Текст книги "Hollow World"

Автор книги: Michael J. Sullivan

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Sixteen

Time Well Spent

“ Welcome back!” Ellis heard Alva exclaim the moment he and Pax returned. “ Will you be staying? Is the temperature in here too cold? Too hot? Can I brew you some tea, Pax? Some coffee, Ellis Rogers?”

“We’re fine, Alva,” Pax replied.

“ Soup then?”

“We don’t need anything. Really.”

“ Okay—I’ll make soup.”

They walked to the balcony. Ellis wished he still had a pair of the geomancer glasses. Someone was waving to him from across the park, and he couldn’t tell who it was. He consoled himself with the realization that even with the glasses, he wouldn’t know. He was back in Hollow World, and no one wore name tags.

And everyone knew him.

He’d already achieved pop-icon status before the story about the Cult of Ren had spread. When news circulated that Ellis had helped save the world, he finally had become the modern Charles Lindbergh as Pax had predicted, only with a good dash of Marilyn Monroe thrown in. Three different producers had asked him to consult on holo productions of the events. Five others asked to do his biography, in full interactive immersion, and another—a scholar with the University of Wegener—wanted him to consult on a series of historical holograms where users could explore twenty-first century America. They would build it; all he had to do was walk around and tell them what was inaccurate. Ellis was actually considering that last one.

“Is Vin here?” Ellis asked.

“No, Vin has moved back home. I don’t suspect I’ll need Vin watching over me anymore.”

Ellis felt depressed. He didn’t know why. The feeling wasn’t anything solid, nothing he could get a grasp on. He just didn’t understand it. Everything had concluded for the best, he supposed. But looking out at the beautiful view, standing beside Pax in that wonderful home, he had an overwhelming sense of…guilt. Survivor’s guilt perhaps. Everyone he had known was dead and gone—Warren too. Even though he hadn’t meant to, and even though Warren had to be stopped, he could not get past the fact that he had killed his best friend. And for that, he was being called a hero.

Pax took his hand and squeezed. “Give it time,” Pax assured him.

Ellis nodded.

Pax looked over the balcony. “They’re playing again.”

“ Mezos versus the Meerkats,” Alva said.

“Who’s winning?”

“ Mezos are up by one.”

“Ah.” Pax smiled. “That’s good. I hope they win this time.”

A wonderful, multicolored bird fluttered up and landed on the railing, where it sat, watching both of them with a cocked head. Fall was coming to Detroit, but on the balcony in Hollow World it looked like spring.

“ Pax,” Alva said.

“Yes?”

“ This might not be important to you right now, but you did insist that I tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“ Quad seven grass—it’s about to start.”

A smile grew across Pax’s lips. “Thanks, Alva.”

Pax released Ellis’s hand and took out the portal device.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re going to the grass, to my favorite place in the world—Quad seven.”

“What’s in Quad seven?”

With a single touch, Pax called up the portal, proving the location was preset.

“Pax? What’s in Quad seven?”

Pax continued to smile. “Follow me.”

The two walked through the portal into an open field of lush, knee-high grass and beautiful purple flowers. Soaring high above, and to either side, were dramatic cliffs—sheer faces of chiseled granite thrusting up out of a tranquil meadow. Slender white lines of waterfalls plummeted to a valley floor that was ringed in tall pines. The place was oddly familiar. He had looked at this scene nearly every day, but this was the first time he’d ever seen it in color.

Ansel Adams was a great photographer, but the photo that had hung in Ellis’s garage for years didn’t begin to do the scene justice. Standing in the meadow, he felt small and grand at the same time. To experience something of such majesty took his breath away more than the fibrosis ever had. But that wasn’t all. Overhead, the vast sky was a cauldron of clouds. Giant thunderheads rolled and billowed, dark and voluminous. The birch trees, whose trunks were stark white lines against the charcoal, green, and purple clouds, swayed in a strong gusting wind.

A flash of lightning arced, and Ellis realized there was something ancient about thunderstorms, some primordial connection to the human spirit. Awe-inspiring by sheer size and power, this had always been at least one face of God.

