A story, an update, a milestone, and a little extra time…

The Story:

So last week, John Scalzi posted up a blog taunting folks with his ARC of the Wise Man’s Fear.

I was jealous. Partly because he had a copy of my galley and I didn’t. But also because *I* wanted to taunt people. But I couldn’t, because I didn’t have a copy yet.

But look what showed up a couple days ago.

(As always, guest starring my thumb.)

Needless to say, it’s really nice to see a bound copy of the story after all these years. Even though this isn’t quite the finished, polished, tweaked,  as-perfect-as-we-can-make-it version that will be hitting the shelves in March.

Because I was excited, I brought home the ARC and took it into the bedroom where Sarah was hanging out with Oot. She thought it was pretty cool, too. But surprisingly enough, out of the three of us, it was actually Oot who was the most enthralled with the book.

It was funny, because the book is almost as big as he is. It has some serious heft, and weighs in at (and I’m not even exaggerating here) a full three pounds. Still, he wanted to play with it. He opened it and turned some pages. He pushed it around on the bed. He even did a “nice touch” on the cover, displaying one of his newer, rarer skills by petting it gently.

But while Oot loves books, he’s not always gentle with them. So after a couple minutes of closely supervised play with his younger sibling, I tried to take the book away.

Oot wasn’t having any of that. He clutched at the book, shaking his head. “Noo,” he said. “Noo noo noonoonoo….”

This is a new word for him, but you’d be amazed at the amount of distressed dismay that he manages to pack into those two simple phonemes.

So I stopped trying to take it away from him. He immediately relaxed, picked up the book, put it down again, then gave it a hug.

It was, quite honestly, the most adorable thing.

An Update:

T-shirts came back from the printer yesterday. Simply said, they’re gorgeous. I’m so pleased.

I’m really relieved. This whole t-shirt thing is completely unexplored territory for us, and it’s proven to be a lot more complicated than I expected. We couldn’t have made things work without all the considerate help from the lovely folks over at Poseur Ink.

The fabulous Worldbuilders team was up packaging late last night, and we’re shipping out hundreds of shirts today. Tomorrow, we’ll be shipping out hundreds more. Rest assured that we’re getting your orders out as quickly as we can. But be aware that we’re sending a LOT of shirts…

That means e-mailing to ask where your particular shirt is won’t get you your stuff any faster. Quite the opposite in fact.

[Edit: if you’re looking for a link to the store to buy a shirt, here it is… ]

A Milestone:

Yesterday, Worldbuilders passed the 100,000 dollar mark. This gives me a huge happy.

I’ve raised the donation goal on the Team Heifer page to $128,926. That might seem like a strange number, but I chose it for a particular reason. If we can raise that much money, it means we’ve beaten last year’s total.

It would be a pretty big deal if we managed to do that. It would mean that Worldbuilders is continuing to thrive and grow as a charity.

Personally, I think we can make it. The combined force of our geekery is mighty. We cannot be stopped.

An extension:

When I started this year’s fundraiser back in November, I planned to run things for one month, ending the fundraiser on Dec 13th.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. But there have been a few problems with that as an end date.

1. The first problem is that we still have a bunch of cool donations we haven’t managed to make public yet. We got more stuff than I expected this year, and that means we still have books from Gaiman, Sanderson, Butcher, and many others that we haven’t even mentioned on the blog. There isn’t time to post them all in the next three days.

2. The second complication is my own production deadlines. I have to turn in my page proofs for The Wise Man’s Fear on Dec 13th. This is the last step in a long, LONG process of revision. This is my last chance to catch any little mistakes that might slip into the finished work. My very really seriously final last chance.

Needless to say, it takes a long time to read a book this big. And I realized yesterday between posting new blogs, shipping t-shirts, and occasionally eating and sleeping. I couldn’t get everything done by Dec 13th.

So we’re extending the end of the fundraiser by about a week. The new end date for donations is noon Dec 17th (12:00 PM, pacific standard time.)

That will be enough time so that I can give my novel the attention it deserves, AND post up the rest of the donations so people have sufficient time to bask in their radiant glory before the end of the fundraiser.

