Here goes nothing. Finally making my entry into the world of blogging after many months of hesitation and delay. I feel as if my first post should be something of great weight and moment, discoursing philosophically on the state of modern SF and literature. It is after all the FIRST post and FIRSTS are meant to be important. Instead I'll start with an illustrative anecdote regarding my reading tastes and sometimes pretentions.
I was at work when I noticed the latest hardcover release by a very popular genre writer being received. Continuing a frequent work rant of mine, I went off on the preponderance of "sexy vampire smut" today and how it seems to be taking over the world. (Well, at least the Horror and Romance sections of my bookstore.) I poked fun at the sepia toned near-BDSM cover photo and just ripped into the sheer ridiculous-ness of the plot (vampire vs. werewolf boyfriends complicated by possible pregnancy!) I probably even made some comments about the fans and readers of this certain author being nothing more than melancholy goth teens and frustrated ex-goth housewives. I can really get going sometimes when I'm on a rant.
Then, in nearly the same breath, I admited that I was currently reading a STAR WARS novel about BOBA FETT, perhaps the most fetishized character in one of the geekiest communities in all of modern SF culture. HA HAH!
So yes, a little bit of the pot calling the kettle black on my part (or is it the geek calling the dork a nerd?) But it's OK because my book was written by K. W. Jeter, a protege of Philip K. Dick, and therefore completely acceptable! ;)
How's that for a first post? Let the flaming begin!
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
The Life of the World to Come, by Kage Baker
A Prelude to this review:
Sarah (who wrote this review) and I are huge fans of Kage Baker's Company novels. We've read every one in the sequence and I've designated Sarah as the point-person for reviewing Baker's latest novels (which, pleasingly, are coming out at a regular pace, and are being reissued as we speak so newcomers can enjoy them all; the exception being Sky Coyote which is inexplicably still out-of-print at the moment.).
Though the majority of the novels can be read alone, these more recent novels bring together story threads subtly woven throughout the books and as such MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS: read the following review at your own risk, or better yet, read all the other books and then come back to this...
Sarah (who wrote this review) and I are huge fans of Kage Baker's Company novels. We've read every one in the sequence and I've designated Sarah as the point-person for reviewing Baker's latest novels (which, pleasingly, are coming out at a regular pace, and are being reissued as we speak so newcomers can enjoy them all; the exception being Sky Coyote which is inexplicably still out-of-print at the moment.).
Though the majority of the novels can be read alone, these more recent novels bring together story threads subtly woven throughout the books and as such MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS: read the following review at your own risk, or better yet, read all the other books and then come back to this...
The Life of the World to Come (Tor, 2004) jumps right into the reunion of Mendoza and her once-again-reincarnated lover, whom astute readers will have already spotted as Alec Chesterfield. Some sections are taken directly from Black Projects, White Knights (Golden Gryphon), but these are interspersed with new sections that flesh out the story of Alec’s life, illustrating its similarities to—and vast differences from—the stories of Nicholas and Edward (Alec’s previous ‘manifestations’).
Alec is the most jarring of the three incarnations, mostly due to his slangy, oddly monosyllabic speech. Even to modern American ears he sounds dumb, especially compared to Nicholas’ delicious Elizabethan eloquence. Compounding this problem is the fact that the areas in which Alec is a genius are not explained in enough depth to make them seem as impressive. The ‘cyber-science’ especially comes off as too abstract, lacking some essential texture required to make it believable. While this is a nice change from the tech-term heavy sci-fi littering the planet, in which the author tries to impress you with their ability to do research (Clade springs to mind), more detail may have made the point more effective.
The future is Baker’s weakest setting, though she is, as always, witty, and her social satire is well-aimed. As a West Coaster I do find her militant-vegan-fitness-fanatic future people to be both oddly plausible and funny in a despairing sort of way, and the gradual dumbing down of the population also seems all too believable. I am of course, gratified at her idea that the future Celts, at least, held out for cream and whiskey. What she is getting at with all this is not a new idea—that the cyborgs have in fact become more ‘human’ than the humans who created them; in terms of human values, emotions, pursuits, and appreciation for the finer points of human culture. She does, however, make this point with more subtlety and effectiveness than most.