Thunder cracked, and Ellis felt the bass pass through him, felt it shudder the earth. The effect was amazing, and he couldn’t help being thrilled, couldn’t help smiling.

“A lot of people think trees are sentient,” Pax said, watching the birches sway. “I, on the other hand, knowthey are. And they’re incredible. I love being here with them at times like this. Watching them in the wind, feeling what they feel. It’s like they’re dancing. Showing us what to do—what we should be doing.”

“Dancing?”

“Try it.” Pax took hold of his hands and began to sway.

Ellis felt foolish. Pax clearly didn’t.

Arms outstretched, face raised to the sky, Pax began to twirl as the first raindrops hit them. “You see, Ellis Rogers, I don’t just hear thoughts of people. I feel everything—all of it. Every living cell out here. Every blade of grass, every leaf, every flower, ladybug, deer, rabbit, and mouse. I knowthe joy of every parched root rejoicing with nature’s gift.” Pax pulled off the bowler hat and shouted to the sky, “I just love rain days!”

 

Afterword

Hollow Worldis a story I never meant to write. At any given time I have seven or eight novels sitting in a queue waiting their turn, and Hollow Worldwasn’t one of them. It started out because of an anthology called The End—Visions of Apocalypseedited by N. E. White. Nila runs writing contests on sffworld and wanted to put out an anthology to showcase some new writers. She asked me and a few other established authors to act as anchors in the hopes of a wider readership. I wrote a short story called “Greener Grass”. It told the tale of an embittered, angry man who goes forward in time to find an utopia, but since the world he finds is so different than the values he believes in (God and country) to him it’s the worst possible future. I won’t spoil what happens to him (in case you want to read the short story) but when I had finished it, I realized it really didn’t fit the concept of The End Anthology. I went on to write another short story for that anthology, “Burning Alexandria” and now I had this short story left over.

I showed “Greener Grass” to my wife and a few writer friends, and they all loved it. They wanted more…and I had more to say. Many of the concepts from Hollow Worldwere thoughts that had been floating in my head for decades and just didn’t have the right place to come out. As I worked on other projects, ideas for Hollow Worldkept coming to me. I’d jot them down in my notebook and try to keep focused on the book I was writing at the time.

The next book on my queue was Rhune. This is the first novel in a three-book series: The First Empire, a new fantasy series based in the distant past of the world or Elan (setting for my Riyria Revelations and Riyria Chronicles). My thought was that those books should sell well, as they have an established readership who has already expressed an interest in that plot line. Writing Rhune was the smart thing to do. But I’m pretty much known for notdoing what is smart when it comes to my writing career.

Hollow Worldwas a huge risk. It was in a different genre, and one whose readership had been dwindling over the years. A quick look at the publishing landscape made it clear that the only science fiction books that were selling well were those of an established franchise like Star Warsor Halo, space opera, and military science fiction. This book was none of those. Not to mention it touched on subjects that people argue over constantly: liberal versus conservative, gay rights, religion, and God. There are plenty of ideologies in this book that people will feel strongly about, and I’m sure many people will hate the book, and possibly me, for some of the things expressed within its covers. But none of that could diminish my desire to write this story.

While we are on the subject of ideologies, I’m sure several people will infer what they believe are my opinions on any number of topics. They’re probably almost certainly wrong. As a writer, I spend a great deal of time imagining myself in others people shoes and I’ve been known to argue one side of an argument over a few beers, and once I’ve convinced my drinking buddy to agree with my position, I turn around and argue the opposite side and bring him right back to where they started. It’s an annoying habit, but it can be fun.

In my book Rise of EmpireRoyce Melborn is arguing with Hadrian Blackwater about the notion of absolutes. They are discussing how an object (in this case a dagger) appears differently when viewed from different perspectives. Hadrian concludes that neither perception is correct, but Royce has a different take: that both are right. He goes on to say, “One truth doesn’t refute another. Truth doesn’t lie in the object, but in how we see it.” In other words, two people can have completely different opinions and yet they can both be “right.” The problem, as I see it, is that most believe that if they are “right” then the other opinion must be “wrong.” I believe in dualities.

