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Sailor Moon Book Update 4-5-2016!

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr)

So where are we with the Sailor Moon Book?

Editing the hell out of it.

So right now, Bonnie and I are in the final editing run before it goes to editor.  I just finished mine, and it’s her turn now.  We’re doing these as separate runs as it’s a lot easier.

Our big issue is actually chapter structure, and we found that there’s really two kinds of chapters in this book (and one or two that are fusions).  Some are narratives, others are lists.  The former look at a common story or pattern in fan’s lives, the other is about related phenomena that aren’t necessarily linear.  The show’s “wow” impact is a narrative, the impact on hobbies and careers is about non-linear phenomena.  Now that we see this I think we can sort out the structure of the one or two troublesome chapters.

After this at the end of the month, the book gets wrapped up into a prepublishing document.  Essentially its a document ready to publish – sans page-break formatting – that goes to the editor.  Then it goes to the editor (and contributors).  That’s a two-month process, though we’ll see how it goes as I wouldn’t be surprised if this editor gets through it quick – it’s not a huge book.

We’ll then take a month or so to integrate the edits and get ready to publish.  We’re still targeting September.

I will be speaking at Kraken-Con and hope to speak at Fanime with Bonnie as well!  We’ll be revealing more as we head towards publishing.

– Steve

Way With Worlds Update 4-4-2016!

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)

Been awhile since a Way With Worlds Update!  So let’s find out where we are on my essays-rewritten-and-now-a-book on worldbuilding.

First, there’s a web page for the first book that gives you some idea of what I’m up to.  You can also see the sample cover art – and you’re going to love the final cover!

I also got the book back from my editor.  My editor is a “word of God type editor” – when it’s edited it’s done.  So I spent an entire day going through her edits for the first book.  After about ten hours of work, I have a book that is mostly ready for publication.  One more read through and it’s ready for publishing (which itself is going to take a few months).

This brings up a really good lessons – there are several kinds of editors and you have to know how to work with them.  Some are like a friendly guide with advice.  Others are the Word Of God.  Yet others are instructional.  Each is different and you have to figure which works for you, your works, and your goals.

For instance, these books, though being creative and chatty are instructional.  I needed a Word Of God editor on them.

On the other hand, some of my more intimate career books need a lighter touch as an editor.  They’re chatty and friendly.

My upcoming Sailor Moon book has yet a different editor, a fansourced editor with an academic background and a fandom background, which seems perfect.

Now there’s also been a few schedule changes, so let’s recap!

  • The First Book is out end of July as planned.
  • The Second Book is out the end of October.  It was originally August, but between the editor’s needs, my schedule, and the fact it’s damn stupid to put a sequel out a month later.
  • After that is still a special surprise.  Stay tuned.

I think you folks are going to love the books.  It’s really my near-final word on Worldbuilding, and there’s a wealth of worldbuilding advice.

– Steve

Trump Voters: Left Behind

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr)

Over at Mahablog, the proprietor does an in depth and painfully thought-provoking roundup of the question of “how we ended up with Trump.”   I don’t always agree with the poster, but she’s got good points.

Going through several conflicting opinions, here conclusions are rather painful:

  1. Elites in both parties don’t get the Angry White (mostly male) voters.
  2. The parties are now split (ala Zach Carter) between a sneering Republican aristocracy and a smirking Liberal meritocracy.
  3. The Angry White Male is sort of a trope we drag around without exploring it.
  4. The media (and a lot of us) haven’t done a thing to solve these problems in a long time. Try, decades.

I can easily agree on #1, #3, and #4. But I also agree on #2 more than I’m comfortable with, as I’ve touched on on my previous essay on Trump. It seems the elites of both parties, and indeed a lot of said parties who are non-elites, aren’t exactly fond of the Angry White (mostly-male) demographic.

A painful dynamic has been at work here. Republicans have swept in and taken advantage of the Angry White (mostly-male) demographic for years, from crude Southern Strategy tactics to the modern Fox news propaganda festivals. We’ve seen everything from Willie Horton to Kenyan Muslim President Obama conspiracies – with Trump it’s just been completely cut loose from any ties to reality.

But with Liberals, who’ve borne the brunt of this directed anger, I think they’re not exactly feeling charitable towards the Angry White (mostly-male) audience. It’s a little hard to care when people actively hate you because of what some schlub on talk radio said, and it’s certainly harder now that they’ve got a demagogue to follow like Trump.

So as a Liberal, I really have to wonder what we’re going to do for these people. However we may feel about them, rightly or wrongly, a lot of these folks have been just plain screwed by the economy and politics. Yes, they often voted against their own interests, but we don’t seem exactly charitable about it – and it’s hard after decades of Vince Foster conspiracies, blatant racist propaganda, and now the bizarre antics of Trump.

Unfortunately, I think we Liberals are about the only people even inclined to do anything to help. Conservatives and their elite are permanently stuck in a mixture of pandering bias and pseudo-libertarian politics to actually do anything. States with Republican governors are smoking economic ruins, yet they can’t help themselves.

I’d like to think we’ll do something. Sanders gives me some hope, though his campaign does not. Clinton has gone left (doubtlessly in pat due to Sanders’ influence) and knows how to work the system. There’s talk of raising minimum wage around the country which may help some.

But I feel like there’s not enough confronting the elephant in the room, that there’s a vanishing middle class that’s incredibly obvious, reported on constantly, and often left to rot. The Republicans don’t care at all, but we Liberals need to ask what we’re going to do.

Or what we can do. Maybe we’re afraid of either answer. Or that there isn’t one.