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An Award for Deanna Hoak
A new aquaintance of mine at Worldcon was specialist SF and Fantasy copyeditor Deanna Hoak. There's a link to her blog down there on the right. Deanna's contribution to the books she's worked on has been huge, as several of her authors attested around that bar table (Chris Roberson always adopts a particular table at a convention... I wonder how it's doing without us?) on various occasions. A conversation began between us about the fact that a professional who is a leader in her field, and a specialist in our genre, doesn't have an award that she can win for what is clearly an outstanding contribution. Fiona Avery, on her blog, has recently been waving this flag, and many others will doubtless join the cause.
Well, there is an award that Deanna can win. The World Fantasy Awards, Special Award: Professional. It's a useful catch-all that usually features editors and publishers. This year's nominees have already been announced (and include Chris and Allison, Lou and the lovely Tor editor Peter Lavery):
http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/
But let's keep this campaign in the frame for a year, and make sure that next time round the members of the World Fantasy Convention have the name Deanna Hoak uppermost in their minds. Doing so would be a service not only to her, but to all the other 'invisible' professionals who keep our business alive.
Well, there is an award that Deanna can win. The World Fantasy Awards, Special Award: Professional. It's a useful catch-all that usually features editors and publishers. This year's nominees have already been announced (and include Chris and Allison, Lou and the lovely Tor editor Peter Lavery):
http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/
But let's keep this campaign in the frame for a year, and make sure that next time round the members of the World Fantasy Convention have the name Deanna Hoak uppermost in their minds. Doing so would be a service not only to her, but to all the other 'invisible' professionals who keep our business alive.
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Thank you, Paul. That means a lot. :-)
Hey, Paul. Deanna copy-edited The Liberty Gun, I understand. She was admirably thorough, and raised one or two queries I had to go away and think about! I hate it when they do that. Thanks, Deanna.
I'm all for it. Deanna did a terrific job on my book too, and has been a cheerleader for it ever since. Her contributions go above and beyond what you'd expect from a copy editor.
Sorry, didn't mean to come across negatively! I appreciate the changes she made to the text, and the suggestions she made.
There we go, the campaign has begun. Now we just have to get China onboard. The author, I mean. Although the country would be handy.
I'm going to point a link to your blog in mine right now. This is great! Let's Deanna on that ballot!
Oh, hey, Fi-Chan, I just read the bit on your blog, and you're too kind! Goodness, that's very sweet of you.
I talked to China today, and he's on board. :-) Unfortunately, though, he doesn't think he's been to WFC recently enough to vote, and he isn't planning on going this year.
Thank you again, Paul.
Dave: Thanks. :-)
And Martin, I didn't think you were coming across negatively! Some of us over here do actually have a sense of humor, you know. ;-)
Fi-Chan I like! Fi-Chan I adore! He can call me Fi-Chan all the time! :D
Of course you both deserved every word of that blog, Paul.
And I'm so glad people are jumping on this idea. S'about time!
Ah, but if China were to start talking in public about this, many more people would listen. The trouble is, I will call you Fi-Chan all the time. One of the great regrets of my life is that I never had a nickname. Well, I was called 'Poof' at school, but I don't think that qualifies.
* resisting the urge to think up nicknames for a person she doesn't know *
Hello!
I'm going to attempt to make an RSS feed of your blog, if that's OK. That's purely because I am too lazy to keep coming over here from LiveJournal and would like to slot you in next to Neil Gaiman and Wil Wheaton and Mitch Benn on my friends list LOL
I thought it was only polite to let you know.
And here it is...
http://syndicated.livejournal.com/paul_cornell/
Would you be terribly offended if I were to tell the people in the LJ doctor who communities that you are there?
China might be willing to do that, but it of course wouldn't be polite for me to ask him to. I had just mentioned to him in the course of another conversation that people were bringing this up and that I was very touched by it. He seemed very positive, and if he decides to do anything I'll be even further touched.
