talking, when I want to hear stories from my grandfather, uncle, and that weird cousin of mine. It's about focus, and I've not felt that from the few Roundtables I really tried to listen to. Chaos ensued, and I couldn't get a feel for much of anything.
Changing the comments: YEAH. I can't get disqus to remember me, and I use it so little I can't get to remember my account/password. I have to use a different browser so I can use this ID, and Brave is not cooperating right now. I am eminently terminable, and won't endanger my job to comment on your blog.
To Focusing less on the details: If you mean less trying to define Superversive, and more talking about stuff that is, great. Get people think in those terms, show them what is deliberately or inadvertently uplifting and why.
On the whole, I am greatly encouraged by Anthony's post, and I hope they start the structural changes so more people can feel part of it.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
At Cirsova, Alexander talked about how this would push change, and a warning to the PulpRev movement. Part of his concern is the PulpRev website, branding being a killer to a movement. If you haven't, go read it. Part of it is the concern over it becoming ideological, rather than methodical. In response to the second, I have to say, there are a certain amount of ideals(no, I'm not defining, let's not go to purity tests) that are, I'll go with common and consistent with the storytelling that the PulpRev is both rediscovering for the public, and writing. To the first, Todd Everhart has made a good post on the PulpRev site.
Now, to Todd's post. Todd writes clearly and plainly that if you want to join the Discord(I have, but haven't done more than lurk a little), or the website, you can. Todd also then talks a little about quality control, infiltrators, merch, and a bit more. I'm guilty of doing a pulprev shirt myself. I figured it might get some real life conversations started, that's it. Todd's points are solid all around, and I hope they pin the post permanently for easy access.
And, lastly, a post on the Superversive blog by Anthony M. It's great to see an official post about them taking it seriously. They're looking at some changes, and I've got some comments to them. Edit: This post was deleted, so I've put up an archive of it.
To the changing of the Press name, or possibly making Superversive Press an imprint: STOP. You need one Press; it's fine. Imprints are largely silly, they don't get you more money, they get you less, especially when you don't have a deep catalog(50+titles). All imprints do is confuse people. I say this because I didn't even know Jon Del Arroz's For Steam and Country was from them until he told me at LibertyCon. Get the Press website in shape; there's no active links, no text entries, no author pages, etc. In fact, just migrate the blog over to make it easier to find all the stuff. Get an "about us" page up. UPDATE information as it becomes available(you're missing several contributors). Put submission calls/guidelines up, yes, ON THE SUPERVERSIVE PRESS WEBSITE.
To the second, I really hope the WHOLE group takes this to heart. But, I'll believe it when I see John C. Wright, Tom Simon, and Anthony having a blatantly silly chat about something being superversive on Twitter. This is about actively building relationships with readers and each other in public. And some of the folks who have accounts need to be active(Jagi, Marina, Jason). To the other side of publicity, you need to seek out reviewers BEFORE you release, not after. My book money goes to way too many places on my meager pay. I won't complain over more free books. Really.
To the proposed livestream changes: GREAT. I like you guys, but your Roundtables seriously feel like I'm at a family reunion and everybody's talking, when I want to hear stories from my grandfather, uncle, and that weird cousin of mine. It's about focus, and I've not felt that from the few Roundtables I really tried to listen to. Chaos ensued, and I couldn't get a feel for much of anything.
Changing the comments: YEAH. I can't get disqus to remember me, and I use it so little I can't get to remember my account/password. I have to use a different browser so I can use this ID, and Brave is not cooperating right now. I am eminently terminable, and won't endanger my job to comment on your blog.
To Focusing less on the details: If you mean less trying to define Superversive, and more talking about stuff that is, great. Get people think in those terms, show them what is deliberately or inadvertently uplifting and why.
On the whole, I am greatly encouraged by Anthony's post, and I hope they start the structural changes so more people can feel part of it.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)