Have a great weekend folks, and keep an eye on the blog, some of the best stuff is still to come….

pat

This entry was posted in cool things, Worldbuilders 2010By Pat56 Responses

56 Comments

  1. Sokol
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 11:11 AM | Permalink

    Ahh… sweet empty comments section, how can I resist your siren’s song.

    Seriously, Pat, thanks for the extension. Now I can do some real procrastination, and wait until the 16th before making a donation.

    Funny, I didn’t see my shirt in that pile. Perhaps, I should send a quick e-mail inquiring as to its whereabouts… Naah.

    Anyway, happy holidays and all that jazz,
    Sokol

  2. bremon
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 11:17 AM | Permalink

    Oot is, as ever, adorable. Utterly adorable. But I would have done the same thing.

    Yay on extension! Of course, this now means that it’s over on the same day that I’m on a train from Grand Forks to Home Sweet Home… so I won’t get to compulsively check this website every three seconds the way I usually do.

    Also, when I saw Wise Man’s Fear, I did a little jig in place. Can’t wait for MARCH!

    • freya_rl
      Posted December 11, 2010 at 8:09 PM | Permalink

      Very off-topic, but…O.o Someone else who lives in GF, ND! Do you go to UND?

  3. Widow Of Sirius
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 11:18 AM | Permalink

    This extension is kind of awesome. The Project for Awesome on YouTube is on December 17th – tons of people upload videos about their favorite charities simultaneously and take over YouTube for the day to make it about good instead of people buttering the kitchen floor and watching their roommates fall.

    I think I’ll make my video about Worldbuilders, even though it’ll only give people 12 hours to participate :)

  4. dspringfield
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 11:25 AM | Permalink

    I just made my $30 donation. Thanks for doing what you do, Pat.

  5. Skye
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 11:26 AM | Permalink

    A: Oot is adorable.

    B: There are plenty of adults out there who are hugging ARCs of your book too. They might not admit it, but they are. I know I hugged my ARC of The Way of Kings when I got it. (See, I’m admitting it. Admittance is the first step to healing, or something, right? “Hello, my name is Skye and I have a fantasy obsession.”)

    C: OMG SHIRTS! *happy dance* I can’t wait to have another shirt no one here understands to lord over them, basking in my geeky glory!

    D: You should be careful with the “nice touch”, my little sister once used that as an excuse to get her grubby fingers on my manatee and huck it across the room…

    E: Why did I format my comment like this? It’s really quite silly. Couldn’t I have just used paragraphs like a normal person? *sigh* Now I’m talking to myself. I’m gonna quit while I’m sort of ahead here…

  6. Mr WebMonk
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 11:33 AM | Permalink

    One of my favorite things to see with my daughter (just over 1 year old) is when she plays with something roughly, and we correct her with “gently, gently, you have to be soft”. She then strokes and pets whatever it was.

    Uber cuteness!! (and then ten seconds later she will very likely be hitting or yanking at it again)

    Had I a copy of TWMF, I would be quite like Oot – hold it and pet it and snuggle with it and nuzzle it and share my bottle with it.

    Errr, something like that.

  7. TheViking
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 11:41 AM | Permalink

    Looking at the t-shirt with envy. They look… amazing!
    First my design got into the top 10 (it didn’t win) and now I get to buy an awesome t-shirt. Can’t wait until after Christmas when I can afford to buy one.

  8. thechessqueen
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 11:45 AM | Permalink

    PLEASE please please please with a cherry on top and hot fudge, put the ARC of WMF in the lottery!

    Awesome on the extension, it is in true grad school spirit that deadlines are malleable. I will now proceed to guilt my friends and family into donating.

    Excited about the tshirts. They are truly a perfect holiday gift.

    Oot is adorable. I love your blogs about him. I simply must vocalize “Awwwwww” every time.

  9. Posted December 10, 2010 at 11:46 AM | Permalink

    So Pat,
    Let’s say someone meant to donate to the worldbuilders thing with you guys, but messed up and didn’t. Is there anyway their donation could be added to your total?

