Writing

If We Need SF, What’s The Best Form?

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Back on April 26th I did a post on how there’s a kind of SF Gap. My theory can be roughly summarized as:

  1. A lot of our SF dreams and ideas have come true (often in consumer electronics).
  2. It’s all pretty standard.
  3. SF looks a lot alike – or in some cases is so way out it doesn’t give us something to reach for.
  4. We therefore lack the inspiration to create new technologies.

Well you can guess that got people talking at the original article, and fellow writer Serdar had his unique insights on a larger “personal gap” and on technology and deception that are well worth reading – and joining in on the conversation.

Clearly I touched a nerve. OK, nerves for me, Serdar, and some regulars, but that’s still some important nerves that my grubby literary fingers prodded. In fact, Serdar’s feedback got me thinking . . .

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A Fantastic Review of “Quest For Employment”

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Over at Cosplay With a Brain, Yunie has produced one of the most detailed reviews of Quest For Employment I’ve seen.  It’s so detailed, I may need to refer to THIS when I speak on the book (which is coming up by the way).

This is a fantastic review as it seriously, seriously explores what the book is about (gods knows what she’d do with a larger book . . .).  It’s also very well-written.  If you’ve read the book – or are thinking of getting it – go here.

Also you know, this is pro-level writing, maybe someone should offer her some opportunities . . .

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Cosplay And Fanart Books In Print!

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Focused Fandom: Cosplay, Costuming, and Careers and Focused Fandom: Fanart, Fanartists, and Careers are now in print!  Physical print.  The kind of print that  . . . well makes gift giving easier (which was one of the motivations).

You can get them here:

You’ll notice this isn’t on Lulu.  I wanted to give CreateSpace a try for these two.  I don’t like putting all of my eggs in one basket, but I figured I should give it a shot – and CreateSpace and Lulu share a lot of similar technologies and styles.

First of all, the files used are pretty much the same – a PDF.  My files were mostly compatible, and in fact the CreateSpace tool caught potential printing errors that Lulu doesn’t.  CreateSpace also provides a vastly superior preview function that simulates the physical book, both inside and outside – an impressive bit of technology.

Making a cover is less friendly – the easiest way is to simply do your own graphics and upload them – but that means measuring and setting up the entire cover if you want to do it yourself.  The other options aren’t as deep as Lulu’s.  This is one area of needed improvement.  Fortunately I could use my existing covers with a bit of scaling – but having to design the spine in to make a “wraparound” PDF took some work – you’re not going to do it without being at least basically experienced in making graphics.

The proofs came fast and were cheap, and were good quality, though twice I’ve gotten books via CreateSpace that seemed a bit beaten up.  Not sure if it was delivery or not.  I’ll keep an eye on that.

Now I have to consider if I want to split my time between the two or pick one.

But as for now – enjoy the books!

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.