So a couple of weeks ago I was reading one of my favorite webcomics, and I noticed the author (Tarol Hunt) talking about the Hugo nominations in his blog.
(For those of you who don’t know, the Hugo Awards are a Pretty Big Deal in the sci-fi and fantasy publishing world. Winning a Hugo is kinda like getting a Grammy, or an Emmy, or an Academy Award.)
Anyway, I was really excited when I read Tarol’s blog, because it made me realize I still had a chance to submit my nominations for this year’s Hugos.
And, embarrassingly enough, I don’t think that’s something I’ve ever done before.
It’s something I *mean* to do every year. And it’s something I *can* do because I almost always go to Worldcon. And it’s something I *should* do in order to be a responsible member of the publishing community….
But the truth is, I’m King of not having my shit together.
Well… that’s a little extreme. Maybe I’m only the Duke of not having my shit together. But I’m probably also the Marquis of forgetting what day it is sometimes, and the Earl of losing track of things when I get busy, and I own substantial lands in the Barony of being profoundly fucking clueless.
It’s pretty complicated. There’s a lot of subinfeudation going on.
The upshot is that I was the kid who couldn’t go on the field trip because he forgot to get his permission slip signed. And I grew up into the guy who typically thinks about voting on the Hugos two or three days before the award ceremony.
But I’m getting better. Last year I managed to vote on the Hugos. And this year, thanks to that well-timed blog, I’m going to submit my nominations and help determine who gets on the ballot in the first place.
Which leads me to the point of this blog.
I’m not going to beat around the bush here. If you’re eligible to vote, I’d like you to consider nominating my editor, Betsy Wollheim, for Best Long Form Editor.
The simple reason is this, if not for her The Wise Man’s Fear simply wouldn’t exist.
Not only did Betsy take a risk on publishing big fat novel by an unknown author back in 2007. But when I was struggling with The Wise Man’s Fear, she gave me the time I needed to finish it.
She didn’t give it grudgingly, either. When I turned in my horrendously rough, patchwork first draft, Betsy told me that we needed to move the publication date so I had the time I needed to make the book better. I fought her on it, but she insisted. In doing so, she not only kept book two from being a incoherent, patchwork mess, but she she probably saved my entire career as well…
Luckily, Betsy knows what she’s doing. If not for her, I would have panicked, rushed, cut corners, and the end result would be that The Wise Man’s Fear would have been ‘meh’ at best. And more likely it would have been an absolute pile of shite.
So yeah. That’s all. I’m not going to go on singing her praises. That makes me feel like a lobbyist. The simple fact is that Betsy Wollheim was responsible for a lot of the goodness in The Wise Man’s Fear. She supported me when I really needed it, and gave me time to write you a book that I’m proud of. I’d like to see her get some recognition for that.
If you’re interested in nominating people for Hugos, here’s the link.
The deadline is for nominations is January 31st. If you’re like me, you might want to go in and vote now, before you forget.
pat
P.S. Some of the Worldbuilders auctions will be ending soon. If you know of someone who’d be interested in getting their unpublished manuscript read by professionals, I’d you might want to point them in the direction of this link.
20 Comments
Be honest, that whole intro was just an excuse to use subinfeudation in a blog post was it not?
It was one of my resolutions for the New Year….
Im glad that there is an Award with my name LOL
PS: who made this picture?
I was also wondering who did that little drawing. Its cute!
Love the plunger sceptre.
The deadline for nominations is March 11th, not January.
January 31st is when you need to have become a member of Chicon 7 (or Renovation, or Lone Star Con) to have the ability to nominate.
Hey Pat —
If you say Betsy had that much of an influence on WMF, then consider her nominated.
But let me ask you this: if you won a Hugo, would you be more proud of that, or of debuting at #1 on the NYT bestseller list?
(And frankly, I’m hoping it’s a complicated question and that you’ll explain how so…)
Cheesy.
It’s not complicated.
As a writer you’ll be glad of getting your place in the Bestseller list because it’s something notable in the publishing world, also it means you’re doing the things well.
A Hugo is something diferent, it’s the physical evidence that among this group of wizards, hookers, and normal people who get published every year, you’re the best mothafucking one.
It’s better than being the fastest sperm.
Thank you, oh wise cheese police…
It’s nice to see an actual writing-centric topic on your blog again Patrick.
The whole “Betsy gave WMF all its jazz” speal got me thinking about cannon and failures for some reason.
If WMF had have tanked due to time constraints and the like, do you think you would have done a second edition like one of my uni text books and simply disregarded the first attempt from the cannon to make room for the second try?
In the real world this, of course, would not work. But it does make you wonder if any author has ever screwed up a series in that way before.
Grims Tango Pants. Looks like an anagram. But I am not any good at anagrams, so I’ll just have to wonder.
http://wordsmith.org/anagram/anagram.cgi?anagram=Grims+Tango+Pants&t=1000&a=n ;-)
If I’m not a nominating member, can I still vote in the final Hugo vote?
While my memory says that you can vote as long as you are at least a Supporting Member of the convention (in this case, ChiCon 7), and that you can join the convention at any time including when you send in your ballot (the deadline for voting is usually around June or July), a quick glance through the pertinent websites hasn’t confirmed that.
If you need a solid answer, it’s probably best to email ChiCon 7 and ask.
The key is membership. If you’re a member of worldcon, even just a supporting member, you can nominate and vote.
If you miss the nomination deadline but become a member later, then you can still vote.
I was just finishing up my rounds of daily things I read on the internet. I save your blog for last, of course. There I was, getting ready to put in a few thousand words on my current novel, words I’ve been putting off writing for a few days because of injury. Am I doing that now? No. I’m reading about motherfucking GOBLINS. Thanks for that. I’m never going to get anything done. *WHY* must you distract me with awesome things? WHY?!
“But the truth is, I’m King of not having my shit together. Well… That’s a little extreme. Maybe I’m only the Duke of not having my shit together. But I’m probably also the Marquis of forgetting what day it is sometimes, and the Earl of losing track of things when I get busy, and I own substantial lands in the Barony of being profoundly fucking clueless.”
I do believe you’re made of gold :D
You got a recommendation for Best Novel by George RR Martin.
http://grrm.livejournal.com/
Shout out from George R.R. Martin for The Wise Man’s Fear! He recommended voting for it for the Hugo Award for Best Novel. Best of luck, Pat!
http://grrm.livejournal.com/262170.html