Ahem. The 19th was international talk like a pirate day, and even though it's after midnight I felt the need to mention it here. *Hangs head for moment of solemn piratey thought*
Moving on.
First off, only 18 days left to preorder a copy of Blade's Edge via my Kickstarter campaign! (Consequently making the publishing of the book possible!)
For those curious about stats (you know how much I love the numbers):
36 = the number of backers as of right now
1810 = the number of dollars raised so far
12 = the number of people I've never met before who have ordered a copy of the book (yay!)
3 = the number of short stories that have been commissioned through the project so far (so excited)
7 = the number of short stories left for people who want them!
19 = the number of early bird specials left to order to book
40 = the percent of total funding so far
18 = the number of days until the campaign ends :-(
2690 = the number of dollars left to raise in order to fund successfully
108 = the number of trade paperback copies that must sell in order to fund on copies of the book alone
Ever onward!!
In other news related to Blade's Edge, the serial itself is having a banner month over on Jukepop. Back on September 1st it was ranked #80 overall on the site and now it's ranked #66! Where Blade's Edge closed out last month with 147 +votes, it already has 188 +votes and we're only two thirds of the way through the month. Right now it's ranked #8 for the month of September. So cool!
Chapter 39 just went up a few hours ago, so be sure to check that out too!
In addition, there are only four chapters remaining in the story (possibly five if one of the chapters winds up splitting, but no more than that). Which means the serial (and consequently the second draft) is almost done! YAY!!
The third draft is going to be awesome, I can't wait to get started.
So, now we reach the bit that caused the title of this post. I did a silly thing the other day, I went where the trolls live and I made some noise...
It's been a long time since I have posted to a forum that was full of people who spend all of their time on the internet waiting to pounce on things other people say. A very, very long time.
An interesting thing about this Kickstarter campaign is reaching into the depths of my internet background and posting wherever I think it might generate even one single backer. For the most part, this has been a pleasant experience. Honestly, there aren't a lot of places on the web that I used to frequent but don't anymore, so mostly it has been a question of posting in communities in which I'm active and where people tend to play nice.
But Blade's Edge is a novel inspired by feudal Japan and I was in Japan when I wrote it, so I thought, "What the heck, I'll log back into some of the forums I used to check when I was going through the whole crazy process of getting to Japan and living there."
I had forgotten just how much time the people in those forums seem to have on their hands.
I knew my post would be lambasted the moment I left it. I even included the following in my original post just to show that I knew what was coming: "Thanks! Post all questions, comments, hate mail, and trolling in the comments and I'll be sure to answer. "
And I did know what was coming, I just forgot how incredibly ridiculous it would be. The thread exploded in moments. People brought their trolling A-Game. Here are some screen shots of highlights:
First of all, here's my original post: (if you're having trouble reading you can click the pictures to make them larger)
So now let's look at some of the top responses. It's difficult to choose but I'll try to narrow it down.
Though, to be fair that was just a warning
Honestly, that was almost polite.
I'm sure that's a fairly accurate stastic
I like to think that one was in the spirit of sympathy
And of course no trollapalooza is complete without a Game of Thrones reference
There are lots more and plenty of them are funny, but this post is already huge and I think you get the idea. Plus most of the highlights I've left out so far involve lots of cursing.
When you remind yourself that they do this to EVERYONE (yes, even and especially each other) it makes it a lot easier to simply laugh and move on. Really, you have to keep in mind that they would do this Stephen King if he showed up and said he was promoting a new book and wanted to give them each a signed copy.
I managed (barely) not to reply to any of the trolls and only focus on the ONE SINGLE PERSON replying in any legitimate way to my post. Granted, he wasn't trying to be nice, but he was asking legitimate questions and having a conversation. After a good hour of me and him exchanging questions and answers, and me not replying to a single troll, they all crawled back under their bridges and went back to sleep, or moved on to the next unwitting traveler.
Sigh... It might have been a lost cause in terms of generating any backers, but it did remind me of what a strange place the internet can be. Which I thought you all might appreciate.
I recommend it to all prospective authors though. It's excellent practice for thickening the skin towards negative reviews and the like.
Oh interwebs, you are a funny, funny place.
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