Market Insights

I'm guest posting on the Clarion blog today, doing a piece they call "Market Insights," talking about all the things that Pyr isn't. Here's a sample:

"We’re not really a good place for gross-out horror, slipstream, literary fantasy, or those “difficult to categorize” works. 'Not that there’s anything wrong with that,' he says, in his best Seinfeld impression. It’s just not our focus. When we first conceived of Pyr, we debated about whether or not to specialize in a subgenre, create a line look, or adhere to a particular philosophy or theme (in keeping with the parent company’s reputation for rationalist/humanist works). We opted not to do any of these things. Rather, we decided that we’d publish unabashedly genre works—space opera, military SF, time travel novels, epic fantasies, swords & sorcery—works that recognize and honor the tradition of science fiction and fantasy literature, but had an eye on the 21^st century. We wanted, though it sounds egotistical to say, works which took the writing to a 'higher level.'"

Just for the record...

It takes a bit of work to make a decent ebook. I've been overseeing the conversion of the Pyr backlist for two months now, so I know. I've also bought about 15 ebooks in the last two weeks on iBooks, and I'm sorry to say that I wish a few of the publishers whose books I've bought had taken a little more time with the conversion process. In one sad case, every single first letter of the first word on every line of the contents page is omitted. In another, every instance of the word "pilot" has been rendered as "pi lot," where about a quarter of all apostrophes are rendered as dashes. A third omits all interior illustrations though the cover and front matter proclaims "illustrated by...".

So when I hear people clamoring for instant gratification, moaning that "why isn't this book I want available right now in all formats" and accusing the publisher of sitting on it deliberately or some such nonesense - I grit my teeth. Right now ebooks are in the same place CDs were when they first appeared. Remember all those quick and dirty AAD conversions - Analog Analog Digital - and the CDs that came with warning labels that said, "this CD may reveal limitations of the original source tape" because the music was just being dumped in, not digitally remastered?

Well, there's a lot of that out there now. This will change, as publishers learn how to make ebooks part of the initial work flow of making a book and as ebooks grow. And in fact, most of the new titles I've acquired have looked pretty good. The majority of the mistakes above are in backlist titles where the publisher has raced to digitize their catalogs as fast as possible and done a sloppy job. Sadly, I seriously doubt they'll go back and fix these books once converted.

So, against all the consumers demanding everything digitized now, here's one consumer that wishes they would all take a little more time. I'd rather they did it right than did it fast.

Podcast: Comic Book Outsiders

I was a guest of the UK podcast Comic Book Outsiders this week. Hosts Scott and Steve got me talking about my lifelong love of comics and I shot off into many comic-related tangents while hopefully still talking about the superhero prose anthology Masked some as well. The podcast is available on iTunes as well as from the link above.

Scott and Steve, it was a very fun interview. Thanks!

The End

There is a book on my shelf I can throw away now. I bought it in 1999. I won't tell you its title or author, but you know what kind of book it is. It's the kind you read, start to throw across the room, and then say, "I can't believe this crap got published. I can write better than this." And then you think, "So why don't I?"

I've written for the stage, with several plays performed in Chicago in the early 90s. I have written several screenplays (a few of which were optioned by Hollywood production companies though none were ever produced). I had a standing invitation to pitch Star Trek: Voyager in the late 90s due to the quality of my Deep Space Nine spec scripts. I've written a nonfiction book (The Making of Star Trek: First Contact), and I've published well over 500 articles in magazines as diverse as The Believer, Publishers Weekly, free inquiry, Dreamwatch, and Babylon 5 Magazine, as well as various nonfiction anthologies. I've got a half dozen published short stories in various magazines and anthologies. I made a living off just my writing for five years in Los Angeles.

But I have never written a novel.

And mindful of how much easier it is to criticize than to do yourself, I've kept this godawful book on my shelf for 11 years, because while its mediocrity offended me greatly, and shelf space is at a premium, once I allowed it to set the challenge, I didn't feel like I could ethically throw it out until I'd responded.

And last night I wrote "The End" on a 96,000 word young adult urban fantasy.

