Since I’m an Unethical Writer, I Figure…Why the Hell Not…
A little while back, I wrote a little piece about being accused of being an unethical writer and my thoughts on that. Well, since I am and, as I’ve admitted time and time again, I am a shameless self-promoting whore, I figure, why the hell should I worry about what the internet thinks, and call out to my fanbase for some support on something going on right now in the world of books.
Goodreads.com is having their annual, “Goodreads Choice Awards for 2014.” I took a gander at what they’ve got up in the first round for Fantasy. It’s your basic list of uber-famous-big-name writers, Brandon Sanderson, Mark Lawrence, Patrick Rothfuss, Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, Patricia Briggs…etc. I was considering voting for Skin Game, while longing to maybe see one of my books up there someday, when I noticed the option to write in a book. Well, well, well. I immediately plugged in, DEAD WEIGHT: The Tombs…because, if I don’t advocate for myself, who will. Then I thought, I’ve got a fan base. Maybe not HUGE, but they are my fans, and they are awesome. I wonder if I can get any of them to vote for me…
So I took to Facebook, asking people with a Goodreads account to contact me. One by one, I asked people to go to the fantasy awards page, and write in DEAD WEIGHT: The Tombs. Then, I remembered that I’m an “Unethical Author,” and so I decided to use my various platforms to send the call out wider and faster than I can by talking to one person at a time. So, yeah, please go vote for DEAD WEIGHT. Open voting lasts through Saturday. If you’d like to read a copy of DEAD WEIGHT: The Tombs before you vote, email me, and I’ll send an electronic copy your way.
I’m pretty sure I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell, but to quote the great Jack Burton, “You, never know ’til you try.”
Oh, yeah… After you write in DEAD WEIGHT: The Tombs, Goodreads will give you the option to share that with Facebook. You should do that too, saying all kinds of nice things about the book, the writer, and how all your friends should check it out…unless they are easily offended…because, after all, it is DEAD WEIGHT, and it’s got some pretty hefty and grim stuff going on.
Thanks all!
CHEERS!
MTG
P.S. I find it very interesting that Patrick Rothfuss’s new book, A Slow Regard of Silent Things, just came out last week, and is on the list. This is not a dig on Pat, or his book. Rothfuss is a fine writer, and I’m sure this is a hell of a read. We’ll probably see it on at least one award ballot next year. However, it is a little dig on Goodreads (owned by Amazon) that all the books in the preliminary round are from a VERY small circle of writers who regularly sell a crapton of books. Also it seems that every aspect of fantasy, from the epic of epicness, to swords and sorcery, to urban, to paranormal romance, are all crammed into one category. If this was going to be a real “Choice” award for 2014, maybe we could start later in the year, or early 2015, because some books have yet to hit the bookshelves in 2014…also: maybe a few more rounds, with narrower categories, where it feels like readers actually have a say in what books and writers are represented in these categories.
