Archive for April, 2011
Author income streams
April 13th 2011 at 4:56 pm
Lots of talk about multiple author income streams. Which reminded me of a blog post I wanted to put up, but was always a few words short of finishing. So here it is. Here’s how I made a living in 2010: For me speaking is a small portion of the gig. The bulk of my [...]
The destructive power of dogma
April 12th 2011 at 12:41 pm
From a Slate essay titled ‘How Ayn Rand ruined my childhood‘ As I was painting a cardboard owl, my father asked me to come inside the house. He and his new wife sat me down at the dinner table with grave faces. “We were wondering if you would petition to be emancipated,” he said in [...]
Poor University students forced to read my books
April 12th 2011 at 12:07 pm
Ah, what has a decent education come down to? Poor, blighted students being forced to read books they hate by authors they couldn’t care less about. Like the author shown on this slide! Oh wait, damn, that’s me. Earlier this week these students at MSU University finished reading Ragamuffin and did a presentation about me [...]
99 cents only works if you actually sell more copies
April 11th 2011 at 12:39 pm
Again, on the 99 cent eBook debate, the core issue is that it only works if you sell more copies, and that is not guaranteed. Charles Tan has a great closing comment at the most recent SF Signal podcast at the 27 minute mark that covers these issues (or you can listen to the whole [...]
Solar power nearing coal
April 7th 2011 at 4:17 pm
This is intriguing: Solar panel installations may surge in the next two years as the cost of generating electricity from the sun rivals coal-fueled plants, industry executives and analysts said. Large photovoltaic projects will cost $1.45 a watt to build by 2020, half the current price, Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimated today. The London-based research [...]
More from Monbiot on anti-nuclear anti-science
April 6th 2011 at 11:37 am
Monbiot continues probing anti-nuclear writings: Dr Caldicott is the world’s foremost anti-nuclear campaigner. She has received 21 honorary degrees and scores of awards, and was nominated for a Nobel peace prize. Like other greens, I was in awe of her. In the debate she made some striking statements about the dangers of radiation. So I [...]
Major space projects just got cheaper
April 6th 2011 at 10:53 am
SpaceX yesterday that they’re going to be building the Falcon Heavy launcher, capable of putting 53 tons into orbit, making it almost as capable as the Saturn 5. That’s happening sometime in 2013 or 14. As Charles Stross notes: If this were NASA, you’d need to get a bigger calculator to show all the digits [...]
Fast Forward Radio interview
April 4th 2011 at 9:31 am
I was recently on Fast Forward Radio (didn’t realize it was live or I would have urged you all to go listen), but here’s a link to the podcast for those of you who didn’t happen to be listening.
Publishing company book profits up
April 4th 2011 at 9:26 am
Profits are up. Doesn’t quite fit the whole ‘they’re dying, jump now’ refrain: With Random House reporting its results for 2010 last week, all five of the country’s largest trade houses have now turned in their operating performances for last year. And those performances are encouraging, especially for an industry in the midst of a [...]
A year of selling Tides From The New Worlds
April 1st 2011 at 2:32 pm
I’ve been selling my short story collection Tides From The New Worlds for a year now, and I’m going to share that data with you. I’m going to hang it all out there and show you my stuff. I’m a lover of data and charts to help solidify somewhat complex discussions. I’m in favor of [...]
