Tag: books

We are winning

This is why the Tor boycott hurts. Those who pooh-pooh its effects don’t realize that the real wounds are inflicted on the margins:

In the 18 months between February 2014 and September 2015, the Association of American Publishers (AAP), whose 1200 members include the “Big Five”: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hachette — have seen their collective share of the US ebook market collapse:

    from 45% of all Kindle books sold down to 32%
    from 64% of Kindle publisher gross $ revenue down to 50%
    from 48% of all Kindle author net $ earnings down to 32%

The AAP releases monthly StatShot reports on the total dollar sales of their 1200 participating publishers, of which the “Big Five” collectively account for roughly 80%. So far in 2015, the AAP’s reports have charted a progressive decline in both ebook sales and overall revenue for the AAP’s member publishers.

During that same period in 2015, Amazon’s overall ebook sales have continued to grow in both unit and dollar terms, fueled by a strong shift in consumer ebook purchasing behavior away from traditionally-published ebooks and toward indie-published- and Amazon-imprint-published ebooks. These “non-traditionally-published” books now make up nearly 60% of all Kindle ebooks purchased in the US, and take in 40% of all consumer dollars spent on those ebooks.

In other words, the Tor boycott doesn’t have to do anything substantial at all to ensure that Tor Books continues to bleed, it is merely pouring salt on what are clearly the self-administered wounds.

At least two of the Big Five are going to collapse in the relatively near future, although I have no idea which of them it will be because I haven’t seen their financials. We know that Tor Books is in trouble simply by observing that it is bringing in foreign authors and trying to pass off midlist authors as its leading men; the so-called biggest publisher of SF/F has published precisely zero of the big SF/F hits of the last few years. Forget Rowling and Martin and whoever wrote the Hunger Games, they couldn’t even get Howey or the guy who wrote The Martian.

This is the price of failing to develop new talent; once a new author hits on Amazon, he has no incentive to work with the traditional publishers. Throw in the Pink SF gatekeeping, the unprofessional and abusive behavior of their editors, and it should be quite obvious that they’re doomed. How long it will take to play out, I don’t know, but the end game is already clear.

There Will Be More

Dr. Jerry Pournelle has an important announcement:

Accepting submissions for a new volume of the There Will Be War series. Send with cover note to submission@therewillbewar.net. Stories should preferably be 20,000 words or less.  Poetry encouraged, but see the previous series; it needs to make sense. Hard science fiction mainly; urban fantasy with a military theme possibly acceptable, but mostly we want hard, realistic stories.  They need not be action adventure; good command decision stories encouraged. Space opera always considered.  Again see the previous nine volumes.

Nonexclusive anthology rights only are purchased.  Payment on acceptance is $100 advance against pro rata share of 50% of the revenues received from the publisher. Given the sales of the previous volumes we expect this to be a respectable payment. Original works will be considered, but author is welcome to sell it elsewhere; we purchase only nonexclusive anthology rights.

There will be a hardbound print edition, paperback if the sales indicate it, and eBook publication. Contributors will receive an author’s copy. Each contribution will have an introduction by the editor. The work will contain non-fiction essays by invited contributors: again see the previous volumes. 

There Will Be War has historically been a reprint anthology, so reprints are not only fine, they are preferred. But if you’re a military science fiction writer, be sure to only send in your very best, as this will essentially be a “best of” the last two decades of military science fiction. If Vol. X can somehow reach what I consider to be the heights of Vol. II, I will be extremely pleased.

And if you haven’t read There Will Be War Vol. II yet, go and get it now. Just do it. The entire series is more than merely good, it is important. But in my opinion, Volume II is the best SF anthology ever published. Seriously, it was hard to decide which of the stories most merited mention in the Amazon listing. Of particular note are “Superiority” by Arthur C. Clarke, “In the Name
of the Father” by Edward P. Hughes, “‘Caster” by Eric Vinicoff,
“Cincinnatus” by Joel Rosenberg, “On the Shadow of a Phosphor Screen” by
William Wu, and “Proud Legions”, an essay on the Korean War by T.R.
Fehrenbach.

I was talking to Dr. Pournelle recently, and one of the things I told him was that I was extremely surprised to learn, upon editing the re-released anthologies, how much influence There Will Be War had upon my intellectual development. If you have a teenage boy, this is a series that should be a part of his education.