Her characters remain as alive and vibrant as ever, and that carries the bulk of the book. Satisfying, too, for anyone who has followed the saga, is Alec’s refusal to once again become a pawn of the Company. Baker hints at the workings of fate, as if there is possibly a divine—or at least cosmic—plan, a higher power at work, in the series of coincidences that bring Alec and Mendoza together, and keep him out of the clutches of the Company.
Baker wends her way though the story before hitting her stride in a fireworks finale ending which spectacularly resurrects some unlikely characters. Newly aware of their situation—of Mendoza’s role in their survival, and having seen enough of the machinations of the Company to get really pissed off—they combine to take on the entire organization, in a splendid fire and brimstone Frankenstein-esque sequence both comic and gripping. The conclusion is so well done that even the cliffhanger ending, which would ordinarily drive me crazy, seems worth it. --Sarah Keliher, 2005
Cheating: a slow-as-molasses html coder uses his blog to get the word out...
I mentioned Prescience before, the zine I've kept alive for over a decade in one form or another. It's part of the vision of FP, the review & commentary wing of this zany army.
Our web designer has built a site that we'll be able to maintain ourselves, and he's taught me some rudimentary html (read: cut-and-paste, see if it works right). And I plan to keep up with adding reviews and articles to the site.
Time, time gets away from me. So I've figured out a cheat, a hack if I may be so bold, to get the talented writers opinions out on da street, yo... uh...
In the subsequent blog entries you'll see articles posted on books and some other themes, along with the usual FP update. I hope you enjoy what we post, and will respond (even if you disagree with us-- this is after all the internet, and what good is it without some form of conflict, eh?).
Our web designer has built a site that we'll be able to maintain ourselves, and he's taught me some rudimentary html (read: cut-and-paste, see if it works right). And I plan to keep up with adding reviews and articles to the site.
Time, time gets away from me. So I've figured out a cheat, a hack if I may be so bold, to get the talented writers opinions out on da street, yo... uh...
In the subsequent blog entries you'll see articles posted on books and some other themes, along with the usual FP update. I hope you enjoy what we post, and will respond (even if you disagree with us-- this is after all the internet, and what good is it without some form of conflict, eh?).
What we're doing; moonlighting strangers who just met on the way...
Ok, so I just quoted a line from the TV show Moonlighting. Some of the junk stored in my head frightens me...
So, one of the things about FP (that's Fantastic Planet Books for all you newbies), is that Steve and Sarah and I work full-time at other bookstores. Financially we aren't able to leap off the cliff into the waiting arms of an SF&F-shaped destiny.
Yet.
So, the three of us meet up, nudge our plans forward, go back to our lives, our other jobs, and try and muster energy for FP (we love it, we really do, but sometimes...ugh.). We do keep connected with the publishing industry and most especially the SF&F publishers. It's their support we'll most need when we're finally settled and it's best to nurture those connections (besides, most of the editors in genre publishing are pretty damned awesome and supportive already...).
I'm in the odd position of maintaining the SF&F section of my current job; I pretty much created it out of a sludge heap of lousy buying practices back in the mid-'90s (I'm not mentioning my store's name; prudence yadda, yadda). So I'm faced with keeping the section running, watching for new titles and promoting them, getting books back in when needed, displaying, etc. But soon I'll need to hand that off to another person and it's going to be hard. That little corner of the store has been a part of my life (and obsessions) for more than 10 years now. I'm sure once FP is going, I'll still go back and visit. There are some good people there, people who'll do a great job maintaining it.
But hopefully not too great...
So, one of the things about FP (that's Fantastic Planet Books for all you newbies), is that Steve and Sarah and I work full-time at other bookstores. Financially we aren't able to leap off the cliff into the waiting arms of an SF&F-shaped destiny.
Yet.
So, the three of us meet up, nudge our plans forward, go back to our lives, our other jobs, and try and muster energy for FP (we love it, we really do, but sometimes...ugh.). We do keep connected with the publishing industry and most especially the SF&F publishers. It's their support we'll most need when we're finally settled and it's best to nurture those connections (besides, most of the editors in genre publishing are pretty damned awesome and supportive already...).