I started it last year on November 1st (thank you NaNoWriMo), and I finished the first 50,000 words at 2am Friday night in my hotel room during an Editor Guest of Honor stint at Orycon 31. Then I set it aside for a few months. Then, sometime in the spring, I picked it back up. At first I started working on select weekends, taking a Saturday to sit in a coffeeshop and type. But there was too much downtime in between writing sessions. I found I was spending more time rereading what had come before than writing new material. Enter my incredible wife, who told me I should write after the kids were in bed, every weekday, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday), for two hours plus a night. And then made me do it.

I can't tell you the times she walked past me where I sat at the bar in the den, glanced over my shoulder to see me surfing the web or answering email, and said, "Stop that. You are supposed to be writing." Or how many nights I tried to beg off working to watch television or turn in early. I don't think there is anyway this book would exist at all if she hadn't chained me to the keyboard. (She is amazing.)

So last night around 10:15pm I wrote the words "The End" on the longest piece of fiction I've ever produced.

There is still a lot of work to do. I'm going to take a few weeks off, then start in on the first rewrite. It needs to be tightened, elements I discovered at the end need to be foreshadowed at the start, and it needs to be trimmed by about 10,000 words. Then it's going out to test readers, and then it gets another rewrite. So it won't be "done done" for many moons. But I've reached the end of something that was started a year ago. And now I can finally throw that book on my shelf, the piece of garbage I've had taking up space since 1999, away.

Only thing is, I may not want to anymore. It's become too important to me.

Enge is Freaking Terrific!

Steve at Elitist Book Reviews has just posted a review of my Eos anthology, Swords & Dark Magic (co-edited with Jonathan Strahan). The Pyr editor in me is particularly pleased with his assessment of James Enge's "The Singing Spear":

One of the best stories in the collection. Enge is so absurdly underrated. His character Morlock Ambrosius is a man of legend. A sorcerer of unparalleled power. And, uh, a complete drunk. "The Singing Spear" is a tale about what Morlock does when his bartender is killed. Enge is freaking terrific. This story will make you want to read more of his stuff. We suggest starting with BLOOD OF AMBROSE.

@LouAnders debuts

So, with all the attention that my anthologies Swords & Dark Magic and the forthcoming Masked have been getting, and with the nightly status updates on the word count of my own YA novel-in-progress, I've decided to create a second Twitter account. In what is sure to be a vain attempt to have some kind of an identity aside from Pyr, I'm going to split in two. Ouch.

Henceforth (with allowances for overlap and speed-typing mistakes), @Pyr_Books will be used for all Pyr-relevant news, reviews, author news & updates, etc... and @LouAnders will be for anthology news, general SF&F comments (gray area/aforementioned overlap?), updates on my own writing projects, commentary on tv/film/comics/music and, you know, generally griping about the new season of Doctor Who. (Thanks to Chuck Lucas for the cartoon!)

I'll keep them separate enough they'll be reasons to follow both. I promise not to repeat myself and to try and keep both interesting/relevant. With two accounts, I want to keep the signal-to-noise ratio good for you all. So please follow @LouAnders and help spread the word. Thanks!

Swords & Dark Magic: The Magic is Unleashed!

My Eos anthology, Swords & Dark Magic, co-edited with Jonathan Strahan, is now IN STOCK at Amazon, B&N, Borders, etc... and is available for the Kindle, B&N ereader/Nook, and in iBooks. And I'm sure you can get it at fine independents like Borderlands Books as well. (See this indiebound link).

Once again, the Table of Contents:

• Check Your Dark Lord at the Door" — Lou Anders & Jonathan Strahan
• Goats of Glory — Steven Erikson
• Tides Elba: A Tale of the Black Company — Glen Cook
• Bloodsport — Gene Wolfe
• The Singing Spear — James Enge
• A Wizard of Wiscezan — C.J. Cherryh
• A Rich Full Week — K. J. Parker
• A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet — Garth Nix
• Red Pearls: An Elric Story — Michael Moorcock
• The Deification of Dal Bamore — Tim Lebbon
• Dark Times at the Midnight Market — Robert Silverberg
• The Undefiled — Greg Keyes
• Dapple Hew the Tint Master — Michael Shea
• In the Stacks — Scott Lynch
• Two Lions, A Witch, and the War-Robe — Tanith Lee
• The Sea Troll's Daughter — Caitlin R Kiernan
• Thieves of Daring — Bill Willingham
• The Fool Jobs — Joe Abercrombie

Three Chesley Award Nominations for Pyr

ASFA, the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, have announced the 2010 Chesley Award nominees for works eligible from 2009, and I am very honored to report that Pyr has made the ballot three times.