There is no escape from SJW

SJWs are in the process of reinventing James Bond to be more to their liking:

For decades he has swaggered through life conquering women, chain smoking and saving the world, untroubled by the sensitivities of the 21st century. In a new book, however, James Bond will be getting a dose of modern morality, as author Anthony Horowitz reveals the tricks he used to drag the spy kicking and screaming into the era of political correctness.

Horowitz, the writer of new Bond novel Trigger Mortis, said he had worked carefully to preserve Ian Fleming’s original character and ensuring his 1950s attitudes remained in tact.

But he has introduced a cast of new characters to point out the error of his chauvinistic ways, including messages about smoking causing cancer, women who give him a run for his money, and an “outspoken” gay friend.

Horowitz, who has been given access to Fleming’s own notes to research his latest update, said he had inserted “little twists” to make the story work for modern readers.

 “He does smoke cigarettes, he smokes many many cigarettes. But then what I do is I nudge him with a little reference to a newspaper article he happens to glance at which just reminds him that these things will give him cancer. With women, he has this sort of patronising carnal attitude with them which is absolutely accurate to the Bond of the books. But then by creating very strong women he is given quite a run for his money and his attitudes are challenged. I also gave him a very outspoken gay friend, who chides him and says ‘come on Bond, you’re living in the 20th century now not the Middle Ages.’”

It’s not just science fiction, it’s not just games, it’s not just comics, it is literally everywhere. You cannot escape social justice morality, you can only submit to it or fight it. And one way to do the latter, as this gentleman inadvertently demonstrated, is to black-knight it.

Controversy has enveloped the prestigious Best American Poetry anthology after it emerged that a white poet had been included in the selection after adopting a Chinese pen name – and that Yi-Fen Chou’s poem was kept in the much sought-after lineup even after the author told editors his real identity was Michael Derrick Hudson.

At the back of the 2015 edition of The Best American Poetry, which is published today, Yi-Fen Chou is revealed as the pen name of Michael Derrick Hudson, from Indiana. Hudson writes that his poem chosen for the anthology, The Bees, the Flowers, Jesus, Ancient Tigers, Poseidon, Adam and Eve, was rejected under his real name 40 times before he sent it out as Yi-Fen Chou, when it was rejected nine times before getting accepted. “If indeed this is one of the best American poems of 2015, it took quite a bit of effort to get it into print, but I’m nothing if not persistent,” writes Hudson.

At least Mr. Chou has had the sense to avoid apologizing, but it would have been even better if he had simply announced to his critics that he identifies as Chinese and to refer to him as “Michael Hudson” is deadnaming, racist, and wrongskinphobic.

This identity black-knighting is an excellent way to systematically undermine the SJWs, which is to claim whatever identities you find useful and force them to recognize them in precisely the same manner they declare war to be peace, black to be white, and Bruce to be Caitlyn. The key is to not overdo it or be too obvious – I see way too much stupid “well, I’m a lesbian in a man’s body, ha ha ha” here – and to stick to it relentlessly. If you’re a white writer, you should have at least one ethnic nom de plume to your credit.

The first two reviews

Interestingly enough, the very first review of SJWs Always Lie is by an individual whose SJW attack is mentioned in the book, Paz Dickenson:

Vox Day’s short new book “SJWs Always Lie” is essential reading for anyone interested in modern online moral panics triggered by Social Justice Warriors. Vox explains what these people are, how they function, and what to do if you’re attacked. As someone who has personally lived through his own political correctness lynching I agree wholeheartedly with his recommendations.

The book includes chapters that comprise the best short summaries I’ve read of Gamergate and the Sad Puppies movements to date, and having just been released it includes even the most recent developments.

I’m very pleased to see others who have experienced SJW attacks can endorse both the descriptions of the attacks as well as the recommendations on how to react to them. Another reviewer who is mentioned in the book, Gorilla Mindset author Mike Cernovich, one of my GGinParis cohosts, reviews SJWs Always Lie with a completely different angle in mind, and frankly, one I’d never really considered, which is to say professional public relations:

No one ever attacked me with such rabid dishonesty as the social justice warriors.

SJWs lied about every area of my life. They lied about verifiable facts. For example, SJWs claimed I wasn’t a real lawyer. (Anyone can ascertain my ability to practice law by checking the California State Bar website!)