I'm in the odd position of maintaining the SF&F section of my current job; I pretty much created it out of a sludge heap of lousy buying practices back in the mid-'90s (I'm not mentioning my store's name; prudence yadda, yadda). So I'm faced with keeping the section running, watching for new titles and promoting them, getting books back in when needed, displaying, etc. But soon I'll need to hand that off to another person and it's going to be hard. That little corner of the store has been a part of my life (and obsessions) for more than 10 years now. I'm sure once FP is going, I'll still go back and visit. There are some good people there, people who'll do a great job maintaining it.
But hopefully not too great...
The heat of the night, progressing turtle-like.
Well, it's been almost two months since the last entry. I'm still finding it hard to remind myself to add to the blog--I've never been the greatest email person, and I've hardly touched my Livejournal (for proof: see.).
But it's important to keep up with the FP Blog, as it's a way of reminding ourselves (and our supporters) that this whole venture is worth it.
So, to summarize:
Fantastic Planet has been online for over a year now, a nascent website that slowly grew; we added reviews, a snazzy interface, a bunch of reviews and images from the pages of Prescience (a zine I started back in '96), and some hopeful comments about selling books online and in a bricks N mortar store.
As of about 3 months ago FP began selling books online at Biblio.com and Alibris. For a few weeks we had no action (part of the reason was that it was taking time to add the books manually); then we had our first sale (see previous post), quickly followed by another and then another. It's been steady; we average one sale every 2-3 days (that's pretty good for a small, small store). It warms our hearts that people want the books we have. We do scouting for more books when time permits, and the occasional hunt for an obscure book when someone requests it.
But that's not enough.
We need to move into the next phase and that's to sell new books.
See, in publishing, used bookstores aren't viewed very highly. It has something to do with the fact that a) the publisher is not getting a cut of each sale, and b) the author is not getting a cut. Fair point. But for us there were several factors in why we began with used books:
It's easy to go to a goodwill, or garage sale, whathaveyou, and find something we know will be worth something to somebody. We make a reasonable profit from it (but make sure it's very fair to the customer), and it helps us build what we need: capital.
We don't have some rich uncle or Microsoft millionaire bankrolling us, so for us to get account with the publishers and distributors we need: credit.
A small loan is the solution to that problem (which we're working on right now). We've been trying to figure out how much we need to get an initial inventory and rent for the first 6-9 months of a bricks N mortar space.
And this is where we've run into a conceptual roadblock. We don't have the money, and are worried that we won't get a loan big enough to do what we envision. But we're working on a temporary solution. We can get a pay-as-you-go account with Ingram, and have a secure server company handle our online sales for new books (and the used). Sure, we may not instantly have the complete selection we desire, but we have to start somewhere, right?
So we've trimmed down the initial vision to something manageable while we work out that big loan to start-up.
I hear Warren Buffett is giving billions to the Gates Foundation. I wonder if he may have some chump change to toss in the direction of FP. Anybody know his email?
But it's important to keep up with the FP Blog, as it's a way of reminding ourselves (and our supporters) that this whole venture is worth it.
So, to summarize:
Fantastic Planet has been online for over a year now, a nascent website that slowly grew; we added reviews, a snazzy interface, a bunch of reviews and images from the pages of Prescience (a zine I started back in '96), and some hopeful comments about selling books online and in a bricks N mortar store.
As of about 3 months ago FP began selling books online at Biblio.com and Alibris. For a few weeks we had no action (part of the reason was that it was taking time to add the books manually); then we had our first sale (see previous post), quickly followed by another and then another. It's been steady; we average one sale every 2-3 days (that's pretty good for a small, small store). It warms our hearts that people want the books we have. We do scouting for more books when time permits, and the occasional hunt for an obscure book when someone requests it.
But that's not enough.
We need to move into the next phase and that's to sell new books.
See, in publishing, used bookstores aren't viewed very highly. It has something to do with the fact that a) the publisher is not getting a cut of each sale, and b) the author is not getting a cut. Fair point. But for us there were several factors in why we began with used books:
It's easy to go to a goodwill, or garage sale, whathaveyou, and find something we know will be worth something to somebody. We make a reasonable profit from it (but make sure it's very fair to the customer), and it helps us build what we need: capital.