But getting back to the writing of Hollow World, from a logical point of view, I shouldn’t have written it. I knew it would be a tough sell to publishers, and it may never find an audience. But I don’t care. I love the way the book came out and if the only people who ever love it are my wife and myself, well then that’s enough for me.

After reading the book my agent told me she loved it (okay so that’s three, but in some respects she is paid to love my work), and then she said what I already knew, which is it will be a hard sell. If she could get an offer, it wouldn’t be for much. No new news there. She sent the book to Orbit. My editor echoed Teri’s opinion…“Great book. No market. We’ll have to pass…and oh, by the way, why isn’t Michael working on the next fantasy series?”

In many ways the rejection was a relief. I had been wanting to do some self-publishing for a while. This isn’t to say I’m turning my back on traditional publishing…remember I’m a believer in dualities. And while much of the publishing landscape is waging a religious war between traditional and self-publishing, I probably understand better than most (because I’ve done both) that there are pros and cons to each. Truth be told, I had every intention on self-publishing The Riyria Chronicles but Orbit’s offer was more than I thought I could make through self-publishing, so I signed a contract for it.

So anyway, I had gotten it into my head that I would self-publish Hollow World, but there was a miscommunication and my agent had submitted the book to another publisher after Orbit passed it over. They loved it (that’s what, four now?), and made a nice five-figure offer. Robin ran the numbers, and determined that I could still earn more with Hollow Worldthrough self-publishing so I turned it down.

For those that don’t know, I originally self-published the first five books of The Riyria Revelations and then later the series was sold to Orbit. While our self-published books were quality products, they were also produced on a shoestring budget. I did all the covers, Robin was the main editor, and we paid a few hundred dollars to freelance copy editors. We’ve always had the philosophy that if you are going to self-publish a book, you need to have a product equal to what New York is releasing.

Having published The Riyria Revelations and The Riyria Chronicles traditionally, we had experienced the “New York” process. We wanted to use the same professionals that had worked on those projects (see the acknowledgements for full details), and so we discarded the shoestring approach to have Hollow Worldproduced just as if it had come out of New York. We estimated needing about $6,000 for cover art and editing. Having seen several authors successfully use Kickstarter, it seemed like a good way to raise cash to fund the startup costs.

We made launched the Kickstarter with a goal of $3,000. The thought being that we would contribute half the money and the readership the other half. Plus I thought $3,000 was a reachable goal but $6,000 would be a stretch. If the funding failed, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, we could always get a small business loan or take the money out of our nest egg, but I didn’t want to have the failure around my neck like an albatross. It turns out that my fear wasn’t warranted as the generous Kickstarter supporters gave $30,857. I can’t say enough good things about the people who funded the project—more about them in the acknowledgements.

So Hollow Worldwas going to be released, but there were still a few problems. I have had great success in the audio book world and I wanted my fans who “listen” to the book to be able to get Hollow Worldas well. Usually audio books are sold by the publisher as a subsidiary right (keeping 50% in the process…ouch!) but I had no publisher. Luckily my audio book publisher read and loved Hollow World(what’s that, five now?) and were willing to sign it even without a big-publisher attached. What’s more they gave me four times the money as for The Riyria Revelations and I get 100% of the royalty earned rather than splitting with a traditional publisher. Double win!

Signing the audio book rights got my wife to thinking. Our problem with traditional publishers were that they brought no added value to ebooks and took three times the money. But when it comes to print, they actually have tremendous value. They get the books in to bookstores and libraries, and their share of profits is much more reasonable than the standard division with ebooks. Plus, the rights revert much more cleanly when dealing with just print. Once all the books are sold, you are indeed “out of print” and the rights revert. What we really needed was a print-only deal.

