Fanfare! Did It!

[booknut77]

I finally found a home for a book that I started way back in the old days of Litopia. Thanks to any of you who may have read parts of it and helped out. (Used to be called the Watchers.)
Here's to hanging in there . . .
http://widopublishing.com/n-tolman-rudolph-lands-contract-with-wido-publishing/

 

[Carol Rose]

CONGRATS!! So happy for you!!! *tosses confetti*

 

[Alistair Roberts]

Well I hope you've had the contract thoroughly checked before signing? I've read some dubious comments about this small publisher, and others not so bad. But this seems to be a warning below?
"I've just seen a WiDo contract, and it has major problems. Among other things, it's life of copyright without any provision for reverting rights to the author (other than the publisher going out of business), and some of the language in the royalty clause raises the possibility (though this is not clear) that the publisher may hold royalties until 5,000 copies are sold."
(Found on the Absolute Write site.) Not listed on P&E.

 

[Nicole Wilson]

Congrats!

 

[booknut77]

Well I hope you've had the contract thoroughly checked before signing? I've read some dubious comments about this small publisher, and others not so bad. But this seems to be a warning below?
"I've just seen a WiDo contract, and it has major problems. Among other things, it's life of copyright without any provision for reverting rights to the author (other than the publisher going out of business), and some of the language in the royalty clause raises the possibility (though this is not clear) that the publisher may hold royalties until 5,000 copies are sold."
(Found on the Absolute Write site.) Not listed on P&E.

I don't think the contract is anything out of the norm. There is provision if the book is not selling that I can petition for the rights back after five years. I've had so much trouble placing this book, that five years doesn't seem all that long to me.
I trust them at this point. If at any time I find them not good to work with I will let you know --- for sure.
As for royalties: "The Publisher shall pay the Author royalties 10% of the list price, for the first 5,000 print books sold. For 5001-10,000 print copies sold, the rate of royalty will be 12.5%; 10,001+ will earn 15% royalty. Author earns 40% royalties on the electronic sales of Book."
I think that stacks up well next to almost anyone out there.

 

[booknut77]

Oh yeah also, thanks for the concern Alistair. It's good to know my old friends are watching out for me.
I did read the reviews before I sent the book to them and people who actually have signed with them have no complaints.

 

[Nicole Wilson]

As for royalties: "The Publisher shall pay the Author royalties 10% of the list price, for the first 5,000 print books sold. For 5001-10,000 print copies sold, the rate of royalty will be 12.5%; 10,001+ will earn 15% royalty. Author earns 40% royalties on the electronic sales of Book."
I think that stacks up well next to almost anyone out there

This is actually pretty standard across publishing contracts, so no need to worry about that.

 

[Emurelda]

Well done! Thanks for sharing your wonderful news, gives us hope.

 

[Alistair Roberts]

Sounds like they may have improved their contract terms.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Congratulations!

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Well done. Onwards and upwards!

 

[KG Christopher]

Congrats, I hope it's a success

 

[K.J. Simmill]

congrats, well done!

 

[Jennifer Stone]

Well done, here's to lots of sales for you!

 

[Chase Gamwell]

Congrats!

 

[Lex Black]

This is fantastic! Congratulations!

 

[Richard Sutton]

So cool. I remember The Watchers. Perseverance is something i NEED TO WORK ON. Capslock key, too...

 

[Jason Byrne]

Haha, Richard. CONGRATULATIONS, Booknut! That's amazing.

 

[Jason Byrne]

Also, glad they are no longer called Watchers.
In a series I wrote in college, there were beings that referred to themselves as the Watchers. It ended up getting SO dark, perverse, gruesome, and generally twisted, that it was too much for ME to handle, and I dropped the whole series.
Hearing anyone talk about the Watchers to this day makes the air feel just a bit colder, and I can't help but take a quick glance around, to make sure its not nearby. That's how bad those books were.

 

[Jennifer Stone]

Also, glad they are no longer called Watchers.
In a series I wrote in college, there were beings that referred to themselves as the Watchers. It ended up getting SO dark, perverse, gruesome, and generally twisted, that it was too much for ME to handle, and I dropped the whole series.
Hearing anyone talk about the Watchers to this day makes the air feel just a bit colder, and I can't help but take a quick glance around, to make sure its not nearby. That's how bad those books were.

I'm actually quite intrigued by these books of yours. I kinda wanna see how bad they get. Is that a bad thing?

 

[Jason Byrne]

I'm actually quite intrigued by these books of yours. I kinda wanna see how bad they get. Is that a bad thing?

I don't think so. I think a lot of people would have at least that little kernel of "so... when you say bad..." Now, they're not nearly up to par with the writing I do now, about ten years later, but they're not bad, by any means. I stopped halfway through book four.

I might also mention that those books run 476k to 565k words apiece...