We don't have some rich uncle or Microsoft millionaire bankrolling us, so for us to get account with the publishers and distributors we need: credit.
A small loan is the solution to that problem (which we're working on right now). We've been trying to figure out how much we need to get an initial inventory and rent for the first 6-9 months of a bricks N mortar space.
And this is where we've run into a conceptual roadblock. We don't have the money, and are worried that we won't get a loan big enough to do what we envision. But we're working on a temporary solution. We can get a pay-as-you-go account with Ingram, and have a secure server company handle our online sales for new books (and the used). Sure, we may not instantly have the complete selection we desire, but we have to start somewhere, right?
So we've trimmed down the initial vision to something manageable while we work out that big loan to start-up.
I hear Warren Buffett is giving billions to the Gates Foundation. I wonder if he may have some chump change to toss in the direction of FP. Anybody know his email?
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Fantastic Planet's first Sale... and a point t be made (again)...
Fantastic Planet Blog
Well, it's official: Fantastic Planet had its first sale today, according to Sarah.
It was, in so many ways, rather appropriate to the mission of FP, since the book was 'technically' neither Science Fiction or fantasy.
Our first sale was "Ghostwritten" by David Mitchell, an author who has been highly lauded by the British literati, many US critics, and is virtually unknown in SF/F fandom.
It's true. I sat in a room full of people eager to discuss the topic of whether genre was needed anymore, and whether it hindered things, and when I brought up David Mitchell, all I saw were blank stares. When China Mieville was asked during his last tour, what authors he read/enjoyed/respected, he paused a moment before saying (and the pause, I'm sure, was the calculation of how many people in the audience might recognize the name), "Um. Well David Mitchell's been writing some great stuff; outside of the genre..."
I've been a fan of Mitchell's since I read "Ghostwritten" in advance, and it's been gratifying to see the acclaim he's constantly received.
His latest novel, "Black Swan Green" is probably his most accessible, in terms of widespread appeal: a (deceptively) simple coming-of-age story written with a care to character (the voice of a 13-year old), and place (early 80s Thatcher Britain).
The most complex, and some say difficult book, is his ambitious "Cloud Atlas", a novel in five narratives, arranged like a fugue, that take place over different time-periods, and take on just about every 'heavy' concept in literature; the meaning of life, love, technology, morality...
"Ghostwritten" and the Murakami-esque "Number9dream", were attempts at both fantasy and SF respectively, feeling his way around the techniques, and in "Cloud Atlas" they mixed effortlessly, like mixing two colors to make a third...
So, our first sale is by an author who 'does' SF and F better than most writers in the genre. But rather than simply be dismissive of the writers in SF/F, I hope that Mitchell's efforts serve as a challenge to these writers; to reinvestigate the tropes they use, the stories they tell, and shrug off what's 'pulp-ish' about some of the stuff coming out now.
Yeah, that last comment's sure to get me into hot water...
Well, it's official: Fantastic Planet had its first sale today, according to Sarah.
It was, in so many ways, rather appropriate to the mission of FP, since the book was 'technically' neither Science Fiction or fantasy.
Our first sale was "Ghostwritten" by David Mitchell, an author who has been highly lauded by the British literati, many US critics, and is virtually unknown in SF/F fandom.
It's true. I sat in a room full of people eager to discuss the topic of whether genre was needed anymore, and whether it hindered things, and when I brought up David Mitchell, all I saw were blank stares. When China Mieville was asked during his last tour, what authors he read/enjoyed/respected, he paused a moment before saying (and the pause, I'm sure, was the calculation of how many people in the audience might recognize the name), "Um. Well David Mitchell's been writing some great stuff; outside of the genre..."
I've been a fan of Mitchell's since I read "Ghostwritten" in advance, and it's been gratifying to see the acclaim he's constantly received.
His latest novel, "Black Swan Green" is probably his most accessible, in terms of widespread appeal: a (deceptively) simple coming-of-age story written with a care to character (the voice of a 13-year old), and place (early 80s Thatcher Britain).
