Nervous? You're not meeting the Prez

DFTBA. (Nerdfighter Salute)

Okay, many of you won't get that, but those of you who follow John and Hank Green, the VlogBrothers, will know that it means "Don't Forget to Be Awesome," and that if you Nerdfigher saluted me back, you're supposed to fight World Suck by making the world composed of more awesome and less suck.

John Green was invited to join a Google+ Hangout with the President. As in, Barack Obama, president of the United States. 

He made a vlog about how he felt about the upcoming talk. You know how you're nervous about big events before they happen? How you focus on trivial things? You're not the only one.

Green reassures us that it's okay to be nervous. Most people deal with the same thing.

Here's the vlog:

Tea Time: Earl Grey Supreme

Earl Grey Supreme Reviewed by: BecTea
Type of tea Black, loose-leaf	Flavor aspects and Aroma Flavor Aspects: Natural Aroma: Rich and delightful
Where I got it John Greenhow Store	Cost $8.95 per 1/4 lb
How I brewed it Just boiling water over a mesh tea basket. Steep 3 minutes. Sugar & milk added. For a single cup I used a tsp of loose leaves and 2 1/2 tbsp for a whole pot.	Rebrewing notes Just as good as the first time, steeped twice as long.
Review Earl Grey Lovers Unite! This is the smoothest Earl Grey I've had the pleasure of tasting. It was wonderful in the morning, made a refreshing tea with lunch, and was good cold with a little sugar when I had some left in the pot! It is a classic breakfast tea but I think it is delightful in the morning and all afternoon long. It is labeled as "an early 19th-century blend of fully fermented black teas with a tangy, pungent note introduced by bergamot orange oil." I found it in Colonial Williamsburg, Va at the John Greenhow Shop. Do not lament! You can buy it online at Williamsbugmarketplace.com. This tea does not disappoint! Get it online or start planning your road trip to VA because this tea is worth it.
Reviewed by: No second review yet.
Type of tea	Aroma
Where I got it	Cost
How I brewed it	Rebrewing notes
Review

(Learning to Like Tea Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Guest Post: Types of Tea, Guest post: Getting the Best Cup of Tea)

Tea Time: Festivus

Festivus Reviewed by: Juturna F.
Type of tea Black, loose-leaf	Flavor aspects and Aroma Flavor Aspects: Floral, Spicy Aroma: Orange and Cloves
Where I got it Tin Roof Teas (It's a holiday tea.)	Cost Somewhere between $7-$10 for 250 grams (can't remember exactly)
How I brewed it 3 tsp in a tea strainer, hot water from the break room coffee machine poured in until 12oz mug full, steeped for 2 minutes.	Rebrewing notes A little lighter colored on the second brew, not quite as strong in flavor. Didn't try a 3rd brew but I expect it wouldn't do well.
Review I expected a darker brew from a black tea, but it's fairly light even on the first brew. But since it's got at least as much in the way of other ingredients as it does tea leaves, that's not entirely a surprise. There are actually dried orange peels in this one. Despite the poor rebrewing, it's a pretty good tea, with half the pleasure in the scent. Spices include black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and pink peppercorn; it also includes orange and apple pieces. I'm pretty certain the black tea is just so you can say it's caffeinated, because I barely taste the tea at all. However, I happen to like the smell of orange and spices, so I like this tea. If you enjoy fruity herbal teas or Bigelow's Constant Comment, you'd probably like this one, too. I honestly haven't tried the latter, so I can't tell you exactly how they compare.
Reviewed by: No second review yet.
Type of tea	Aroma
Where I got it	Cost
How I brewed it	Rebrewing notes
Review

(Learning to Like Tea Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Guest Post: Types of Tea, Guest post: Getting the Best Cup of Tea)

Fangirling! Brandon Sanderson

Harriet McDougal and Brandon Sanderson sign books. I squee.

One of the two times I've been to Dragon*Con, I went as an Aes Sedai. If you've read the Wheel of Time series, you know what I'm talking about.

