Alright folks. Today we’re going to take a break from listing prizes. Instead, I’m going to pass along some Worldbuilders news and answer a few questions that have cropped up.
Lastly, I’d like to get everyone’s opinion on what to do with few of the rockstar prizes that have been donated by Neil Gaiman and Brandon Sanderson.
News
Donations and book totals:
The big news is that we’re only 18 days into the fundraiser and we’ve already raised over 36,000 dollars. That’s not counting the any of the matching donations from Subterranean Press or myself.
In short, I think it’s safe to say that we are pretty frikkin cool.
Donations keep arriving from authors and publishers. As of right now we have more than a thousand books worth over 30,000 dollars.
Miscelaneous News:
- I found a cheaper way to mail the Draccus posters internationally. So I’m dropping the shipping price from 28 dollars to 15 dollars. If you paid the old price, don’t worry. I’ll send you a paypal refund soon.
- A cool bookstore called The Bookloft out in Massachusetts has started fundraiser of their own. For every copy of my book people buy, they’re donating money to Worldbuilders. Needless to say, I’m flattered and thrilled. Next time I’m in the neighborhood, I’m going to stop by and take you all out to lunch, especially the brilliant employee who spearheaded the idea….
Also, I know the tendancy on e-bay acutions is to wait until the last 45 seconds of the auction then bid your ass off with the hope of getting the item cheap. While those tactics tend to work pretty well in general, remember that these auctions in specific are meant to raise money for Heifer international. So bidding early really wouldn’t be a bad thing, would it?
FAQ
I ordered a book/galley/poster from you. When will I get it?
Man. I’ve got no idea. We’ve been getting things out the door as quickly as possible. But the mail is really slow this time of year because of the holidays. My advice is to be patient. Sending me an e-mail isn’t going to make the package move any faster, it’s just going to make me slower in mailing out everyone else’s packages.
What are my odds of winning something if I donate?
As I said above, we’ve got over 1000 books. But because a lot of them are grouped into trilogies or sets, it breaks down to there being over 500 prizes.
That means if you donate 10 bucks, right now you’ve got about a 1 in 70 chance of winning something.
If you donate enough for a goat ($120) that means you have about a 1 in 6 chance of winning something. Pretty sweet odds, you have to admit.
Keep in mind these are rough estimates. And the odds will shimmy around a bit as new books come in and donation totals rise.
Can I still donate a signed copy of my book for the fundraiser?
Sure. But I’d get it in the mail quickly if I were you.
How come you’re donating all these different versions of your book, but not the audio version?
Honestly, I just didn’t think of it, the audiobook version is pretty new. I’ve got hardcovers of NOTW laying around the house, but I didn’t have a spare audiobook sitting on my shelf.
But it’s a good idea, so I went out bought one.
That this isn’t *quite* the right picture. I bought the CD version, not the MP3 version. I figured anyone can use the CD version.
My uncle/mom/grampa speaks Polish/Spanish/Japaneese. If I donate double the cover price, can I buy a signed copy of one of those books directly from you?
Hmmm… I don’t have all that many copies of some of my foreign translations. (Except for Spanish, I have a ton of those.) If you’re really interested, drop an e-mail to paperback.contest [squigly atsign thinger] gmail.com and we’ll work something out.
I wanted to get one of those Heifer Gift cards, that show you’ve made a donation in someone’s name, but I couldn’t find a way to get on the Team Heifer site. Can you help me?
I can. Heifer is sending me a bunch of the gift cards. If you’ve donated on my page and you want one of the cards. Drop us an e-mail at the address I just listed in the previous answer and we’ll mail one (or more) out to you.
Is there a facebook event for the fundraiser that I can invite my friends to?
There is now.
Invite away. Thanks for helping to spread the word.
If I want to send you a cheque in the mail rather than donating directly on the Team Heifer site, do I send it to your PO Box?
Sure. Send it to:
Pat Rothfus
PO BOX 186
Stevens Point, WI 54481
Two Questions
1) Would people like it if I put a second “Golden Ticket” up for auction? More importantly, would you bid on it?
2) This year we have a couple extra-cool books that have been donated. Take a look:
- A first edition hardcover of The Gathering Storm, signed by Brandon Sanderson, Harriet Jordan, and many others.
Brandon was nice enough to take some time out from his crazed touring schedule to send us this copy of The Gathering Storm, signed by himself, Harriet Jordan (Robert Jordan’s wife) and many of the people who made the book possible, including his agent and some of the production staff at Tor.
- A signed, numbered ARC of Stardust. Hardcover in its own slipcase. Signed by Neil Gaiman.
This is a gorgeous book. I covet it to an almost ridiculous degree.