 

[Jennifer Stone]

I don't think so. I think a lot of people would have at least that little kernel of "so... when you say bad..." Now, they're not nearly up to par with the writing I do now, about ten years later, but they're not bad, by any means. I stopped halfway through book four.

I might also mention that those books run 476k to 565k words apiece...

I didn't mean bad as in terrible, but bad as in terrifying. You said they were dark and twisted, I'm definitely interested. I know you're a good writer, with a love of epic word counts

 

[Nicole Wilson]

I don't think so. I think a lot of people would have at least that little kernel of "so... when you say bad..." Now, they're not nearly up to par with the writing I do now, about ten years later, but they're not bad, by any means. I stopped halfway through book four.

I might also mention that those books run 476k to 565k words apiece...

*chokes on my water* how long? Good grief. I'm excited to get my word count up to 77,000. However, I want to echo Jen's sentiments. I like dark stories, too.

 

[Jason Byrne]

The second book in that series was actually longer than War and Peace. It was the 565k-word one, which I wrote in four months, writing for about 20 hours a day, then sleeping 4 hours, then getting back up to start writing again. That one turned out particularly twisted.

I invented two complete languages with their own grammar and syntax rules, and alphabetized one of them by the ends of the words to create a rhyming dictionary for writing songs, and a regionalized cursing dictionary for the other. I wrote a bible for the story's religion for characters to cite passages, drew a map of an Ireland-sized island with detail on the order of hundreds of feet, and had something like 450 characters by the time I was halfway through book four. And then killed off all but like 20.

 

[Chase Gamwell]

The second book in that series was actually longer than War and Peace. It was the 565k-word one, which I wrote in four months, writing for about 20 hours a day, then sleeping 4 hours, then getting back up to start writing again. That one turned out particularly twisted.

I invented two complete languages with their own grammar and syntax rules, and alphabetized one of them by the ends of the words to create a rhyming dictionary for writing songs, and a regionalized cursing dictionary for the other. I wrote a bible for the story's religion for characters to cite passages, drew a map of an Ireland-sized island with detail on the order of hundreds of feet, and had something like 450 characters by the time I was halfway through book four. And then killed off all but like 20.

Sounds like you need to find a programmer and make you a video game out of these.

That's some serious writing, though...

 

[Jason Byrne]

Sounds like you need to find a programmer and make you a video game out of these.

That's some serious writing, though...

One of the entry classes in my video game art degree program was a theory class called "Video Game Culture and Society;" one of the assignments was to write up a proposal for your own video game — what it would be, how you would do it, what the features would be... and I used these books as a framework because I'd already developed it. Essentially, I proposed what is now The Elder Scrolls Online — a massively-multiplayer role-playing game, with my company employees playing NPCs (or pseudo-player characters (C)), to interact intelligently with subscribers and supervise game plot development. I also incorporated a sort of "luck of the draw," where your character would have randomly-assigned race, gender, and proficiencies, to try to regulate the number of super-powerful High Elves running around using sorcery on lowly humans. And sometimes you'll just never be good at math.

Coming round to what we were talking about earlier, the plot of that game was actually about protecting the island of Vornaeathor and the world at large against the encroaching Outside, and the Watchers' attempts to break into our plane of existence, once more. Like demonic hackers using a backdoor written into sorcery. I was writing Lovecraft before I'd ever even read Lovecraft.

 

[Jason Byrne]

Sounds like you need to find a programmer and make you a video game out of these.

That's some serious writing, though...

I dug through the old story, and found one of the songs! Just a little one. Some go on for like two pages.

Va pirvuil belvèm v’alai’anvim
D’hid kiil vilio d’arvéla
Olo-kii n’aval n’venden kiil áthim
Gomkaasà raal rapaelà
Kii hid n’tasmá tolvar d’ièla nomaé
Olo-kii hidas laevel dyag hamae tinanté
Vai vilio lo-rimià raal handruil irmel

A quiet room, an empty house, Are my only comforts, And I have lost my way, Without your hand. I am left to shed tears alone, And I would give up this world, If only to see your face again.

 

[Lex Black]

That's...very impressive, Jason.

 

[Jason Byrne]

That's...very impressive, Jason.

Excess — I excel at it.

And thank you, Lex.

 

[Richard Sutton]

I dug through the old story, and found one of the songs! Just a little one. Some go on for like two pages.

Va pirvuil belvèm v’alai’anvim
D’hid kiil vilio d’arvéla
Olo-kii n’aval n’venden kiil áthim
Gomkaasà raal rapaelà
Kii hid n’tasmá tolvar d’ièla nomaé
Olo-kii hidas laevel dyag hamae tinanté
Vai vilio lo-rimià raal handruil irmel

A quiet room, an empty house, Are my only comforts, And I have lost my way, Without your hand. I am left to shed tears alone, And I would give up this world, If only to see your face again.

Finnish? Reminds me of the Kalevalla...