You also know Robert Jordan, the primary author, passed away before finishing the epic fantasy series. Fans were saddened by this news (understatement of the century). However, a new author was chosen to finish the series using Jordan's notes: Brandon Sanderson.

I actually picked up and read his Mistborn trilogy before I found out about that. It was fantastic. And I've liked every other book of his I've read (Warbreaker, Elantris, The Emperor's Soul, The Alloy of Time). I stopped reading the series after Jordan passed away, though, because I wanted the last books to come out before I finished (I knew I'd have to reread the whole thing anyway, so I figured rereading it all once was enough). A Memory of Light, the 14th book in the series and the long-awaited conclusion, is now out, courtesy of Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan('s in-depth notes).

So when I heard Sanderson was going to be in my state, I packed up and headed out to Quail Ridge Books to fangirl in person.

Also at the signing was Jordan's editor at Tor, and later his wife, Harriet McDougal. They spoke, and they're both good speakers.

We learned that much of the beginning and ending of the 14th book was Jordan, while the middle was mostly Sanderson. We learned Sanderson's technique for getting into the head of the characters was to read the last scenes Jordan had written from their points of view, and then show the product to McDougal, who having edited the first eleven books could advise if it was ready or needed work to be in character. We learned that McDougal could always tell whether her husband had been writing a villain or a hero just by how he walked into the room, and that Jordan had been particularly vehement against the idea of others writing in his universe--but that he'd been insistent that the series be finished. Sanderson disclosed to use which scenes in which books had been written by Jordan ahead of time and which were him (the Matt scenes in 12 were mostly Jordan but Sanderson in the next book; Perrin mostly Sanderson in 13, and so forth).

(Despite a disclaimer at the beginning in which Sanderson politely asked that no one reveal any spoilers, there was the inevitable moment when someone made a comment "But I wasn't upset when _____ died, because I didn't like the character in the first place." If you've never heard a hundred people groan in spoiler annoyance at once, it sounds like the agonized cries of marathon runners when they arrive after months of training to discover the race has been changed to a 100 meter dash. Sanderson strongly but politely reworded his request for no spoilers, which said guest, having arrived late and apparently lacking in common sense, had missed by coming in late.)

It was a fantastic talk, and could have gone on forever. However, then we would never had gotten any signed books. So we adjourned and the signing began.

While we waited for our books to be signed, the staff of the bookstore had created such amusements as a crossword puzzle, a trivia game, and a game in which the name of your character was sticky-noted onto your back, and you had to identify your character by asking those around you only yes or no questions. (I was Masema! >.>  <.<  >.> And no, I did not try to convince anyone to marry strangers.)

Quail Ridge Books does a fantastic job of signings. They're organized and have a great and efficient process in place to move fans through lines while still giving each person a chance to really talk to the authors. The store staff were great, willing to stay open late, and the volunteers (who'd entered a contest to be allowed to volunteer, and seemed to be having the time of their lives) were friendly and happy to be there.

And I was especially impressed that Sanderson took the time to point out that signers would have plenty of time to grab a bite to eat between signings (thanks to the store's system of signing and a limit of 3 books per run through the line), and he promised he wouldn't leave before 10:30. I was very impressed with how considerate he was towards his fans and also towards everyone who worked there, everyone whom he interacted with. Both he and McDougal seemed to be genuinely nice people, and so it was a pleasure to attend the signing, not just for the books but to meet them.

Also, after his talk, I think I know what inspired him to write The Emperor's Soul (which I devoured in the same day I purchased, nom-nom-nom!). I can't help but think that must be how he felt, digging through Jordan's notes, trying to recreate the work of a master. "I've learned so much," he said over and over again. "This experience has made me grow as a writer." Humble, considerate, and a great writer: it's a powerful combination.

The same goes for McDougal: funny, charismatic, and deeply devoted to her husband, I could hear her love for Jordan in her voice when she spoke, as much as the passion for the series she spent years editing. With her there, it was like Jordan was in the room as well.

I'm thrilled to gotten the chance to meet Sanderson and McDougal, and if you ever have the chance to hear either of them speak, do so. 