If you’ve ever been to an online forum where self-published writers talk to one another you hear this a lot: “I’ll never sell my ebook book rights, but if a publisher wants the print rights, I’d sell those.” This is great line to throw out, but unless you are REALLY ingrained in publishing you don’t realize just how ludicrous a statement this is. Publishers don’t work this way. They know that the biggest share is going to come from ebooks and they aren’t willing to settle for just half that pie. They want it all and that means all the contracts are for combined print, ebook, and usually audio as well.

There have only been a few print-only deals, and all of them from authors with a huge number of sales. The first was Bella Andre in October 2012 (just a year ago) when Harlequin paid her seven figures. In December 2012 Hugh Howey got one from Simon & Schuster. Then in January 2013 Colleen Hoover (another huge-selling romance author) got a print-only deal from Atria (imprint of Simon & Schuster). The only other print-only deals I know about were done by Brandon Sanderson who kept the ebook rights to two novellas: The Emperor’s Souland Legion.

The problem is that each of these authors are New York Times bestsellers. They either have sold in excess of one million books, or have exceeded 500,000 + a major film option (Hugh Howey). I’m NOT in their league. So the chance of me getting a print-only deal weren’t good.

My wife has a saying, “You never know until you try.” She knew about Laurie McLean and her new agency Foreword Literary because she represents Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine, two excellent writers who we’ve become friends with over the years. Laurie’s background is in public relations and she started Foreword with an interesting mission. The following is from her website: “We blend the tried-and-true methods of traditional publishing with the brash new opportunities engendered by digital publishing, emerging technologies, and an evolving author-agent relationship.” It sounded like exactly what we were looking for.

Robin talked to Laurie about managing the print-only, movie and foreign language rights. While two of those rights are still being worked, Laurie did land a print-only deal. Tachyon Publications, who is the same publisher who did Brandon’s print-only deal for The Emperor’s Soulwill be doing a print-only deal for Hollow World. This is great because readers who love print have problems getting access to self-published titles. They are generally not in bookstores and libraries, but because Tachyon is a traditional publisher with an extensive distribution network, these hurdles will be easily jumped. They sold tens of thousands copies of Brandon’s novella, and while my name is not as big as Sanderson’s, Robin and I are going to do everything in our power to show Tachyon, and publishing in general, that more print-only deals need to be signed…and not just with the mega-sellers.

So there you have it, a little about how the book came to be. Some may find this boring, but a lot of aspiring authors should find the changes in the industry worth learning about. I do hope you enjoyed Hollow World. While it was originally written as a standalone novel I have thought about many more stories that could be told about Ellis and Pax and the world in which they live. As I said, writing Hollow Worldwas a gamble and I’d like to be a bit smarter about any future projects in this world. So if you liked it, and want more, please drop me a line at [email protected] or better yet, take a few minutes to answer this poll. If enough people indicate they want more, I’d like nothing better than to oblige.

– Michael J. Sullivan

July 2013

 

Acknowledgements

Hollow World, more than any other book that I’ve written to date, is the product of many people. And to each of them I’m eternally grateful. This list is bound to be extensive, but bear with me because if you liked Hollow World, then you have these people to thank for it.

First there is Nila White, who ended up planting the seed of Hollow Worldwhen she asked me to create a short story for her anthology The End—Visions of Apocalypse. Nila did a tremendous job pulling together anchor authors and judging entries by new authors as a way of showcasing new talent. This isn’t a money-making project for her, and the anthology is often free or sometimes a measly $0.99. There are great stories in there including a fabulous one by Hugh Howey. Please give it a try.

I had an incredible group of beta readers for Hollow Worldincluding: Alexander Grevy, Algernon, Audrey Wilkinson, Bobby McDaniel, Cait M. Hakala, Caroline Reiss, Clay Ashby, Elizabeth Berndl, Gary Kempson, Greg, Heather A. McBride, Jeffrey Carr, Jeffery Miller, Libby Heily, Marc Grenier, Marcelle McCallum, Nathaniel and Sarah Kidd, Piero, Sebastian O’Sullivan, Shane Enochs, Shawn Haggard, Sheri Gestring, Simon, Stephanie Van Pelt, William Watson, and a few people who asked to remain anonymous. While I can’t call out each and every one of their contributions, they are sure to see aspects in the final book that are the direct result of their feedback. I wish every author had such conscientious and astute beta group. All of you are welcome to be my beta readers anytime.

