Random Written Word thoughts

[Leoff]

Yes. Editors are good.
Also I like the group-mind feeling of contributing to an anthology of friends.
I would like to figure out how one publishes individual stories, but I'm so backward in things electronic, I don't know where to start or understand the instructions on finding out where to start.
Still wish I could read more of you guys' stories, though.

[clintmemo]

Yes. Editors are good.
Also I like the group-mind feeling of contributing to an anthology of friends.
I would like to figure out how one publishes individual stories, but I'm so backward in things electronic, I don't know where to start or understand the instructions on finding out where to start.
Still wish I could read more of you guys' stories, though.

Google quickly gave me this, but I have not read it.
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US?ref_=kdpgp ... sg_kw_ad53

I've always wanted to take part in a shared world anthology, like the old "thieves World" series - one world with different authors and characters.
Every author would have major characters that they control but can be used as minor characters in other author's stories.
The authors would have to collectively decide what world altering events happen but each has their own characters respond in their own way.

[Knaight]

I like short stories, and read anthologies pretty regularly. With that said, there are some real weaknesses in the format. There's the way there just isn't time to get into a short story in the same way as a novel, there's the vastly lower likelihood that you'll like every author in an anthology than every author in a novel (which is often just one person you already like), there's the way stylistic switches between authors can be jarring and can easily last for the duration of the story, etc.

[Glenn]

An authors blog I follow is what prompted my earlier post. After several people commented he made an actual post about the topic. Howard Andrew Jones.

Someone commented that an anthology actually requires more buy in from the reader than a large novel, because you have to learn about the setting in every story. I hadn't thought of that before. Especially true in something like Sojourn where every story is completely different.

[clintmemo]

An authors blog I follow is what prompted my earlier post. After several people commented he made an actual post about the topic. Howard Andrew Jones.

Someone commented that an anthology actually requires more buy in from the reader than a large novel, because you have to learn about the setting in every story. I hadn't thought of that before. Especially true in something like Sojourn where every story is completely different.

Another reason why I like the idea of a shared world anthology.

[Leoff]

I like the idea, but with some reservations. The co-operating authors have to agree on some kind of a cosmology: different cultures on the world may have differing beliefs, but the writers should know for themselves whether they're dealing with a single creative being or a pantheon. The stories will work better as a shared world anthology, of magic works more or less the same for all of them (or physics, or science). Otherwise it's just "let's all write whatever we want and throw in some matching place names".

But once you've got that sorted out, it would be lots of fun. A world is big enough, and time wide enough, to allow real scope for differing perspectives and developments.

It would be fun to set it up by deciding ahead of time who wants to do earlier-stage-of-history stories and who wants later history stories, and write them in that order, so each author works off previous material.

There's a shared world anthology I've long wanted to do but it involves me doing the world building; in my usual universe there's a culture that has a heroine whose story is never allowed to be told quite the same way twice. So I'd give each author several correct facts (r variants of them), but no two authors get the same list... It sounds like a lot of work and I don't know how many people would want to join me in it.

[The Blue Bandit]

Speaking of which, I still think there were a number of really good stories I read back when the FtBWG was meeting that I wish we'd stuck together in an anthology. There was one about some sailors that was right up there with any of Lord Dunsany's short stories. And I myself have three good short stories and a sonnet just sitting there. And for the fun of it, some of our The Great Wizard Spooner chronicles would be fun stuck in here and there.
It's a lot of work, but if we didn't have a theme, and didn't want too thick of a volume (Sojourn 1 was my favourite length), I think we have enough material just waiting.

I believe the one about the sailors you're referring to was my short from several years ago, "I Hear the Moon A-Calling Me". It's sitting around somewhere - if you ever wanted to read it again, I can gladly send it your way.

My wife and I have been steadily self-publishing novels through Amazon ever since Sojourn 2, and while I'm nowhere near quitting my day job, we've done better than we had expected going into it. I can't say we have all the answers about those things, but we do have practical experience, and are connected with a number of other authors who have a whole lot more experience than we do. I'm more than happy to (attempt to) answer any questions about the process.

[Glenn]

Speaking of which, I still think there were a number of really good stories I read back when the FtBWG was meeting that I wish we'd stuck together in an anthology. There was one about some sailors that was right up there with any of Lord Dunsany's short stories. And I myself have three good short stories and a sonnet just sitting there. And for the fun of it, some of our The Great Wizard Spooner chronicles would be fun stuck in here and there.
It's a lot of work, but if we didn't have a theme, and didn't want too thick of a volume (Sojourn 1 was my favourite length), I think we have enough material just waiting.

I believe the one about the sailors you're referring to was my short from several years ago, "I Hear the Moon A-Calling Me". It's sitting around somewhere - if you ever wanted to read it again, I can gladly send it your way.

My wife and I have been steadily self-publishing novels through Amazon ever since Sojourn 2, and while I'm nowhere near quitting my day job, we've done better than we had expected going into it. I can't say we have all the answers about those things, but we do have practical experience, and are connected with a number of other authors who have a whole lot more experience than we do. I'm more than happy to (attempt to) answer any questions about the process.

*slowly raises hand* i would like to read it. I really enjoyed Keeper's of the Flame. I keep meaning to go back and read it, but i never get around to it. Comic books won't let me go.

[DistinctlyBenign]

So I pre-ordered the new John Dies at the End book, What the Hell Did I Just Read. Just got it in the mail.

I may have forgotten I pre-ordered it, I'm like 20% of the way through Horus Rising. Its also been like 2 years since I read JDatE or TBiFoS.

Should I finish Horus Rising, jump straight to WtHDIJR, or reread the first two JDatE books to catch up?

I feel like I have a pretty solid recollection of the events of the first two books, I've read through the first four times and the second three times.

[Glenn]

Looks like Marvel Comics is getting the Conan IP back. If they do some restoration work faithful to the original material i might have to check them out.