The most complex, and some say difficult book, is his ambitious "Cloud Atlas", a novel in five narratives, arranged like a fugue, that take place over different time-periods, and take on just about every 'heavy' concept in literature; the meaning of life, love, technology, morality...
"Ghostwritten" and the Murakami-esque "Number9dream", were attempts at both fantasy and SF respectively, feeling his way around the techniques, and in "Cloud Atlas" they mixed effortlessly, like mixing two colors to make a third...
So, our first sale is by an author who 'does' SF and F better than most writers in the genre. But rather than simply be dismissive of the writers in SF/F, I hope that Mitchell's efforts serve as a challenge to these writers; to reinvestigate the tropes they use, the stories they tell, and shrug off what's 'pulp-ish' about some of the stuff coming out now.
Yeah, that last comment's sure to get me into hot water...
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Fantastic Planet Blog
Fantastic Planet Blog
Oh, and a few days ago I informed my current employers about FP's commencement of Used book selling--which has always (since Steve and myself first decided to create FP) been a stepping-stone towards a physical bookstore (did I tell you biblio.com has all, or most of, your darkest, cherished SF/F desires?)
It's strange, having ones foot in two planes; the highly unstable (and potentially rewarding) future of FP; and the safe, effortless (eleven years) past with my current employer where I could almost Ninja-like, blind-folded, walk through one of the most elaborate bookstores in the world ( I dare you; come down to Elliott Bay, bind your eyes, and walk--or better yet, skip that and pester us about our physical location)...
I have 11 years of history with that place, and it's not easy; it's easily a third of my life, so striking off in a new direction is, well, crazy.
But I came to EB as an outcast of sorts and somehow have ended up always fighting for the 'underdog' (whether it be a maligned sectionlike Sf/F, employee politics, or--in rare occasions--a hare-brained idea for 'elaborating' the store). It continues...
Oh, and a few days ago I informed my current employers about FP's commencement of Used book selling--which has always (since Steve and myself first decided to create FP) been a stepping-stone towards a physical bookstore (did I tell you biblio.com has all, or most of, your darkest, cherished SF/F desires?)
It's strange, having ones foot in two planes; the highly unstable (and potentially rewarding) future of FP; and the safe, effortless (eleven years) past with my current employer where I could almost Ninja-like, blind-folded, walk through one of the most elaborate bookstores in the world ( I dare you; come down to Elliott Bay, bind your eyes, and walk--or better yet, skip that and pester us about our physical location)...
I have 11 years of history with that place, and it's not easy; it's easily a third of my life, so striking off in a new direction is, well, crazy.
But I came to EB as an outcast of sorts and somehow have ended up always fighting for the 'underdog' (whether it be a maligned sectionlike Sf/F, employee politics, or--in rare occasions--a hare-brained idea for 'elaborating' the store). It continues...
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Live. Um. Electronically speaking
Well, we have our books online, as mentioned before, at biblio.com.
About 350 books. A very nice variety of Sf/F titles (if I say so myself). Sarah has been steadfast in cataloging and uploading the books, even through a recent bout of the Flu (which I have developed--though not due to Sarah!).
I also spent a weekend at Norwescon, the main SF/F convention in the NW. I was only on four panels (this being only my third, and my poor skills at navigating fandom, which dictates the choices). I DO say they were very interesting:
I had one on GENRE distinctions, and whether we still needed them (my basic answer: WTF, kick 'em to the curb!);
Censorship in Movies and books (which was mostly about books, but very well attended, and the PK Dick nominee--and eventual winner-- M. M. Buckner, for "War Surf" /:/ dammit; I just spent 15 minutes trying to search for her website, and all I got waere a bunch of half-arsed gossipy sites linking themselves to AMAZON'S lick-our-coat-tails-for-a-dime-profit sites/stores, etc... /:/ M.M. Buckner was conscientious, precise, and gracious (pre-award), and really, she had a great deal to add to the travails of expression in our modern climate...