I’d like to specifically call out Jeff Miller whose enthusiasm helped convince me of Hollow World’svalue. Jeff is a fine writer in his own right (if you like well-written mystery/thrillers then check out his Bubble Gum Thief, the first in his Dagny Gray series). Jeff provided some exceptional ideas each of which improved the book.

I’d like to thank Marc Simonetti who produced some amazing artwork depicting Hollow World. Not only did it provide me incredible inspiration, but it was the glue to which all my pre-promotion for the book centered around. People saw his incredible artwork and just knew this was a project of the highest quality. His artwork also used for posters and bookmarks giving an incredible perk to those who contributed to the Kickstarter. I’ve seen framed and mounted copies of the posters from many readers and I’m honored that my idea, and Marc’s talent, is adorning their walls. Or those that don’t know Marc did the covers of my French editions of The Riyria Revelations and has created covers for many other fantasy authors such as Patrick Rothfuss (also French editions of The Name of the Windand The Wise Man’s Fear) and George R. R. Martin (Mexican edition of Game of Thrones).

One of the advantages of traditional publishing is structural (sometimes known as content editing). This is an important job done by highly skilled professionals. Structural editors concern themselves with things such as pacing, plot holes, and character development. They are the “reader’s advocate,” who know from years of experience what works and what doesn’t. When I thought I would be self-publishing, I didn’t want to skip this important step. Luckily for me, Betsy Mitchell, who was the editor-in-chief at Del Rey for more than a decade, is now offering her services directly. Betsy has over thirty years experience editing science fiction and fantasy and has worked on more than 150 books from authors such as Michael Chabon, Terry Brooks, and many New York Times bestselling authors. Betsy confirmed what I suspected, that Hollow Worldwas already a good book…then she made it better.

Due to the generous contributions of the people in Kickstarter, I was able to afford not just one, but two exceptional copy editors. Both routinely work for the big-five publishers, including Macmillan, Tor, St. Martin’s Press, Del Rey, Putnam, and Ballantine Books. One has two masters degrees (one in English and Writing and the other in Creative Writing and English ) and has been nominated for the Nebula, World Fantasy, and Tiptree awards. The other has edited Naomi Novik’s Victory of Eagles, a number of the books in the Star Wars franchise, and two New York Times bestsellers for Steve Berry. The two of them saved me from innumerable embarrassments. If Betsy took a good book and made it great, then these two editors made me look smarter and more polished than I am.

Then there was the editing that Tachyon Publications contributed. Jacob Weisman was extremely helpful with feedback, especially in the early portions of the novel, which made the work more focused and faster paced. Another pass by their copy editing staff put another coat of polish that gave it that extra shine.

Of course anyone who knows anything about me and my writing knows that my wife, Robin, is integral to every work that is produced. She is always my “first reader” whose opinion ultimately decides whether a book will see the light of day or die hidden in a drawer…and no she doesn’t love “everything” I write. During the writing of Hollow WorldI would discuss in vague generalities various aspects about the book. After many of these conversations she professed how scared she was. You see, Robin is not a science fiction fan, and from the bits and pieces I told her she was far from enthusiastic. In fact, I knew she would have preferred for me to be writing other books that she was already anxious to read. When I finished Hollow WorldI thought it was a good book, but it was only after she devoured the whole manuscript in a day, then requested, “more please,” that my suspicions were confirmed.

Robin’s fingerprints are all over Hollow World. Like Betsy and Jacob, she performed two comprehensive sets of structural edits. She helped organize and coordinate the beta readers, including compiling all their edits and comments into one massive file so I could easily process all their feedback. Then she did that again with edits from Betsy, Jacob, the copy editors, and my agents. She masterminded the Kickstarter, and provided much of the logistical support for it. She worked with Teri to get the audio book contract with Recorded Books and with Laurie to get the print-only deal with Tachyon Publications. There is absolutely no way I could have made Hollow Worlda reality without her tireless efforts. She has always and will always have my love, but she also has my undying gratitude for constantly dealing with all the business aspectsof my writing and turning my dreams into reality.