For Best Cover Illustration: Paperback:

David Palumbo for Stalking the Dragon by Mike Resnick (Pyr, August 2009)

John Picacio for World's End by Mark Chadbourn (Pyr, May 2009)

For Best Art Director:

Lou Anders (which is me). We are all very honored by these three nominations.

2010 is the 25th anniversary of the Chesley Awards. The awards will be presented at NASFiC: The 10th Occasional North American Science Fiction Convention, August 5th-8th, 2010, in Raleigh, NC.

Congratulations to all the nominees!

Three New Lou Interviews for You (Say That FIve Times Fast)

What are the chances of three interviews going live on the same day?

This morning, I'm the guest on the wonderful Dragon Page Cover to Cover podcast, episode #410a. They say,  "Lou talks about how the iPad has shifted his reading preferences recently, and despite his deep and continuing love for physical books themselves, he can see where his future book buying may go the way his music buying went after iTunes became more widely used.Technology is changing the publishing game, and the guys talk about easy it’s becoming to be lured away from the book to the many electronic readers out there; about whether to use enhanced content for ebooks to encourage sales, the importance of having a quality story, and much more. Lou also walks through what happens on the path from manuscript to shelf: from the acquisition process, the editing process, the cover art process, and the book design process." This is my second appearance on the Dragon Page. I'm a big fan of the show and always have fun talking with Mike & Mike. You can listen with the direct link on the page itself, download, or get via iTunes.

Meanwhile, a brand-new, online magazine launches today, Redstone Science Fiction, from editor Michael Ray. Redstone is an online magazine that publishes "primarily science fiction short stories" and pays SFWA pro rates. Their first issue features "Raising Tom Chambers" by Daniel Powell and flash fiction story "Freefall" by Peter Roberts. There are also three interviews, one with  cover artist Kittyhawk, a popular webcomic artist, one with Joel Hardy, an engineer who works with scientific research on the International Space Station, and one with Yours Truly (conducted by author David Alastair Hayden). Check it out and give them your love.

Finally, I'm interviewed on The Mad Hatter's Bookshelf and Book Review as well. We talk about steampunk, anthologies, the submission process, my own writing, and, yes, hats.

The Functional Nerds

I am a guest today on Episode 10 of The Functional Nerds podcast, hosted by Patrick Hester & John Anealio. They say:

"Lou joins us this week to discuss a little bit of the history of the Pyr imprint from Prometheus books, the branding of Pyr that stands out on the bookshelves thanks to artwork from great artists like John Picacio, upcoming projects from Pyr, two new anthologies from Lou titled ‘Swords & Dark magic’ due in June and ‘Masked’ due in July, then we branch off into Stargate Universe, John Scalzi, Joseph Mallozzi, FlashForward and Batman comics."

You can download the episode on iTunes or listen at the direct link above.

ImagiCon 2010, ABC 33/40, and Me

I will be participating in Birmingham's ImagiCon convention this weekend, held at the McWane Science Center, as well as Old Car Heaven, May 21-23. In support of the con, I and Staked and Revamped author J. F. Lewis, spoke with Tracy Haynes of Talk of Alabama on ABC 33/40. Here is the video:



Meanwhile, I will be appearing on two panels at the convention:

Saturday, May 22

11:30a.m. "Lou Anders and Pyr Books" Come meet Lou Anders and find out what is coming from Pyr Books, one of the fastest rising stars of the fantasy and sci-fi world!