Publishing Industry News

Publishing news and relevant industry blogs for 2/9-2/22. Okay, so I'm exhausted as I'm finishing this up, which means there's a good chance I've missed something. If you can find something major that I should really include, please toss it in the comments and I'll update Saturday morning!


Industry News

Indie booksellers sue Amazon and the Big Five  ("Six") over DRM. Basically, they're saying that by signing agreements with Amazon that restrict the devices on which the e-books produced can be read, and since the same deals have not been offered to them, competition is being limited. By Kindle books being only readable on the Kindle, and all e-books sold on Amazon only being Kindle-compatible,  the companies have created an environment in which the vast majority of readers who want to purchase a book produced by the Big Four will purchase a Kindle--cutting the indie retailers out of the picture. The indie booksellers are asking for an injunction against Amazon to prevent the addition of DRM to Amazon-purchased e-books. (As a Nook owner, I would love to see the dumping of DRM from Kindles. Do you know how many books I don't read, because the authors are only on Amazon? I just don't like reading books on a computer.)

Meanwhile, Amazon increases their funds to 2.2 million for the e-book borrowing pool. That means publishers and authors stand to make more money than before if they choose to allow their e-books to join the borrowing community. Publishers who join the KDP Select program are allowed to have their books put into this pool, and any book borrowed generates a small royalty fee that goes to the publisher (I think that means it's considered part of the author's earnings). KDP Select requires any book offered in it to be available only on Amazon, and not through any other e-retailer.

In the DOJ lawsuit versus the Big Five, Macmillan throws in the towel and decides to settle as well, leaving Apple the only defendant. The Macmillan settlement is scheduled to go to the U.S. Department of Justice to be approved by July 8. Part of this deal would be $20 million to go into the fund to reimburse e-book purchasers.

And the DOJ okays the Penguin-Random House merger. They're expecting the deal to finalize in late 2013, although they're waiting for approval from a couple of other concerned groups (such as the European Commission) who are looking into the merger.

ReDigi is getting close to being able to sell used e-books, but they still have to pass the hurdle of a lawsuit filed by Capitol Records that claims copyright infringement. Filed in January 2012, the lawsuit rejects the claim that ReDigi is the "digital equivalent of a used CD store." Among other things, ReDigi plans to make use of the fact that they pay artists and copyright holders at sale, and that they use a software that thoroughly ensures the material sold is deleted from the original device when the material is loaded on the new one. Two Thursdays ago, we learned Amazon is also working on a similar program to allow resale of used e-books. Both companies are caught in the still-developing no-man's land of digital sale, in which e-books are actually only licensed, not owned, by the purchaser.

Congress introduces a bill aimed to make all publicly-funded published research freely available to the public. Part of the controversy comes because the published material would need to be fully searchable on a central database, which means all of the some 1.5 million research articles published each year would have to be uploaded, entered into publicly searchable databases, and otherwise appropriately processed, and opponents (including publishers of said research) say that the material is publicly available already.

Yet another bill is on the floor in front of Congress to require large e-retailers to pay sales tax. Still yet to be seen whether or not this bill will succeed where others have failed.

Do you live in India? Are you writing a book? Caution, Pearson is expanding their vanity publishing branch Partridge to India. Find out more at Writer Beware. Also beware if a claims-to-be media company calls you up and offers you a huge promotional deal--if only you'll invest $5000 (USD) of your own money. The one she recently heard of is called Close-Up TV News.

Second-Life creators make Versu, a choose-your-own style platform that sells choose-your-own stories and will one day allow authors to create their own choose-your-owns to sell. They've only got a few books right now, but I see potential, lots of it...)




Industry Blogs

QueryTracker's Publishing Pulse for 2/15 and 2/22. (Edit: Latter added late).

Nathan Bransford reflects on Bookish, a site where readers can read books, shelve them, share them, recommend them, and also buy them.

Why do agents send form rejections instead of telling you what you could do to improve your manuscript? Even a sentence or two of feedback? Rachelle Gardner explains--those two minutes add up considering the thousands of queries agents get, they know they could be wrong, and more. She also explains why the new saying "self-pub is the new slush pile" is untrue.