    (The someone is totally me by the way)

    • Widow Of Sirius
      Posted December 10, 2010 at 12:38 PM | Permalink

      Call the Donor Services at Heifer [(800) 422-0474]. They’re super pleasant, and they can fix it for you relatively easily. After a couple of minutes on the phone, they cleared the same issue right up for me last week.

  10. Posted December 10, 2010 at 11:46 AM | Permalink

    Eeep! This is exciting for many many reasons. WMF! Shirts! Okay, I didn’t even order a shirt because I’m broke, but I’ve seen the designs and they look awesome. And I got some money yesterday, which means I can actually donate, which I sadly wasn’t able to do last year. Yay Worldbuilders!

  11. dankinney
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 11:50 AM | Permalink

    Thank you for the update on everything, Pat!
    Great news about the donations! It’s good to know there’s still some good in the world.

    I’m glad you included some info on the t-shirts, as I had been scrambling like a madman to my mailbox everyday after work to see if it had come yet. Now I won’t have to look such a fool. Haha!

    Also, I hope you and yours have a good holiday season, whatever that entails for you!

  12. Frantic1892
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 12:08 PM | Permalink

    Dammit man, why do you not have a camera with you at all times? We could all SEE Oot being cute that way, but oh no, Mr. I-Can’t-Be-Bothered is forcing us to use our imaginations! And who wants to do that?

    But I forgive you. This time… :D

  13. Danm0207
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 12:19 PM | Permalink

    You realize OoT needs his own color-coded dialogue now right?

  14. Posted December 10, 2010 at 12:24 PM | Permalink

    Soooo… in march huh….?
    Damnit!!
    Now I dunno what to do…!!
    I act like a damn crazy bookworm and buy your book in march even though I read the first one not in the original English version but in Spanish…. or do I wait and wait until they publish it here….??
    graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!
    indecision will kill meeeh!

  15. Priscilla
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 12:35 PM | Permalink

    I just wanted to say.. as a linguist, it really made me excited to see you use the term ‘phonemes.’ :)

    I’m happy about your book too!

  16. Trickster
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 12:48 PM | Permalink

    I’m really excited for you (well mainly for me!) that the book is finally coming to completion and so soon. Well, soon as in I thought it would take a whole nother forever to get it out. Anyhow, going to have to go whip out The Name Of The Wind (Again. Must have read it like 4 or 5 times now) just so I can follow along smoothly again.

    Going to buy a T-Shirt also. Can’t Decide which one I want though… …

  17. J_leo
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 1:02 PM | Permalink

    Pat (or anyone who might possibly know the answer to this),

    I want to buy my friend a shirt for Christmas. Problem is, she’s studying abroad right now and will only be home for a few days during her winter break. If I were to order a shirt today or tomorrow, about how long would it take for it to process and ship out? I figure as long as it gets put in the mail sometime next week it will make it on time.

    Thanks for your help,
    me

  18. Funnul
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 1:09 PM | Permalink

    Pat,

    My 9 month old son Trip does the same thing with books, and it’s awesome. He grabs on to them and slowly inspects them for about 20 seconds, then typically hurls it 6 feet across the room…but if I take it away before he throws it, he gets upset…

    Wise Man’s Fear looks absolutely awesome…can’t wait man : )

  19. Posted December 10, 2010 at 1:38 PM | Permalink

    Hey Pat. If you groove on seeing a bound copy of a NIP the website lulu.com comes in handy. While intended for self publishing, you can also set books on “private” and there print paperback or hardcover “drafts” at one-off prices. My 400-500 page perfect bound trade paperback usually costs $12-13 a copy. There’s no setup fee or minimun number of copies so you can update the book on a whim and just mint out copies when you want. In the end it’s like Kinkos, but cheaper, slower, and looks like a real book.

    • Widow Of Sirius
      Posted December 10, 2010 at 1:57 PM | Permalink

      I’ve seen this website used for writing classes, to help students learn how awesome it feels to have published work. If I can, I totally intend to use it in my own class someday :D

  20. Charles C
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 1:47 PM | Permalink

    Thank you for extending the deadline Pat. I bought a goat last year and won The Cardinal Blades. I wanted to do the same this year, but I couldn’t swing it until after the fifteenth.