SB, do say hi to Mitch for me. We have drunk together. Hey, I'm somewhat technostupid, so I wonder if you could help me? I'd like to put up a little RSS feed sign, meaning people can do that RSS thing with my blog, but how do I do that? Feel free to tell the LJ folks about me, but I pay no attention to my LJ self, it's just so I can pop into LJ conversations, and direct LJ people here. Deanna: I shall carry on with my plan. Because I do have a plan.
LOL I don't actually know Mitch, sorry if I made it sound like I did; I'm just going around creating RSS feeds of interesting people and you were the second one I came across after him. I made a feed of his MySpace journal for LJ, and then somebody said to me "hey, Paul Cornell has a blog too!" and... well, you get the idea.
The feed works by putting the content of this blog onto people's LJ friends lists, along with a url link to the original entry here so that they can come and comment here if they want to, or they can comment on LJ. I don't think the LJ comments are forwarded to you at all, though, and I think most people are aware of that fact. The feed appears to be working perfectly, so far.
I've never used blogger myself, and had to resort to feedburner to find the XML link for your feed... * tries to resist technobabble*... Um. There is something in the blogger help files about setting up an atom feed, but for RSS it actually recommends feedburner.
That's basically a long-winded way of saying "no, I don't know how you could make a little RSS button" although I'm sure it's possible. Not being au fait with blogger software doesn't help... however, if I'm going to pimp your feed all over LJ anyway, I might as well link back to this for you as well. I bet there's SOMEBODY on there who knows how to do it.
To halfway answer the RSS question, the address of your RSS feed is http://paulcornell.blogspot.com/rss.xml and the address of your Atom feed is http://paulcornell.blogspot.com/atom.xml
You can add text links to these in your sidebar same as any other address.
I don't know whether it's possible to include images in the links in the sidebar and a cursory glance through the blogger documentation suggests that it isn't. So no big orange button. :-(
Thanks, you two. I'm about to try and put up links to those two feeds.
Can I add my support? I can never understand exactly how these awards work, but if I go to Japan can I help swing it?
I won't dwell on the Steven Moffat The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances Hugo-winning scenario. I had a lovely evening out with Paul, Steven and Matt Jones and we all agreed that Doctor Who couldn't possibly win.
So I decided to rig it.
Well, shoot me.
I sent one of the authors we proudly represent (obviously, clearly, righteously, their name is withheld from this confession) to California with $431,000 in a briefcase and said:
"Alan Campbell. I realise that you've written a wonderful novel of genius - but it's a *first* novel yet to be released in the US. They won't know who you are. Just go around and - for Paul's sake - bribe them to vote 'Doctor Who' - but for God's sake act like an innocent.
If people get suspicious just, oh ... I don't know - just give 'em the cash and say that one hungry youth has asked you to give out money in the hope that salsa lessons may be given to medical practioners. That'll fool 'em."
And we all know how that plan worked out.
Still, Deanna, I've learnt my lesson. Can I give you an honest vote? Please?
Sx
If there's one TV show you don't want to piss off with your corrupt shenanigans, Simon, it's Battlestar Galactica. They have a Plan, you know. You'll wake up one morning to a knock on the door and it'll be Edward James Olmos with a steely expression. I also got a note addressed to you from the Hungarian maffia, apologising for 'the tapes being found'. Do you know what that's about?
"You'll wake up one morning to a knock on the door and it'll be Edward James Olmos with a steely expression."
I've been working towards nothing else but the knock on the door - but I was trying for a steely Jamie Bamber. See? These plans always go wrong.
As for the Robin Hood tapes - drop round to Dover Street with an envelope full of used £50 notes - and we'll chat.
But don't tell anyone you're coming.
Oh, hang on ...there's a policeman at the d
Do I get ten per cent of your illicit proceeds? Isn't that how it works?
Honest sounds like a good plan after all that, Simon. :-)
That's really asking too much of an agent.
'Do I get ten per cent of your illicit proceeds? Isn't that how it works?'
No - you get fifteen percent.
I mean, a boy needs the money. He has to eat, go shopping, find love. It's not as if I'm some sort of vampire that can just exist by draining the -
Oh, now, stop it ...
I didn't help you go there, you know, you got there on your own.