Kevin's Watch

I sort of wonder whether it would be nice to purchase a copy and send it off to SRD (or give it to him whenever possible), since it's dedicated to him and without him, in a very real sense, the anthology wouldn't exist...

My thought on that matter is HELL NO.

Doing so could be considered somewhat intrusive, and certainly self-important. There's no reason for him to care if we've compiled an anthology of our own work, and there's no way he'd read it.

Although I understand the appeal of the idea, on consideration I'm opposed.

I rather agree with CJ. Telling him his message board published a book is one thing (I assume Romeo has done that), but expecting him to read it is quite another.

I'd like to mention that I didn't intend my previous post to come over as aggressively as it seems to on re-reading. I really do understand why you suggested this, Xar, and it's a nice idea in principle, but I don't see the point in sending SRD something he isn't going to read (if he's like the rest of us, he doesn't have enough time to read the things he's chosen, never mind those he hasn't) and perhaps making him uncomfortable with a combination of intrusion (he seems a private man) and a hint of obligation (in that he might feel pushed to read it simply because we sent it).

I don't think we have the right to put Mr Donaldson in a potentially uncomfortable position so we can feel warm and fuzzy.

Again, I don't mean to sound as terse as I probably do.

But I want to feel warm and fuzzy

Nah, I see your point, CJ... I guess I didn't pay too much thought to the intended receiver, because as far as I'm concerned, if I were in SRD's place and a message board born because of my writings sent me an anthology written by its members and dedicated to me, I'd appreciate it, even if I didn't have time to read it. Then again, nothing says we can't simply let him know the Anthology exists, and perhaps if he expresses interest in reading it (maybe through the GI?) then we could buy it for him rather than letting him pay for it

Then again, I doubt he'll have time or desire to read it. Ah well.

Btw, I ordered my copy - just to go back to the topic

Though there is some part of me that likes the idea of SRD reading our stuff, I have to admit that it would only be genuinely satisfying if he made an unsolicited request for the book or reported that, after reading about it on the forum, had bought a copy for himself.

Given that he said himself he only rarely visits the forum, I doubt he ever will, unless someone goes over to the GI and, between one question and another, does advertisement (hey, that might even boost sales among other fans )...

I mean no disrespect to anyone who contributed to the anthology, but as far as SRD or any other effective stranger is concerned, it could be awful. We are, with the odd discreet exception, a load of untested, unpublished amateurs. Unless you know the people involved, reading the anthology must be quite a gamble.

Without going into the SRD connection, and meaning no disrespect to all the authors of the anthology, I think that being read by others than just the members of the forum would actually be nice. Here in the forum, we all know the authors, and however much we try, our judgment of their writings is necessarily biased. If a story is awful, we find it hard to say it clearly, because we know the author; we can say it is not particularly good, use euphemisms, but I don't think anybody of us would go to any given author and tell him "your story was repelling and here's why.". Similarly, we may choose which stories we like the most based not only on how they are written or what they tell us, but also who wrote them. It's a natural instinct, after all; you'll pay more attention to the stories of those you know the most.
But with outsiders, things are different: if they like or dislike the stories, it's because of the stories themselves, not because they have a grudge against you or they like you a lot. I have had, in one form or another, let several people read stories of mine; usually relatives and friends. But I look towards the next anthology, in which hopefully I might have a story too, also as a test of my writing skills, to see if others who don't know me like my stories too. And I'm not talking about KW members: I hope by now most of you know me a bit, after all. But if total strangers read my story and said "it's unbelievably cool", or even just "it's nice", it would reassure me; if he said "it's disgusting", well, I'd get depressed, but I like to think I'd try to improve then.

I don't know if I made my point - it's late and I'm sleepy Anyway, hope that makes it clear

It's a good point and I agree with you, but random non-forum people aren't going to get hold of the anthology. Really the only way that will happen is if members pass the anthology on to family/friends and get their opinions. When I order my copy, I might see if I can get my girlfriend to read it.

CovenantJr wrote:I mean no disrespect to anyone who contributed to the anthology, but as far as SRD or any other effective stranger is concerned, it could be awful. We are, with the odd discreet exception, a load of untested, unpublished amateurs. Unless you know the people involved, reading the anthology must be quite a gamble.

You could say that about any author you haven't read though, although I do understand where you are coming from.

As for SRD, I'm guessing Romeo will let him know about the Anthology as has been previously mentioned. If he does want to read it, he can mention so to Romeo.

The committee picked out stories they liked, and I did my best to make sure the writing was of publishable quality, so now it's time to hear honest reactions. I'd like to sharpen my game, too. Everyone has to start somewhere.

I finally remembered *today* to order the darn thing. So two copies are on the way to me -- yay! Can't wait to read it!

Well it took me long enough, but I finally ordered the Anthology today! I have some free time this month and I intend to do some reading and writing and relaxing. Can't wait to check out everyone's work.

I have it! I have it! Hey... why is a bio missing?

Xar wrote:I have it! I have it! Hey... why is a bio missing?

Because I could not say anything about myself, nor was there anything to say about my story. However, I have taken some flack from my family for not providing one.

Ah, you wanted to play the "mystery" card, didn't you?

Xar wrote:Ah, you wanted to play the "mystery" card, didn't you?

No.

Well, I finally ordered it. Someone at work wanted to read one of my stories. I thought it would look better in an actual book.

I ordered mine quite late Look forward to reading it although i may only have that done by the time Volume 2 is in print