    Bully/You’re the Berries and other turn of the century slang.

  21. kseal
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 2:36 PM | Permalink

    Sounds like Oot knows where his future meals (of the not-mom sort) are coming from!

  22. Posted December 10, 2010 at 2:43 PM | Permalink

    Wonderful! I love that Oot is impressed by the book.

    And the extension on Worldbuilders means I can probably afford another hive of bees :-)

  23. Kalyani Poluri
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 4:29 PM | Permalink

    Hi Pat,

    I have recently read The name of the wind and it took my breath away.. Its AWESOME.. I am very happy to know that the Wise Man’s Fear is going to be published by March 1st 2011.. Cant wait to read it.. Do you know when is the audible audiobook going to be released for Wise Man’s Fear.. I listened to The Name of the Wind audiobook and loved it and would love to have the Wise Man’s fear as well.. :).. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year…

    Kalyani

  24. Pravda
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 4:45 PM | Permalink

    May the fleas of a thousand camels NEVER find your armpits!

  25. bignerd
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 4:57 PM | Permalink

    I recently bought a Nook with the specific intent of buying WMF as soon as it came out instead of waiting a year for it to come out in paperback. I just went on B&N and noticed you can already pre-order WMF but I don’t see anything on how to get it in E-Book. Please, please, please don’t tell me it won’t be available on e-book until the paperback is available, like they did with the last Wheel of Time installment. Please convince your publisher to embrace technology. I would gladly pay $14-$15 to finally read your next installment. Plus you kind of owe it too us after making us wait so long.

  26. kendergirl
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 5:39 PM | Permalink

    You do have a nice thumb…

    • Mickey
      Posted December 11, 2010 at 3:06 PM | Permalink

      It certainly deserves the odd cameo now and again seen as how all the other fingers get to do the whole writing bit…..

  27. dspringfield
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 5:41 PM | Permalink

    How freaking cool is that? I think I’ll read The Name of the Wind again to celebrate.

  28. Baldsilver
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 7:24 PM | Permalink

    Aww, really looking forward, but the question is, is it as perfect as *you* can make it? i.e. is the writing process done.

  29. Rupoe
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 10:53 PM | Permalink

    Congratulation, Pat!!! One big step closer!

  30. Rob47
    Posted December 11, 2010 at 3:34 AM | Permalink

    You magnificent bastard! I can’t wait, everything good is happening after Christmas this year.

  31. Sait-taM
    Posted December 11, 2010 at 6:45 AM | Permalink

    Oot has already started weightlifting with the book then? ;)

    “Yesterday, Worldbuilders passed the 100,000 dollar mark. This gives me a huge happy.”
    I hope you were alone when this happend because otherwise it can become really embarrasing standing there thinking about icecubes and whatnot :D

  32. Posted December 11, 2010 at 8:00 AM | Permalink

    Wow! Congratulations! Watching your two young’uns having a cwtch must be a wonderful feeling indeed, sir!

    And double congrats on the 100,000 mark! That’s one heck’ve a lot of goats, chickens and awesome!

  33. paulviz
    Posted December 11, 2010 at 9:08 AM | Permalink

    Pat
    Just curious. You may have answered this already but I was wondering if WMF will be released as an ebook and, if so, in which formats? I do all my reading on my itouch and would love to add WMF to that collection. Thanks for your time.
    Viz

  34. Posted December 11, 2010 at 12:28 PM | Permalink

    Arghlllll

    Must …. not …. ask …. for … ARC.

    It’s … too … strong!!!! Can’t … fight … it.

  35. Mickey
    Posted December 11, 2010 at 3:13 PM | Permalink

    Sometimes books come along that change the world. It’s very rare that a person comes along and writes a book that changes the world and the author will think it’s not enough.

  36. Brock
    Posted December 11, 2010 at 7:30 PM | Permalink

    I want that book…Too bad you can’t throw it in the lottery or auction for obvious reasons. Still, I’d give my left nut and first born for a 4 month window where only myself and other ARC readers got a chance to enjoy it. I bet you move a INSANE number during your first week. I know I’ve been waiting patiently for some time. Glad it’s thick too. I need a good long read. If it’s anything like NotW, I’ll be a recluse for a week.