If you're writing a will and deciding whom to leave your copyrights to, ask before giving them to someone. Kathryn Rusch explains why, and it really comes down to this: if the person doesn't know about literary rights, and isn't willing to learn, they can get screwed over and your book may fade into obscurity even if it's made into a movie.

Jane Lebak on QueryTracker talks about working with a cover artist. The cover artist's job is to get readers to pick up your book, no matter whether or not it's fully accurate to what's inside--so be flexible, because "Cover art is not an illustration. Repeat after me: it's a selling tool." That aside, it does help to have an idea of the tone you want your cover art to have, the genre, the theme of the book, the audience you're trying to reach--all the things that will help in designing the perfect cover to appeal to that audience. Meanwhile, Sarah Pinneo explains why you should have multiple links to places readers can buy your books: give them a choice of where to purchase, and include indie retailers.

At the Editor's Blog, tips on getting your details right, and how to have just the right amount of detail.

I may have mentioned before that I love Jim Hines' cover posing. He imitates the poses of the people on the covers of books to raise awareness of just how silly women's poses often are. Most of the poses he imitates are women's, but he does a few male poses for comparison. It's drop-dead hilarious--and it really says something about the cover industry.

Booktalk Nation now offers virtual author readings, for authors to connect to fans without the travel hassle. Readers may even order signed books and have them shipped to their homes.


What other publishing news have you encountered in the past couple of weeks?

Opposing Visions

Lately I've been working on a short story in between edits, and I've encountered a problem: my antagonist is vague. It's not that I don't have a specific idea of the antagonist. Not at all.

You see, I have a very clear vision in my head of the antagonist, of who he is and why he does as he does. In fact, I have two such very clear visions.

There are two different paths that this short story could take. They're almost identical in what the protagonist does, and they have a nearly identical ending. The ultimate outcome is the same.

But the context of the short story is entirely changed based on the motivations of the antagonist. On the advice of a member of my writing group, I'll be writing both versions. I simply can't choose one or the other until I've seen them both. The thing that scares me is that I think both will be good, and I won't be able to choose after the fact, either.

But they'll also both be better, because they'll clearly defined, and fully themselves, instead of half someone else.

Have you ever had two conflicting views of the same character? How did you refine that character into a single view? How did you choose?

Tea Time: POWER!!! tea

POWER!!! Tea Reviewed by: BecTea
Type of tea Herbal, loose-leaf	Flavor aspects Natural
Where I got it Thaumaturgy 777	Cost $3
How I brewed it The water was just before a boil; steeped 10 minutes. This was a loose leaf tea that requires a strainer or cotton reusable tea bag (I got one the same time I got the tea).	Rebrewing notes Have not rebrewed yet.
Review This is a specialty tea blend with unique ingredients like Sampson Snake Root and Licorice. It was advertised as spiritual tea: "This is a good, all-purpose tea, to attract good luck on all fronts of life. It's a good tonic for those engaging in the practice of magick and who want to increase their personal power, magnetism, chi, prana, or whatever you choose to call it." It sounded very intriguing! I can say it isn't overpowering as far as the taste, even with the 7 different ingredients. It has a mellow flavor that has an earthy green tea quality, even though it's all herbs and has no tea in it. I added honey to ease the earthy, natural quality and it was quite nice. It has enough unique flavor (cinnamon tones maybe) to be a sipping tea versus a drinking tea. As far as the spiritual aspect I'm not sure yet, but I did get a "get up and go" buzz from it and proceed to clean, clean, clean. In the meantime the tea cooled down and became even better, hinting that it might have lemon grass as an ingredient. Recommended for a unique tea experience or as a tea for ritual presentation. Would be very lovely while enjoying a bath.
Reviewed by: No second review yet.
Type of tea	Aroma
Where I got it	Cost
How I brewed it	Rebrewing notes
Review

(Learning to Like Tea Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Guest Post: Types of Tea, Guest post: Getting the Best Cup of Tea)