First, the good news. I have entered Art the Wanderer in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. It's a yearly contest for new novelists to get exposure and possibly be published. If I should win, Art the Wanderer will be published by Penguin Press.
My decision to enter was based in large part on the positive feedback I received from all of you. Art was something I kinda just 'did.' I had the usual fantasies about getting published, becoming a famous writer, and having super models bathe me with $100 bills daily, but never really acted on it. So, thanks to you all, I'm taking a step to actually realize that dream.
And now, the bad news: I won't be updating Art for the duration of the contest. I talked to a real-live writer and was told that putting pages of an unpublished novel on the net is an absolute 'no-no.' Even if I won first prize, having part of AtW up could cause real problems. So, I have decided to take all the pages down and stop updating for the immediate future.
I am truly sorry about this, as I honestly don't want to leave you all hanging. You have all been amazingly supportive of me and I truly appreciate it.
I will keep you all updated as to Art's progress in the contest and if/when I will be updating Art again. I am also intending on submitting a few short stories to some magazines, so I will let you all know if anything happens on that front as well.
Again, I am truly sorry that I need to stop updating Art. It was never my intention to stop in the middle and I hope you understand why I felt it was necessary. Feel free to call me a 'bastard' if you should see me in real life.
NOTE: Please clarify why you're calling me a bastard. I get called that all the time and like to keep a log of specific reasons (it's a hobby).
Cheers,
-Jason
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26 comments:
Aw...I was looking forward to my weekly portion of AtW. Still, if it comes out in paper, what could beat that?
Best of luck in the contest! I hope you win, and I hope you do become a famous author being bathed daily in $100 bills by supermodels.
(And if you don't, I'm gonna look forward to a lot of AtW posted when the contest ends!)
Does that mean you'll put it back up if you find out that you haven't made it past some particular stage?
If you win, are you still going to put it back up after it gets published?
Because if it's no to either of those, then you're a bastard.
(Also, good luck. A bit pointless now since it's submitted and the judges have their grubby hands on it already, but it's the grudging sentiment that counts, right?)
no name calling here, go for it, get rich and famous and we'll all come to drink up all your beer.
Good luck. I hope you get published, but if not, hopefully another publisher will look at the review favourably ('Cause let's face it, you're making it to the quarterfinals at least).
Alternatively, we can bribe the judges with cake. That's got to work, everyone likes cake.
@ Citarra I hope those baths in money are followed by a real bath, or a shower. Money is terribly dirty.
Huh, that's interesting. I know of one person who wrote a book on the 'Net, it's still up, and they also got it published for reals. I guess it depends.
Best of luck!
I know of several people who've posted books in progress online and then got published on paper. However, none of them were published through this contest.
Good luck - I think you have a good chance of winning, but, as always, it depends greatly on who else enters. And, as Toil3t said, there's other ways to get published should this fall through.
Jason, it has been a privelege reading AtW. As I said a few chapters in, I will definitely buy this book when it comes out!
---BubbaB
Oh, and, good luck!
---BubbaB
Adding to what gunnar said, the beer and cake is going to be on you. 'cause you can afford it when you're rich and famous.
@Toil3T, well it is, but I don't expect the transient skin flora to result in bacteremia that quickly. Regular hygiene should be sufficient. Whereas pertaining to the other way in which money is dirty, soap and water would be less therapeutic than a spiritual cleansing, or perhaps a random act of beneficence.
...sorry, my vocabulary gets like that sometimes.
Previously you stated that you needed more visitors and more regular visitors to keep the site ticking over. I mentioned that there was little to keep people returning due to the slow update pace of the comic.
Then you introduces the Art the Wanderer story blog, and it indeed gave reason for people to return. Now you have both the story AND the comic on haitus for some undisclosed period of time and I'm wandering whether you have considered just what will remain to keep people coming back?
While I am sad to see my weekly dose of Art go away, I wish you the best in your contest, and look forward to the day I get to hold a copy of the full story in my hands.
I'm not going to call you a bastard! You're incredibly witty and your humor is rather close to the great Terry Pratchett, whom I love to read. I wish you luck in the contest, and even if you don't win, you should consider self-publishing the book through Amazon's Kindle. Then let us know, and I'll purchase a copy to put on my Kindle!
being compared to prachett? high praise indeed!
Thanks everyone! I appreciate all your kind words and support.
I think I may actually print out Joe Nobody's comparison of me to Pratchett and hang it on my wall :)
You have a good point, Victor Villainsky (great name, btb). We are working on getting more pages together for updating. We don't have a date yet, but we will be updating!
Well this certainly explains why when I was catching up on the blog posts I don't remember having read any of AtW...good luck with the contest though! Your humorous post on daily life are enough to keep me checking in when I can :)
Thanks, Elsa!
As for the possibility of me putting AtW back up, that's a firm 'maybe.' If I don't win the contest, I plan on having a writer friend of mine read the manuscript and give me a verdict. If she thinks its publishable, I will try the traditional approach of crying on an agent's doorstep until they agree to represent me. If not, then I will go ahead and repost all the chapters and begin updating again.
I'd call you a bastard just for fun... but I suppose that might upset your dear mother. And also your father, the king.
Good luck with that contest. And while I would've continued to read Art the Wanderer if I could have, when the story is ended in the middle like that, it means that the possibilities are endless. And I really like possibilities. They give me the illusion of freedom.
Good idea entering it in and good luck Jason. :)
Oooh! Good luck. Do we get to say we knew you when?
Good luck.
So when do you learn if you win the coveted flightless bird?
You might consider getting Art formally copyrighted.
CURSE YOU JASON JANICKI!!!!
MAY YOU BURN IN THE HELLS OF SHUGGORATH FOR THIS!!!
Oh and good luck and all that stuff, Art's stories will be missed. So hurry up and get the comic going again so I have a reason to come back to the site.
Thanks guys!
Yes, you can say you knew me when, Ehm, though you may not define exactly 'when' it was :)
I already do have copyright for Art, though not formally. Pretty much once you put something to paper, it's automatically copyrighted. I've read a bunch of copyright materials and I think this is sufficient for now. Thanks for bringing that up, though!
They announce the 2nd round entrants on February 25th. Each stage is a month, so we'll know the winners by the end of June.
I'm already cursed to Shuggorath, Lurklen. You may want to curse me somewhere else and then curse me back there when I least expect it. That way, I'll be surprised ;)
Wow, who knew this was how to make so many people find the will to comment.
I think Shuggorath will be the most surprised when you pop out of their torturous fondue pit and disappear without even a "thank you, goodbye" and a forwarding address.
Also, good luck.
Well, Art is yours to do with as you please. Seek fame and fortune!
That said, I will be disappointed not reading him once in a while. Well, while I only get on once in a while, that's what I meant, posting once in a while is another story...
And as for copyright, registering your copyright is cheap and worthwhile. At the very least, you get junk mail and phone calls from unscrupulous people trying to steal your ideas, so you'll have someone to talk to... ;)
Will AtW ever be updated again, or has it been published/will it be published?
I'm still looking for an agent. Art's currently being reviewed by a fairly well known group in NY, so hopefully, something good will happen :)
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