"The Cover's just there to Grab your eye" panel; attended by two small press publishers (one of them a self-pub/author, the other a MAGAZINE publisher); suffice to say it was a strange gossip-fest about covers we've seen/wished we didn't, and other people's direct experiences... I have my opinions, after 15 years of bookselling and almost double of art-experience, and I knew we weren't going to achieve our aim in 1 hr.... esp. wiithout an artist and/or art director on the panel ( I have learned that Art directors are antitherical to Artists, therefore QED, our panel sans both...
"Tradeoffs beteeen Security, Freedom, & Privacy" was interesting in the way I approached it: a whisky and a couple of PBRs to the wind. I entereed a room filled with at least 60 people, all leaning slightly forward, eager to express their outrage ath thie Administration (or at least, the quiet loner wanting to say, "Yay, Dubya.."). Whoo-wee. THat was the best time; I never sobered up faster, dealt with more agitated yet cooperative people, ever! It was great! We needed moderatin' (which I took on, 'cause the guy scheduled to do it 'didn't know", blah, whatever), and I took it on... It's a delicate thing, stirring people up, allowing a response, and moving on to cover the totality of the subject. I even squirreled time in for some(gasp!) positive and hopeful comments... I hope everybody left--if not satisfied--at least challenged and thoughtful...
Overall, this years Con, was short'N'dirty in the best way. I've seen many a comment from the other tracks I didn't get to see (sciences, history, and FILK-yes..um...the..filk), that everyone was satisfied with the content and richness of variety.
Anyhow, I'm still a little odd with the whole Con thing since I only started after having an SF/f section as my main reason to interact...
You see, I was basically a solo-nerd; I had no groups I shared my obsessions with (art, comics, Sf/f books/movies, etc.)... I'd become used to internal thoughts and ramblings on the topics. I've always been a socially awkward creature, regardless of Con or, um, ah, well, the opposite--uhh, meeting the Queen of England, say (My side-wise Anglophile experience coming through)...
About 350 books. A very nice variety of Sf/F titles (if I say so myself). Sarah has been steadfast in cataloging and uploading the books, even through a recent bout of the Flu (which I have developed--though not due to Sarah!).
I also spent a weekend at Norwescon, the main SF/F convention in the NW. I was only on four panels (this being only my third, and my poor skills at navigating fandom, which dictates the choices). I DO say they were very interesting:
I had one on GENRE distinctions, and whether we still needed them (my basic answer: WTF, kick 'em to the curb!);
Censorship in Movies and books (which was mostly about books, but very well attended, and the PK Dick nominee--and eventual winner-- M. M. Buckner, for "War Surf" /:/ dammit; I just spent 15 minutes trying to search for her website, and all I got waere a bunch of half-arsed gossipy sites linking themselves to AMAZON'S lick-our-coat-tails-for-a-dime-profit sites/stores, etc... /:/ M.M. Buckner was conscientious, precise, and gracious (pre-award), and really, she had a great deal to add to the travails of expression in our modern climate...
"The Cover's just there to Grab your eye" panel; attended by two small press publishers (one of them a self-pub/author, the other a MAGAZINE publisher); suffice to say it was a strange gossip-fest about covers we've seen/wished we didn't, and other people's direct experiences... I have my opinions, after 15 years of bookselling and almost double of art-experience, and I knew we weren't going to achieve our aim in 1 hr.... esp. wiithout an artist and/or art director on the panel ( I have learned that Art directors are antitherical to Artists, therefore QED, our panel sans both...
"Tradeoffs beteeen Security, Freedom, & Privacy" was interesting in the way I approached it: a whisky and a couple of PBRs to the wind. I entereed a room filled with at least 60 people, all leaning slightly forward, eager to express their outrage ath thie Administration (or at least, the quiet loner wanting to say, "Yay, Dubya.."). Whoo-wee. THat was the best time; I never sobered up faster, dealt with more agitated yet cooperative people, ever! It was great! We needed moderatin' (which I took on, 'cause the guy scheduled to do it 'didn't know", blah, whatever), and I took it on... It's a delicate thing, stirring people up, allowing a response, and moving on to cover the totality of the subject. I even squirreled time in for some(gasp!) positive and hopeful comments... I hope everybody left--if not satisfied--at least challenged and thoughtful...