Sunday, May 23

1:00p.m. "Fantasy Today" M.B. Weston, Lou Anders, Van Plexico, J.F. Lewis Wondering why all the Vampires are sparkling? Wondering what happened to the grittiness of Conan? Wonder what happened to the outrageous worlds of Zalazny? Come and talk with some people who would know!

Here is the link to the full Literary Track, which includes such notables as John Ringo, Timothy Zahn, and Travis S Taylor.

Cover - Swords & Dark Magic: Limited Edition

Now it can be shown, the cover for the Subterranean Press Limited Edition version of Swords & Dark Magic, to be published in July, with a cover by Dominic Harman.

Swords & Dark Magic
edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders
(preorder--to be published in July 2010)
Dust jacket by Dominic Harman
Limited: $75
ISBN: 978-1-59606-311-2
Length: 424 pages

Swords & Dark Magic is the most important new fantasy anthology to be published this decade. Featuring new stories from the bestselling and brightest writers working in the genre, including: New York Times bestselling authors Scott Lynch and Garth Nix; genre greats Michael Moorcock (with an all-new Elric novella), Michael Shea (with a fully authorized new Cugel the Clever adventure), Robert Silverberg (with an all-new Majipoor tale), Glen Cook (with an all-new Black Company story), Gene Wolfe, and C. J. Cherryh; and hot new writers who've been re-inventing swords and sorcery like Steven Erikson, Joe Abercrombie, Tim Lebbon, and many more.

Limited: 500 signed numbered copies, bound in full cloth

Table of Contents

• Check Your Dark Lord at the Door" — Lou Anders & Jonathan Strahan
• Goats of Glory — Steven Erikson
• Tides Elba: A Tale of the Black Company — Glen Cook
• Bloodsport — Gene Wolfe
• The Singing Spear — James Enge
• A Wizard of Wiscezan — C.J. Cherryh
• A Rich Full Week — K. J. Parker
• A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet — Garth Nix
• Red Pearls: An Elric Story — Michael Moorcock
• The Deification of Dal Bamore — Tim Lebbon
• Dark Times at the Midnight Market — Robert Silverberg
• The Undefiled — Greg Keyes
• Dapple Hew the Tint Master — Michael Shea
• In the Stacks — Scott Lynch
• Two Lions, A Witch, and the War-Robe — Tanith Lee
• The Sea Troll's Daughter — Caitlin R Kiernan
• Thieves of Daring — Bill Willingham
• The Fool Jobs — Joe Abercrombie

Update 5/3/10: Subterranean Press reports that "Swords is selling very well. At this point, we have fewer than 200 copies left for sale, which means we may not have copies for large online retailers and our wholesale accounts, and the it may even be sold out by the time it's released this summer." Get yours here.

Twice the Agony

I was on Rick Kleffel's wonderful Agony Column Pocast on March 11th, episode 846, talking about Pyr Books' Pyr and Dragons Contest, as well as Kay Kenyon's Prince of Storms and Paul McAuley's Gardens of the Sun.  Here the direct link.

I came back on March 19th, episode 852, to talk about Pyr's first five years (we turned five this month!). And here's the direct link to that.

The People vs George Lucas

I've just been informed that "after 2 1/2 years of intense production, 63,686 frequent flier miles, 634 hours of footage, 14TB of drive space, 126 interviews, 719 fan submissions, and countless white nights," THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS is complete and will world premiere at the prestigious South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin, Texas (March 12th to March 21st 2010)!

I was one of the SF&F professionals interviewed at last year's World Science Fiction Convention last year and have been told that I made the final cut. Here is the (quite funny) trailer:

The Cosmic Balance (i.e. my ego) is Tilted!!

Another review for the The Clockwork Jungle Book, Shimmer magazine's 11th issue, which contains my story, "And How His Audit Stands."

This time, the Mad Hatter Bookshelf and Book Review says:

"Anders surprised me with one of the most well thought-out and adventurous stories in the bunch yet the animal theme is a bit lost. He somehow gives a new life to trains with great Western style flair. I recently learned that Mike Resnick upcoming Steampunk themed series Weird West was initially Lou's idea. I now understand where Lou gestated the thought."

So, two up, one down. And now, the cosmic balance is in jeopardy.