SJWs called me a racist, a rapist, and accused me of moving to Vietnam for underage sex tourism.I also had to stay in a hotel after SJWs attempted to have a police SWAT team sent to my home. A 350-pound woman falsely accused me of threatening her with rape.

Fortunately my business model is anti-fragile. The more hate I receive leads to more books sold. SJWs actually helped me make Gorilla Mindset a best seller, as my unwavering mindset in the face of their death threats proved the power of mindset. SJWs lined my pocket with their attacks, and for the most part have moved on to exploit vulnerable people.

Yet even I was a bit shell shocked by the attacks. I had never encountered such hateful people in my life.

SJWs Always Lie would have helped me anticipate their tactics and thus fight more effectively. SJWs Always Lie is the public relations book every celebrity and public relations strategist will deny owning.

It’s interesting to see Mike declare that the book isn’t a polemic because I am a polemicist, I had conceived of the book as a polemic, and indeed, began writing it as a polemic. But then, the patterns that I kept seeing over and over in the different SJW attacks, across different industries and in different countries, were too obvious to ignore, and after describing those patterns, it seemed only natural to explain some strategies for dealing with them. And somehow, in the process, what began as a specific polemic was transformed into a more general cultural 4GW handbook.

And Skittles Boy violate Amazon’s review policy when he scribbled a one-star review that is even less intelligent than the fake one. I particularly liked how I’m supposed to be “piggybacking on a topic he knows will be popular for his own obvious self-aggrandizement.” All together now: SJWs Always Lie! 

“We have a zero tolerance policy for any review designed to mislead or manipulate customers.”

SJWs Always Lie

There WILL be an offer tonight for the CH subscribers, so if you are one, you might want to hold off on buying it today. The official announcement is tomorrow, but seeing as the cat is out of the bag, there is no harm in mentioning that it is available on Amazon now.

UPDATE: Sweet Smoked SJW, I was NOT expecting this, particularly not after what may be the most haphazard and lackadaisical “book launch” in history. I’m turning in, so if someone wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on the numbers and posting them in the comments, I’d appreciate it.

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#842 #306 #286 #251 #238 Paid in Kindle Store

Just because this made me laugh. Vox Day… Machiavelli… Plato.

The most replaceable SJW institutions

I’m working on a list for the book. Wikipedia is at the top of my list, for various reasons, but I’m interested in hearing more ideas for SJW-infested institutions that can be most easily replaced with alternatives.

For example, WPP, the advertising giant, would be hugely significant, but it would be very, very difficult to effectively provide an alternative to it. And I don’t even know that it is the advertising agency most responsible for pushing various SJW memes via advertising anyhow.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is probably the most important SJW institution at the moment due to the $3.3 trillion it is giving away on an annual basis, but obviously, it’s not going to be easy to produce an alternative to that either.

So, if you have ideas on this score, please make your case.

The bonfire of the SJWs approaches

As I mentioned previously, SJWS ALWAYS LIE: Taking Down the Thought Police will be released on August 27, 2015, the first anniversary of #GamerGate. I thought those of you looking forward to the book might be interested in seeing yet another excellent cover by JartStar.

As you can see, the cover is an homage to another political book well-loved by the Left, Jonah Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism. But SJWs is a lighter read, it’s meant to be a book that serves as a handbook and a reference for those who already oppose the self-appointed thought police as well as an evangelical tract that can be used to convince neutral parties that the SJWS are a serious problem and a direct threat to them even though they may be currently unaware of it. In other words, it’s written more in the vein of The Irrational Atheist than The Return of the Great Depression.

There is a chapter devoted to GamerGate, a chapter devoted to the Hugo Awards, and a chapter that contains a systematic breakdown of the standard SJW attack sequence as well as recommendations on how to respond to it. It contains a few surprises, as well as a few elements that will not be a surprise to anyone at all. It is my hope that SJWs will prove but one of many useful weapons to people across the West as the long-overdue counterattack against the thought and speech police grows and gains momentum.

It will be initially available in ebook, but we expect to have a hardcover out before the end of the year.

