Comments on: Maps and Things http://www.sfnovelists.com/2007/08/29/maps-and-things/ A mutual support group for SF/F Novelists Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:39:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: Tim Pratt http://www.sfnovelists.com/2007/08/29/maps-and-things/#comment-247 Tim Pratt Thu, 30 Aug 2007 19:19:13 +0000 http://www.sfnovelists.com/2007/08/29/maps-and-things/#comment-247 Thanks, guys! I'll keep pondering the subject. Lisa: Yep. My code is a mess. (In my defense, I cut-and-pasted chunks of that CSS from, hmm, I forget where, so they're the ones who misspelled sans-serif! Though I must take credit for the misspelling of haruspicy in the novel excerpt. Call it a draw.) Perhaps someday I will be rich and famous and have web elves to do these things for me. :) Thanks, guys! I’ll keep pondering the subject.

Lisa: Yep. My code is a mess. (In my defense, I cut-and-pasted chunks of that CSS from, hmm, I forget where, so they’re the ones who misspelled sans-serif! Though I must take credit for the misspelling of haruspicy in the novel excerpt. Call it a draw.) Perhaps someday I will be rich and famous and have web elves to do these things for me. :)

]]> By: Lisa http://www.sfnovelists.com/2007/08/29/maps-and-things/#comment-245 Lisa Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:36:38 +0000 http://www.sfnovelists.com/2007/08/29/maps-and-things/#comment-245 Really, really sorry to be nitpicky, but since you mentioned it, I had to go look at the code. It's decently clean, though your capitalization scheme within the tags is wacky. Also, you misspelled "sans-serif" 4 times in the body CSS and the page padding is creating a horizontal scrollbar even on my 1280 screen. But I agree, coding HTML is very zen. Really, really sorry to be nitpicky, but since you mentioned it, I had to go look at the code.

It’s decently clean, though your capitalization scheme within the tags is wacky. Also, you misspelled “sans-serif” 4 times in the body CSS and the page padding is creating a horizontal scrollbar even on my 1280 screen.

But I agree, coding HTML is very zen.

]]> By: Sarah Prineas http://www.sfnovelists.com/2007/08/29/maps-and-things/#comment-242 Sarah Prineas Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:18:45 +0000 http://www.sfnovelists.com/2007/08/29/maps-and-things/#comment-242 One thing my publisher told me about the website is that readers (and this may be more true of kid readers...?) want to know more about the author than they get from the bio on the back flap. Frex, I told them that I write on a black MacBook with a dragon sticker on it, and they loved that (It'll be on the website, anyway!). Also, even non-writers are interested in the writer's process--I know this for sure from watching Good Ol' Mike Jasper give a presentation to a bunch of Iowans at a public library out in Dyersville. He got TONS of questions--genuine interest--about how he writes. Even little things, like "I get my best ideas while doing the dishes," are interesting. Lessee, what else. Well, you know I like the quiz idea. Haddayr suggested, for my site, outtakes from the book/cut scenes, letters from one character to another, journal entries, recipes, stuff like that. And Harper's putting all that stuff on the microsite they're doing for MT, so it must be viable. The DVD extras, to riff on what Toby blogged about today (!). Good luck with it!! One thing my publisher told me about the website is that readers (and this may be more true of kid readers…?) want to know more about the author than they get from the bio on the back flap. Frex, I told them that I write on a black MacBook with a dragon sticker on it, and they loved that (It’ll be on the website, anyway!). Also, even non-writers are interested in the writer’s process–I know this for sure from watching Good Ol’ Mike Jasper give a presentation to a bunch of Iowans at a public library out in Dyersville. He got TONS of questions–genuine interest–about how he writes. Even little things, like “I get my best ideas while doing the dishes,” are interesting.

Lessee, what else. Well, you know I like the quiz idea. Haddayr suggested, for my site, outtakes from the book/cut scenes, letters from one character to another, journal entries, recipes, stuff like that. And Harper’s putting all that stuff on the microsite they’re doing for MT, so it must be viable. The DVD extras, to riff on what Toby blogged about today (!).

Good luck with it!!

]]> By: Tim Pratt http://www.sfnovelists.com/2007/08/29/maps-and-things/#comment-239 Tim Pratt Thu, 30 Aug 2007 06:00:51 +0000 http://www.sfnovelists.com/2007/08/29/maps-and-things/#comment-239 <i>(Though — pssst — it’s haruspicy, not haruspexy.)</i> Marla doesn't think so. :) (Though — pssst — it’s haruspicy, not haruspexy.)

Marla doesn’t think so. :)

]]> By: Marie Brennan http://www.sfnovelists.com/2007/08/29/maps-and-things/#comment-238 Marie Brennan Thu, 30 Aug 2007 05:29:57 +0000 http://www.sfnovelists.com/2007/08/29/maps-and-things/#comment-238 I quite liked the excerpt; good job selling me on Marla without falling into the sorts of pitfalls that would make her sound shrill or bitchy instead of engaging. (Though -- pssst -- it's haruspicy, not haruspexy.) I tend toward keeping everything integrated into one website, rather than breaking stuff out for individual books; that way, I can provide content that isn't book-specific, like essays or info on my short stories. Not sure what else you could post for this novel before it comes out. I quite liked the excerpt; good job selling me on Marla without falling into the sorts of pitfalls that would make her sound shrill or bitchy instead of engaging. (Though — pssst — it’s haruspicy, not haruspexy.)

I tend toward keeping everything integrated into one website, rather than breaking stuff out for individual books; that way, I can provide content that isn’t book-specific, like essays or info on my short stories. Not sure what else you could post for this novel before it comes out.

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