Also, I should point out that I merely suggested to Mike Resnick that he would do well at Weird West/ Steampunk. The story that resulted is entirely his.

The Cosmic Balance (i.e. my ego) is Maintained!!

Reviews are starting to come in for the The Clockwork Jungle Book, Shimmer magazine's 11th issue, an issue of steampunk-toned, anthropomorphic fables. The issue has 172 pages of stories, included among them my own "And How His Audit Stands."

Of which Sam Tomaino, of SFRevu, says:

...makes for a fine story and a truly imaginative one.

But contrast this with Lois Tilton over at The Internet Review of Science Fiction, who writes:

Here, the animal aspect is downplayed to insignificance, despite aphorisms from a fable scattered through the text; the punchline of this, annoyingly, doesn't come at the conclusion as a punchline should, and the actual concluding moral is moralistic.

So, one up, one down. Thus, the cosmic balance is maintained. The universe is safe--for the time being!

(Although I could see a case for Rich Horton's listing of my name under "other good work came from" sufficient praise to start tipping the scales towards megalomania... mwa ha ha...)

In all seriousness, the 18 other contributors are the real reason to check out this issue. Last Short Story writes, "This entire anthology is full of beautiful, fascinating stories. ....the tone was consistent and the stories engaging and well written. Definitely grab a copy! "

How I Spent My Weekend...

The long overdue overhaul of LouAnders.com is now live. Check it out.

Big thanks to John Picacio for the banner and my wife for the tech support!

Podcast: Lou Anders & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Double your podcast pleasure this morning.

I'm on The Agony Column, talking to the brilliant Rick Kleffel about fantasy (the return of sword & sorcery), trends in science fiction (will sword & planet return?), ebooks and eReaders, Sam Sykes, Ari Marmell, the future of artwork in a digital book world, and the rumored Apple tablet. You can download on iTunes or go to the direct link.

Meanwhile, The Dragon Page Cover to Cover episode #390A has an interview with Kristine Kathryn Rusch, talking about her new space opera, Diving into the Wreck. Again, iTunes or follow the link above to the embedded player.

That's enough listening for one morning, surely.

Books I Edited in 2009

So, it's that time of year again....

Here is the list of all the books on which I served as editor (and art director) in my capacity as Editorial Director at Pyr books for 2009.

Chris Roberson, End of the Century
Kay Kenyon, A World Too Near (Book Two of The Entire and the Rose) (paperback after hc)
Kay Kenyon, City Without End (Book Three of The Entire and the Rose)
Ian McDonald, Cyberabad Days
Tom Lloyd, The Twilight Herald (The Twilight Reign 2)
Matthew Sturges, Midwinter
Ian McDonald, Brasyl (paperback after hc)
James Enge, Blood of Ambrose
Joel Shepherd, Crossover (mass market after trade paperback)
Sean Williams, The Hanging Mountains (3) (paperback after hardcover)
Mark Chadbourn, World’s End (Age of Misrule 1)
Joel Shepherd, Breakaway (mass market after trade paperback)
Mark Chadbourn, Darkest Hour (Age of Misrule 2)
Joel Shepherd, Killswitch (mass market after trade paperback)
Ian McDonald, Desolation Road (reprint)
Mark Chadbourn, Always Forever (Age of Misrule 2)
Mike Resnick, Stalking the Dragon (A Fable of Tonight 3)
Justina Robson’s Chasing the Dragon (Quantum Gravity 4)
Tom Lloyd, The Grave Thief (The Twilight Reign 3)
Paul McAuley, The Quiet War
James Barclay, Dawnthief (Chronicles of the Raven 1)
Joel Shepherd, Sasha (A Trial of Blood & Steel 1)
James Enge, A Crooked Way
James Barclay, Noonshade (Chronicles of the Raven 2)
Mark Chadbourn, The Silver Skull (The Sword of Albion)
Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Diving into the Wreck
James Barclay, Nightchild (Chronicles of the Raven 3)
Mike Resnick, Starship: Flagship (Starship 5)

What a year it's been. I'm proud of every damn one of them, and all my fabulous authors and artists! Thank you all.