So. Should I put these books up for auction, or should I add them to the general lottery?
The auction would be nice, because between the two of these I expect we’d raise at least a couple thousand dollars for Heifer.
But adding them to the general lottery would be cool too. That way everyone has a chance to win them, and it might make more people enthusiastic about donating.
What do you think? I’m really on the fence about this. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Remember folks, for every 10 dollars you donate to Heifer International, you get a chance to win hundreds of books: some signed, some limited edition, some out of print. Plus there’s the whole helping make the world a better place thing. That’s nice too.
And don’t forget, I’m matching 50% of all donations made. So why not head over to my page at Team Heifer and chip in. Trust me. You’ll feel great afterward.
Or, if you want to go back to the main page for the Worldbuilders fundraiser and read all the details, you can click HERE.
pat
(Click to Embiggen.) 
The Way of Kings
I have trouble taking things seriously. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, this probably doesn’t come as a huge surprise to you.
In medieval times, people probably would have referred to me as “Phlegmatic” and attributed this tendency to an imbalance of my humors. These days people just think of me as an an irreverent asshat.
It’s especially bad when I’m asked to write anything remotely promotional. A good example of this is my endless struggle with biography.
It’s also a real problem when I want to write a blurb for someone’s book.
I very rarely give blurbs, and part of the reason for this is when I sit down to write one, I feel like I have to be all professional and formal. I feel like I should use words like, “Luminous” and “Scintillating” and “Perspicacious” “Resplendent.”
But that’s not how I talk. If I really liked a book, I would say to my friend, “This is a really fucking good book. Seriously. Have you read it? No? Go buy it, shitweasel.”
However, that’s not really the sort of thing publishers are looking to print on the cover of a book.
My most recent experience blurbing a book was when Brandon Sanderson sent me an ARC of the Way of Kings a while back.
I read the book and liked it, which irritated me. Brandon writes way faster than I do, and his books are consistently good. This means that I feel like I should really despise him. Either that or hunt him down like an animal so I can devour his liver and thereby gain some of his power.
But even though I’ve tried really hard, I can’t help but like him. Brandon’s a really nice guy.
So I sit down and try to write a professional style blurb for him. Here’s what I come up with:
“Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite new authors, and The Way of Kings continues his tradition of creating vivid, fantastic worlds for us to visit.”
How’s that for awful? That isn’t just some first quick attempt, either. I worked for like twenty minutes to come up with that. It’s one part bland, one part stiff, and two parts fake-sounding. “Continues his tradition”? Who the hell says something like that? Not me.
So I try again:
“Sanderson knows how to tell a good story, and he’s created another vivid and fantastic world in The Way of Kings.”
If anything, this one’s even worse. It’s more boring. And I’m clinging to the word “vivid” like it’s somehow going to keep me from looking like an idiot.
At this point I’m frustrated. So I quit taking the whole process seriously and write,
“Brandon Sanderson’s books are so good that he’s starting to piss me off.”
And you know what? It feels pretty good. That’s something I’d actually say out loud. And in its own way, that blurb is more honest and complementary than the other two.
So I decide to run with it, and write.
“This book is cool, and Brandon Sanderson smells like fresh-baked cookies.”
“Sanderson’s newest Brobdingnagian epic is sure to please. Look it up, bitches.”
“Brandon Sanderson’s new book is printed on delightfully soft-yet durable paper. With more than a thousand pages, The Way of Kings is sure to bring you several weeks of good, solid use, though that may vary according to your diet and personal hygiene.”
“When’s book two coming out? What’s taking so long?”
“Brandon Sanderson is one of the great new writers on the scene today. And he’s not hard on the eyes either. Rawr.”
“The Way of Kings is a tour-de-force. Luminously meretricious, yet with a round oaky underbite, this book offers notes of toffee and broam with just a hint of having someone’s nephew hit you in the groin with a tennis ball. Best served with fish.”
Writing these sorts of blurbs come really naturally to me.
After about an hour of this, I sent a handful of potential blurbs along to Brandon and his agent. I told them the truth, that I suck at giving the classic blurb.
And that was the last I thought of it until I wandered into the bookstore two days ago and saw that The Way of Kings has just hit the shelves.
I picked it up just to check how many long it was. It’s over a thousand pages, so that made me feel better about The Wise Man’s Fear. Especially because I just added a new chapter yesterday.
Then I flipped it over and saw this:
What’s that down there on the bottom?
Just me and Orson Scott Card, hanging out on the back of Brandon Sanderson’s book.
And you know what? I kinda like my blurb. It’s not fancy, but then again, I’m not a fancy person. But sincere? I’ve got sincere in spades.
If you’re looking for something to read, you might want to check it out…
Best,
pat