Yesterday, I noted that the science fiction novel I wrote and published last year is eligible to win the Hugo. There's really no need to note that being eligible to win the Hugo for Best Novel doesn't mean the book has any meaningful chance of winning, or even of being nominated, but I include the observation for those of you who might start to think I'd gone even more delusional than my everyday standard.
So if this is hopeless and I have zero chance (or, to be precise, an infinitesimally non-zero chance), why bother to mention it?
Because I wrote and published a pretty good, Hugo-eligible novel, and that's worth commemorating. I'd like to have more reviews, but those that I have gotten have been good. No one has trashed it, either because of the writing or because the concept of a hero with grammar-and punctuation-based superpowers is too goofy. Sales have been slow, but they too are non-zero.
There are plenty of times that despair rises up high when I look at how I've fallen short of what I want to achieve as a writer. It's useful to remind myself that I wrote and published a pretty good, Hugo-eligible novel, a milestone in this tortured, meandering journey I'm on.
And the next book will be even better.
||| Comments are welcome |||
Help keep the words flowing.
So if this is hopeless and I have zero chance (or, to be precise, an infinitesimally non-zero chance), why bother to mention it?
Because I wrote and published a pretty good, Hugo-eligible novel, and that's worth commemorating. I'd like to have more reviews, but those that I have gotten have been good. No one has trashed it, either because of the writing or because the concept of a hero with grammar-and punctuation-based superpowers is too goofy. Sales have been slow, but they too are non-zero.
There are plenty of times that despair rises up high when I look at how I've fallen short of what I want to achieve as a writer. It's useful to remind myself that I wrote and published a pretty good, Hugo-eligible novel, a milestone in this tortured, meandering journey I'm on.
And the next book will be even better.
||| Comments are welcome |||
Help keep the words flowing.
A pretty good, Hugo-eligible novel, you say?
ReplyDeleteI can be sure of "pretty good". Honesty compels me to acknowledge that "the best superhero science fiction book you'll read all year" is a subjective assessment.
DeleteIf I understand the rules and your writing CV correctly, aren't you eligible for the Joseph Campbell as well?
ReplyDeleteI don't think so. My book has three strikes against it: 1) it's self-published, 2) it's an e.book only (so far), and 3) has sold less than 10,000 copies. http://www.writertopia.com/awards/eligibility/campbell
DeleteHowever, since "Verbosity's Vengeance" has no relevance for the Campbell, that means I don't exist yet as a new writer. A future book of mine which DOES meet the criteria would be my first work to do so, which would make me eligible for it.
Sooner or later, fandom will catch up with the rest of us. In the meantime, we keep writing (and dreaming).
ReplyDelete