Overall, this years Con, was short'N'dirty in the best way. I've seen many a comment from the other tracks I didn't get to see (sciences, history, and FILK-yes..um...the..filk), that everyone was satisfied with the content and richness of variety.
Anyhow, I'm still a little odd with the whole Con thing since I only started after having an SF/f section as my main reason to interact...
You see, I was basically a solo-nerd; I had no groups I shared my obsessions with (art, comics, Sf/f books/movies, etc.)... I'd become used to internal thoughts and ramblings on the topics. I've always been a socially awkward creature, regardless of Con or, um, ah, well, the opposite--uhh, meeting the Queen of England, say (My side-wise Anglophile experience coming through)...
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Building a better brain
Well, it's been over a week since my last post and I actually feel pretty good about the progress we've made since then. Shaun & I've tweaked several things on the site (all of them minor to the eye of the beholder, but to us they're huge); a cleaner link for this blog; we've started listing our used books on Biblio.com; and I've fixed a couple of our reviews in the Prescience section.
I also added information about hunting down out-of-print books for people; which is something my current employer (or most bookstores) don't do, with the internet being so accessible and whatnot. But sometimes the action for used books happens off of the web; in the goodwills, the estate sales, the library sales... We're envisioning a want list, basically, so that when we do go to these events and gatherings we can whip out the list and get it. We love catering to that completist obsession; we know, each of us is obsessed about collecting all of a particular thing. So we can sympathize. Also, it's the addiction to the noise people make when you tell them you have that book that they've been searching for for years....
The used books are a temporary thing; we want to sell new books, but there are several stages to completing that goal (all of which we've just started); bank loan, physical space, agreements with the distributors (and in time) directly with the publishers.
We have to establish good credit and to do that we have to start with the distributors (Ingram, Baker & Taylor) and then after a couple of months we can approach the publishers.
Our physical location depends on serendipity; the timing of the loan with the availability of a space in the neighborhoods we're interested in (Ballard and Greenwood). The primary reason for both those areas is that they are almost equi-distant from my current employer and the University Bookstore; we know it would be foolish to step near their territories (even though Steve and I helped build the SF section at the former). Also, the areas aren't so crazy with the real estate hikes going on in the other two. For now, so we know we have to act soon.
I also added information about hunting down out-of-print books for people; which is something my current employer (or most bookstores) don't do, with the internet being so accessible and whatnot. But sometimes the action for used books happens off of the web; in the goodwills, the estate sales, the library sales... We're envisioning a want list, basically, so that when we do go to these events and gatherings we can whip out the list and get it. We love catering to that completist obsession; we know, each of us is obsessed about collecting all of a particular thing. So we can sympathize. Also, it's the addiction to the noise people make when you tell them you have that book that they've been searching for for years....
The used books are a temporary thing; we want to sell new books, but there are several stages to completing that goal (all of which we've just started); bank loan, physical space, agreements with the distributors (and in time) directly with the publishers.
We have to establish good credit and to do that we have to start with the distributors (Ingram, Baker & Taylor) and then after a couple of months we can approach the publishers.
Our physical location depends on serendipity; the timing of the loan with the availability of a space in the neighborhoods we're interested in (Ballard and Greenwood). The primary reason for both those areas is that they are almost equi-distant from my current employer and the University Bookstore; we know it would be foolish to step near their territories (even though Steve and I helped build the SF section at the former). Also, the areas aren't so crazy with the real estate hikes going on in the other two. For now, so we know we have to act soon.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Already learning stuff...
Having accidentally blogged under the login of our intrepid designer Shaun, I am now rectifying this by posting under my login.
(perhaps you didn't need to know that...)
I'm spending my Sunday chipping away at the various little things that are necessary to keep the FP website moving in the direction Shaun and I envisioned.
I've got 60GB of music on shuffle-play, coffee and (for when my caffeine level is too crazy) beer.
We (and I mean the whole team, Steve Sarah, Shaun and myself), have always believed that developing a website ahead of the physical bookstore was a great way to drum up attention for us and well and allowing FP to become a part of the web community. Individually, we have presences on the web (separate websites, Livejournal, Friendster and myspace, etc.), but as an organization, FP needs its identity.