    • Oliver Stein Inc.
      Posted December 12, 2010 at 9:22 AM | Permalink

      A brown recluse? if so, I won’t go near your copy.

      • Brock
        Posted December 13, 2010 at 1:17 PM | Permalink

        Oh so brown is bad? Racist.

  37. Oliver Stein Inc.
    Posted December 12, 2010 at 9:21 AM | Permalink

    I wonder how much a wrench and a ticket to Stevens Point costs…. I might also need a lockpick.

  38. ASamuelson
    Posted December 12, 2010 at 12:55 PM | Permalink

    Can’t possibly get it all done? Ok, ok… twist my arm a bit and I’ll read The Wise Man’s Fear for spelling mistakes and whatnot before it’s released. I found two mistakes in Sanderson’s most recent novel and we can’t have that happening here! Ha ha, hang in there Pat! I’m in the middle of grading Gen 507 essays, so I feel your pain (and it also means I am procrastinating)…

  39. ejs4th
    Posted December 12, 2010 at 8:44 PM | Permalink

    Hey Pat, seeing that ARC has probably made every reader on the board start to itch a little. Have you considered giving us all some crack- I mean sample chapters? I know there’s one snippet with Puppet out there, but you could put up sample chapters and ask readers to donate to worldbuilders to get at them ;). It would be a good way to raise more money. Besides all the cool people are giving out sample chapters. GRRM and Jim Butcher do it. Now at this point I’m grasping at straws looking desperately for any other stereotypical method of persuasion I can get my hands on… I need a life.

  40. gmoke
    Posted December 12, 2010 at 9:21 PM | Permalink

    Just added $150 to your Heifer International page. Could you please make sure that this money goes to two bundles of trees ($60 a piece) and one hive of bees ($30)?

    I like to think of the trees as a home-made carbon offset for the one air trip I tend to take every year or so and, given the last few years of bee news, it’s good to repopulate the pollinators.

    I would appreciate this very much. It means a lot to me as this has been my giving pattern to Heifer International for the last couple of decades. If you google “gmoke,” you can easily find my email to send me a confirmation that my money is going for trees and bees. That would mean more to me than any of the premiums you are offering.

    Thanks for your time and your work.

  41. Huckleberry
    Posted December 13, 2010 at 2:53 AM | Permalink

    What I’d like to know:
    Your ARC is # 3 out of 227. Who got #1 and#2?

    • Daniel
      Posted December 13, 2010 at 3:07 PM | Permalink

      My guess? Golden Ticket winners…

  42. Valaritas
    Posted December 13, 2010 at 3:57 AM | Permalink

    Now I’m debating whether or not to interrupt my reading of the Discworld series to re-read NOTW, but after 15 readings, I know it so well, that I might decide not to….. Oh who am I kidding, I’ll probably read it two more times just to be on the safe side.

  43. Cristina Vieira
    Posted December 13, 2010 at 10:43 AM | Permalink

    I’m from Spain and I’d like one of those awesome T-shirts but I couldn’t find it in the site you’ve linked and I don’t know if i can get it living abroad. Anybody can help me?. Thanks.

  44. May
    Posted December 13, 2010 at 2:48 PM | Permalink

    Yeah!! My Draccus-Poster arrived today! It’s soooooo cool – thank’s a lot Pat!!!! :)
    Many-huge-happy-greetings from Berlin!

    Plus: It’s great to see the T-Shirts… Can’t wait to hold them in my arms!

    • Sait-taM
      Posted December 13, 2010 at 4:35 PM | Permalink

      So you’re just going to hold them? I thought the point of a shirt was to wear it? ;)
      I’m waiting for my shirts to arrive in Sweden so I’m in the same boat as you :)

  45. Widow Of Sirius
    Posted December 13, 2010 at 7:08 PM | Permalink

    I got my shirts today :D I’m wearing Denner Fishing proudly about town (well, to class and in my apartment, at least).

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