First off, I would like you know that I'm your #1 fan™.
Now that that's out of the way, I have a question for you. I recently read an autobiographical book by the physicist Richard Feynman, in which he brings up a point that may apply to you - He tells of his experiences before and after winning the Nobel prize. Prior to receiving it, the lectures he gave at different colleges were attended by the truly interested and devoted students. As one can imagine, after winning the Nobel prize, his lectures were attended by many more people - students, staff, community leaders, etc. Mr. Feynman implies that he liked those later presentations much much less than the smaller ones he did before. In one case, he actually called in sick but showed up anyways, telling the university that he was ill and that another (fabricated) professor(himself) would do the lecture in his absence.
I was just wondering if you have had any experiences like this. I'm pretty sure that anything published under your name gets plenty of attention from all sorts of people. Have you ever written anything under a different name, just to see how the response would be? Or wished to do so?
posted
Is the book "Surely you're joking Mr. Feynman?" That book is hilarious. The stories are wonderful. I really enjoyed it.
Posts: 55 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
The Hugo and Nebula are way different from the Nobel.
When you win the Hugo and Nebula, sci-fi fans and some writers feel it is their obligation to assault your reputation, both literary and personal, in order to demonstrate that they are way too cool to like something that other saps would actually "honor" with "awards."
The result is that within a year or two, the award winner is filled with distaste for the awards and locks them away where he doesn't have to look at them.
At the same time, the publisher continues to plaster "Hugo and Nebula winner" all over the books, and the writer will continue to mention the awards in his official bio, because HE'S NOT STUPID.
Winning the Hugo or Nebula results in your being taken more seriously in FOREIGN markets and improves your chances of being translated and published abroad. That's the only place where it really makes much of a financial difference, and then only if you have an agent who aggressively pursues and exploits these opportunities abroad. (I did and do have such an agent.)
The Hugo (but not the Nebula) also results in a temporary increase in sales of the winning book (but not short stories, novelets, or novellas) in the U.S. But Hugo-winning novels can still go out of print. They aren't necessarily treated as classics. While some non-winners can achieve that result without any particular help.
Who actually shows up to hear sci-fi writers speak? People who read sci-fi, obviously. And there is no audience harder to impress. While fans of actors and directors gush over their "genius" - a laughable idea in some cases - sci-fi fans - even the ones who tell the author "I'm your number 1 fan" - always seem to feel a perverse obligation to say,
"I love ALL your books ... except ..." and then launch into a five-minute explanation of why that one particular book was the most loathsome thing ever written. As if the author could take careful notes, then withdraw the book from publication, and then re-release it in a new version with all the flaws removed.
Science fiction fans, even when they're impressed, don't ACT impressed. They ACT too cool to believe. Because it would be SOOOOO embarrassing to admit that you weren't smart enough to see the flaws in EVERYTHING. <grin>
So believe me, I don't have, and never will have, Mr. Feynman's problem. The only "extra" people I have show up when I'm speaking are dutiful relatives assigned by a nephew/child/niece/grandchild/boss to go and get a book signed for them. But these hapless victims are performing an act of selfless altruism, not sucking up to a Hugo laureate ...
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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posted
Well, regardless of pathetic "fans" who aren't half as smart as they pretend to be, I know I'd be pretty damn proud if my novel won both the Hugo and the Nebula, and then the following year its sequel did the same! I imagine that's somewhat of a rare occurrence. Wasn't "Xenocide" also nominated for one of them? I can't recall which though.
Posts: 1569 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
I don't think that nobody is his fan number 1. Every us love mr.Card from diferent way and not for it one fan is better than other
Posts: 111 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
Lillie Mu, definitely not vichyssoise was the title of an e-mail message in the Shadow series. Vichyssoise is hot soup, which was Han Tzu's nickname in battle school.
quote: Science fiction fans, even when they're impressed, don't ACT impressed. They ACT too cool to believe. Because it would be SOOOOO embarrassing to admit that you weren't smart enough to see the flaws in EVERYTHING. <grin>
Nah. That's not it. It's because Sci-Fi fans are such huge dorking geeks they have to pretend to be cool, otherwise, you'd have restraining orders out on most of them.
Though it is rather amazing that such dork/geek/nerds could do such a good job faking cool. You'd think just interacting with another human being face to face would send them over the edge.
Posts: 171 | Registered: Jun 2001
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quote: Lillie Mu, definitely not vichyssoise was the title of an e-mail message in the Shadow series. Vichyssoise is hot soup, which was Han Tzu's nickname in battle school.
Vichysoisse is cold soup. So "definitelyn not vichysoisse" is a not cold soup or Hot Soup. Han Tzu is my favourite character in the Shadow Series so I chose the name for that reason.
Posts: 55 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
I saw a guy named Hot Soup in Shattered Galaxy. I said something to him but he was idle. Occasionally I also catch an "Enderr/Eender/Ender'/En^der" or whatever.
Shattered Galaxy is a fun game for Ender fans, as you play a human who controls machines that fight aliens or other controlled machines in a never-ending war.
I bet that any gamer who's read Ender's Game (me included) has given a pause whenever he's played a Real Time Strategy game. "What if my little soldiers were real?"
In fact, I've had discussions on that with a few of friends. No, seriously.
"Oh god I've thought the same thing." "Yeah. Then my marine died and I was like, "Billy! Nooo!!"
posted
OK, thank ! I was quiet afraid because Vichy was the name of the french "nazi" government during WW2...
Posts: 28 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
Actually it's the name of the town in which the government took place. And the soup comes from here, and the water and the little candies too, nothing to worry about Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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quote: I don't think that nobody is his fan number 1. Every us love mr.Card from diferent way and not for it one fan is better than other
No I'm OSC's #1 FAN! I just wish that in Ender's Game he numbered the chapters using roman numerals instead of integers. Roman numerals are SOO much cooler. Id be the first to buy a roman numeraled book.
Posts: 2756 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
I'm just a regular old fan, and being totally and hopelessly uncool for all of my life, I don't bother to look for flaws in books, although I do see them if they are REALLY glaring, like the main character inexplicably changes names halfway through! (movies are a different story, I rather enjoy ripping on those with my family) Well... actually I DO like pointing out flaws in text books, a bad habit I developed in highschool history classes.
posted
Actually, I was thinking of writing a book with randomly numbered chapters. Which you then reassemble into the correct order, only it still doesn't make any sense.
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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quote:Actually, I was thinking of writing a book with randomly numbered chapters. Which you then reassemble into the correct order, only it still doesn't make any sense.
I don't think turning "The Monkeys Thought Twas all in Fun" into a full length novel is that great an idea.
posted
I have no idea what number fan I am. But as of two months ago, I have read more books by OSC than any other author.
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote:Actually, I was thinking of writing a book with randomly numbered chapters. Which you then reassemble into the correct order, only it still doesn't make any sense.
You're thining of rewriting Naked Lunch?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
Most authors don't read anything by me. Which is why I have so little influence (as in: none) on literature outside my own books.
Oh, oh wait, I see ... I misunderstood what you meant by "I read more books by him than any other author."
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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quote: I can't say I blame him for not posting much normally. Every time he does, people make a big deal out of it....
quote: We're all so star struck that we even read your word association posts.
This is what I was talking about Mr. Card! You never wish to have your writings just read as if you weren't a famous author?
Posts: 2756 | Registered: Jul 2002
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