My Nebula nominations

Saturday at midnight was the deadline for members of the SFWA to nominate works for the annual Nebula awards. I nominated five short stories in that category:

The Gods That Men Don't See, Amy Sterling Casil

Smoke and Feathers, Juliette Wade

Waiting for Medusa, Jack Dann

I Come from the Dark Universe, Cat Rambo

A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel, Ken Liu

I also nominated in the Novella category Wakulla Springs by Andy Duncan and Ellen Klages.

All of these, except for the Ken Liu story, were brought to my attention by the authors themselves, either independently or in response to my own outreach effort for "Hearts Made of Stone". I felt they were all worthy efforts. I found the Ken Liu story in a search for something clearly alternate history. All great stories.

Open to new ideas

A while back I took some time to promote my story "Hearts Made of Stone", which was published in the original anthology Song Stories in 2013. Using the Nebula nominations in the SFWA as an excuse, I spent time going through the membership list and making an email list. I typed one version for Associate members - who can nominate for the award but not vote - and another one for full members, the Active members.

I sent the first email out Jan. 5, and the second Jan. 12. I included a link to a page on my blog where I had posted the story. Aside from the practical benefit of spreading the work out, I was curious to see if there was a different reaction between the classes of members.

The email to the Active members suffered from a flaw when I absent-mindedly posted all the names in the CC line instead of the BCC line (I sent the originating email to myself to check it). I mentioned that flub in a post here a while back.

Other than that, the emails were very similar. I thought what feedback I got was interesting. There were more bounced emails from the associate list, and a few "I don't write science fiction any more". A number of people asked me to read their stuff, which I am doing. It seems to have been a nice way to solicit some reading suggestions.

From the active members, a number of people told me what a mistake I made with the CC list, and some were pretty rude about it. There were also some very nice and positive replies, and some people understood the email flub was an honest mistake.

As you would think, the associate members seemed to be much more open to reading my story. The traffic to that web page the week after the email to the associate members was FOUR TIMES the traffic the week after the email to the pros.

Email mistake

Last weekend I spent a little time typing and sending out emails drumming up support and attention - in light of the upcoming Feb. 15 deadline for Nebula nominations - among fellow members of the SFWA for my story "Hearts Made of Stone", which was published in the Song Story anthology by Wakefied Mahon.
I'm proud of the story, and I'm glad I tried to garner it more attention. Like a proud mother, I think every author should love their own offspring.
In my haste I listed everyone's email address in the CC line of the email, which made them visible to everyone. A few people quickly noted the blunder. I thanked them, noting it was a mistake and a bone-headed move.
Some people were very nice about it, and some people obviously think I'm moron. I sent off an email today to one particular person who apparently has a very low opinion of me. Here is is the text, minus - of course - any information about the subject. I think it is as good as good an explanation as any of what I set out to do:
---
When I sat down last weekend and spent a few hours pulling out emails from the SFWA membership roster to send my email to about "Hearts Made of Stone", I looked for people I had previously met, dealt with in some fashion, or who I knew of and respected.
You were someone I had heard positive things about in the past, and although we've never met or dealt with each other, I thought you're someone whose opinion I should respect. Which is why I added your name.
Sorry if I offended you. I am just an amateur writer, and in my enthusiasm for my story, I was a little careless. That CC copying was just block-headed, but I've apologized to everyone who mentioned it to me. I apologize to you, also.
My "real" job is as a small-town newspaper editor, and I'm very happy, so any extra fun I get in life from fiction writing is just gravy. I'm one of those old-fashioned types who believes failing is not a problem, the problem is when you don't try at all.
Working to gain a little exposure for my story was a learning experience, so I'm glad I did it, even though it didn't turn out exactly how I planned or hoped. We live and learn.
Maybe some day we'll run into each other, and we'll laugh about this over a beer or a burger. In the meantime, good luck in whatever makes you happy in life!

Flogging the golem

I've made an effort this Sunday and last Sunday to draw attention to "Hearts Made of Stone" and the anthology it was published in, "Song Stories". There's a number of reasons I took the time to type up over 500 email addresses to send out messages, first to SFWA Associate members on Jan. 5 and then Active members today. Here's a few:

First, I really want to commend Song Stories Press and Publisher Wakefield Mahon for making the time and effort to put together the original anthology. These kinds of projects are a labor of love, and they offer more diverse and often interesting s-f and fantasy reading material to the public. I'm glad to get more public notice for the anthology.

Second, I happen to personally like my story. Of course, all authors are supposed to like their own stories, but for some reason this one really makes me smile.

Third, as a member of the SFWA, I am able to nominate and vote for the Nebula awards. Now, one can't nominate one's own story - any publication you have a personal financial interest in - but if I am going to nominate other's people work, I'd like them to also have the opportunity to read and consider mine.

Last year Andy Duncan sent out an email soliciting support for "Close Encounters". I hadn't read the story when it was first published, so I was grateful for Andy drawing my attention to it. I read it, loved it, and nominated it. It went all the way to win its Nebula. So I have come to appreciate when a fellow author draws my attention to a story.

Good authors are good objective judges of their own stories, and I don't think anyone will solicit support for a story they don't think represents their best work. So far all the recommendations I have received this year have been spot on.

Another author directed my attention to an excellent story that was published in another small press anthology, which reminded me of the situation with "Song Stories", and made me think taking an effort to garner attention for "Hearts" would be a good idea.

A few people have expressed surprise that I belong to the SFWA when I also belong to SASS, but the two organizations have different roles, and insofar as I am not totally indigent I can afford dues for both. I get something out of both of them.

It took a number of hours to type the email lists, and after I shot I did today's mailing, I got immediate replies from a couple of people who noted I put the list in the CC slot, instead of the BCC slot, therefore allowing everyone to see each other's email. Arghh! Bonehead move, but it shows I really did it myself!

I know from last weekend a number of people read "Hearts Made of Stone" on this blog, and I hope more do so today as a result of this latest mailing. I will post a link on my Facebook page in  a few days, but since the Nebulas are an SFWA thing, I wanted to get these emails out first.