We only pay the cost of webspace to advance advertise our endeavor, and we get to express our opinions and talents without the crazy hassle of rent (we know it's coming, we must bite the bullet eventually...But for now...).
We'll be selling used and rare & collectible books soon through abebooks, and in a month or so (hoping we can get that starter loan we're working on), we'll have new books.
But all in good time..
I plan to post soon about an amazing book that I've read (as well as other books of recent note) called Vellum, by Hal Duncan, due out this summer here in the U.S. But I must make food, and ponder how to best explain Vellum to the uninitiated.
(perhaps you didn't need to know that...)
I'm spending my Sunday chipping away at the various little things that are necessary to keep the FP website moving in the direction Shaun and I envisioned.
I've got 60GB of music on shuffle-play, coffee and (for when my caffeine level is too crazy) beer.
We (and I mean the whole team, Steve Sarah, Shaun and myself), have always believed that developing a website ahead of the physical bookstore was a great way to drum up attention for us and well and allowing FP to become a part of the web community. Individually, we have presences on the web (separate websites, Livejournal, Friendster and myspace, etc.), but as an organization, FP needs its identity.
We only pay the cost of webspace to advance advertise our endeavor, and we get to express our opinions and talents without the crazy hassle of rent (we know it's coming, we must bite the bullet eventually...But for now...).
We'll be selling used and rare & collectible books soon through abebooks, and in a month or so (hoping we can get that starter loan we're working on), we'll have new books.
But all in good time..
I plan to post soon about an amazing book that I've read (as well as other books of recent note) called Vellum, by Hal Duncan, due out this summer here in the U.S. But I must make food, and ponder how to best explain Vellum to the uninitiated.
Fantastic Planet Blog--the beginning
Fantastic Planet Blog
Well, a blank page is always intimidating, whether it's wood-pulp or electronic. And who knows the best place to start with a project like this, that encompasses many facets of publishing and business?
What's best, I guess, is a summary of why we're doing this blog:
Fantastic Planet Books started out as a pipe dream for Steve and I, and finally one day we decided were tired of building upon someone else's legacy (The Elliott Bay Book Company--a great bookstore, but we'd out-grown it), and began the push towards making FP a reality.
It's been a year now since we started, and after some setbacks (and appropriately a hibernation period last Fall/Winter), we're back on track with the creation of the store.
But it's not just the store that we're building here. We've taken the zine I created back in the mid-90s, Prescience, and retooled it for the internet age.
We'll be bringing the archived articles and art from Prescience to the site, as well as adding new reviews, articles and art as time goes on.
We also wanted to have a forum where we chronicled our experiences with the creation of a small Indie bookstore, especially in this mega-corporation culture. We also wanted to be able to rant on occasion about the frustrations, conundrums and joys that will inevitably pop up.
That's it. Simply. For now. As time goes on I'm sure Steve, Sarah and I (along with our web designer extraordinaire, Shaun) will have more enlightening things to say but for now,
Welcome.
-Vladimir
Well, a blank page is always intimidating, whether it's wood-pulp or electronic. And who knows the best place to start with a project like this, that encompasses many facets of publishing and business?
What's best, I guess, is a summary of why we're doing this blog:
Fantastic Planet Books started out as a pipe dream for Steve and I, and finally one day we decided were tired of building upon someone else's legacy (The Elliott Bay Book Company--a great bookstore, but we'd out-grown it), and began the push towards making FP a reality.
It's been a year now since we started, and after some setbacks (and appropriately a hibernation period last Fall/Winter), we're back on track with the creation of the store.
But it's not just the store that we're building here. We've taken the zine I created back in the mid-90s, Prescience, and retooled it for the internet age.
We'll be bringing the archived articles and art from Prescience to the site, as well as adding new reviews, articles and art as time goes on.
We also wanted to have a forum where we chronicled our experiences with the creation of a small Indie bookstore, especially in this mega-corporation culture. We also wanted to be able to rant on occasion about the frustrations, conundrums and joys that will inevitably pop up.
That's it. Simply. For now. As time goes on I'm sure Steve, Sarah and I (along with our web designer extraordinaire, Shaun) will have more enlightening things to say but for now,
Welcome.
-Vladimir
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