Easton Ellis on Foster Wallace

Brett Easton Ellis kind of likes the movie about David Foster Wallace, he just doesn’t recognize the character in the movie:

For many of us who couldn’t get through the David Foster Wallace novel Infinite Jest
(and tried a few times), and found the journalism bloated and minor-key
condescending and thought the puling Kenyon commencement speech was
pure BS, and resisted the coronation of Wallace since his suicide in
2008 as St. David, based on a particular and very American brand of
sentimental narrative, the new film about Wallace, The End of the Tour, is surprisingly easy to take even though it’s reverential to a fault….

Wallace is presented as a guy who was just too sensitive for this world —
and that strikes a certain emotional chord, especially with younger
viewers and actors. The movie portrays Wallace as an angelic Pop
Tart-sharing schlub, a lovable populist, a tortured everyman and
ex-addict who loves dogs, loves kids, loves McDonalds, exudes “realness”
and “humanity,” and the movie completely ignores referencing the other
Wallace: the contemptuous man, the sometime-contrarian, the asshole with
an abusive side, the cruel critic — all the things some of us find
interesting about him. This is the movie that prefers the Wallace who
was knighted into sainthood with his Kenyon commencement speech called —
deep breath — “This Is Water: Some Thoughts Delivered on a Significant
Occasion About Living a Compassionate Life,” which even his staunchest
defenders and former editors have a hard time stomaching, arguing it’s
the worst thing he ever wrote, but which became a viral sensation as
well as a soggy self-help guide for lost souls.

And the David in this movie is the voice of reason, a sage, and the movie succumbs to the cult of stressing likability. But the real David scolded people and probably craved fame — what writer isn’t both suspicious of literary fame and yet curious in seeing how that game is played out? It’s not that rare and — hey — it sells books. He was cranky and could be very mean and caustic and opportunistic, but this David Foster Wallace is completely erased.

I never bought into the cult of DFW. Unlike Ellis, I actually read Infinite Jest, and it struck me as one part genuine literary talent, one part imitation Irving, two parts literary posturing, and three parts unrealized ambition. He was hailed as great when he did nothing more than show potential, and I suspect that had more than a little to do with his self-inflicted demise.

Nazis, Nazis everywhere!

The SJWs are extending their thought-policing from SF to romance:

For Such a Time by Kate Breslin is an inspirational historical romance between a Nazi concentration camp commander and a Jewish prisoner. It was nominated by the Romance Writers of America for Best First Book and Best Inspirational Romance in 2014. It won neither category, but the book’s presence as a nominee has upset a growing number of people.
At Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, we undertake a community review project to try to give every RITA_nominated book a review before the awards are announced. The review for this book was written by a guest reviewer named Rachel, and it is extraordinarily good in my opinion.
Rose Lerner and her BFF have compiled a collection of the 5-star reviews for this book, as well.
After the RITA awards, which were held on July 25, 2014, I wrote a letter to the Board of Directors of Romance Writers of America to explain (or try to explain) why this book’s nominations were so offensive and upsetting. I sent this letter via email and received a response from the president of RWA. But in the conversations I’ve had online over the last few weeks, I’ve suggested people let the board know about their feelings as well.

You vill not read vat ve do not VANT you to read. Make no mistake, the SJWs are thought police and they have NO problem declaring that a book is unmeritorious on the basis of its content.

Why men don’t read

We already know that 90 percent of the genre imprints in the UK are run by women. I wonder what percentage of the editors responsible for “premier fiction debuts” are female? Here are the names of the writers Publishers Weekly has declared are Writers to Watch: Fall 2015: Anticipated Debuts:

Elisabeth Egan, Ruth Galm, Lauren Holmes, Naomi Jackson, Alexandra Kleeman, Julia Pierpont, Eka Kurniawan, Gabriel Urza, Christian Kracht

Of the three male authors, one is Indonesian (writing about Indonesia), one is Swiss (writing about a Teutonic explorer), and the only “American” man is a second-generation Spanish immigrant who wrote his debut novel about “a politically-charged act of violence that echoes through small Spanish town.”

Now, these novels may be great. They may be forgettable. But just looking at the list is enough for the average American man to know that these are not books that are very likely to be of much relevance, or interest, to him. Do you know anyone who is anticipating any of these debuts? I certainly don’t.

No wonder the bookstores are turning into potpourri-filled gift stores. Those that remain open, anyhow.