Hollow World’s audience potential has been greatly increased due to the efforts of two fine literary agents. Teri Tobias, who has also represented The Riyria Revelations and The Riyria Chronicles, and secured the audio book rights. Laurie McLean did the near impossible by obtaining a print-only contract for a mid-list author. I thank both of them for their efforts and talents they brought to this project.

The audio edition of Hollow Worldwill be published by Recorded Books, who did an exceptional job with my Riyria Revelations and The Riyria Chronicles. Recorded Books has an incredible recording facility and top notch voice talent. As indication of their quality, the audio book of Theft of Swordsgarnered an Audie Award nominee for 2013 and that wasn’t the only title they were short-listed for. In all they had six titles and the list of awards for their books are too numerous to list here, but you can check them out here. Recorded Books’ acquisition team is picking the best and the brightest in speculative fiction and have produced titles by J.R.R. Tolkien, Diana Gabaldon, Charlaine Harris, Brandon Sanderson, Cormac McCarthy, Gregory Macquire, Marion Zimmer Bradley, James S. A. Corey, Peter V. Brett, Gail Carriger, Joe Haldeman, Connie Willis, Piers Anthony, Daniel Abraham, Ursula K. Le Guin, Kim Stanley Robinson, Ilona Andrews, Naomi Novik, Mark Lawrence, and hundreds more.

The print edition of Hollow Worldis released by Tachyon Publications. They are the perfect example of a publisher who is doing things right. In the new digital-age, most publishers are trying to lock up as many rights as possible, whereas Tachyon works with authors to meet their needs. Their willingness to take just a slice of the pie is a smart move, which I hope will be a beacon for the rest of the industry. For those unfamiliar with Tachyon Publications, they have published works by Brandon Sanderson, Charles de Lint, Tim Powers, Peter S. Beagle, Patricia A. McKillip, and anthologies by Ellen Datlow, John Joseph Adams, and others. Patricia’s Wonders of the Invisible World, was a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of 2012. They have had two Hugo Award nominations in 2013, with a win for The Emperor’s Soul, plus they have won Nebulas in 2006, 2012, and 2013.

Okay, so above are all the people who contributed to the actual creation or distribution process in one way or another. And as I said I’m very grateful to them. But I also want to acknowledge the amazing group of readers who contributed to the Kickstarter project. This was the first time I had ever tried Kickstarter, and since then I’ve backed many projects (and plan to do more). Kickstarter is changing the way in which products are conceived and delivered, and I love this brave new world they are creating. Backers of Kickstarter projects not only get a product they want, but they get exclusive perks available only to them and the satisfaction of knowing their contributions made a new product possible.

As I mentioned in my afterword, I had estimated a need for $6,000 and so I held my Kickstarter for $3,000 (one-half coming from me and one-half from my readership). As it turned out they funded the project at more than 1000 percent, so when all was said and done, not only did I have money to hire the talented professionals that I had picked out, but I also ended up with what was essentially an advance. This is exactly the way traditional publishing works, but instead of getting the advance from a publisher, I got it from the readers. This really has made me think about the changes in the industry. I know several authors who have shelved projects that they felt strongly about but were either turned down or offered too little to sign. Since these are previously published authors, they already have fan bases and I’m hoping that they’ll see Hollow Worldas an example of how they can continue to pursue their dreams by writing the stories they want and finding an audience on their own. So not only did the backers of this Kickstarter make Hollow Worldpossible, hopefully it’ll provide a template for other authors to follow for their own works.

I thanked each person by name in the Kickstarter edition, but I wanted to once again give them all my heartfelt thanks for their belief in the project, their financial support, and all the amazing reviews and comments they have provided since getting their books. This book belongs to you just as much as it does to those that participated in the production of the book, and I’m humbled by all that you have done for Hollow World.

– Michael J. Sullivan

October 2013