I don’t think I would lump the general viewing public into his “fans” that he’s alienated. The general viewing public always gravitates toward more “accessible” content. It’s why Sci Fi and Fantasy in general get less readership than a Tom Clancy or Nora Roberts.

I’m not sure how many general viewers look at the Buffy thing and get upset about it, but I can certainly see where the fanbase he did have would get upset by that, thereby shrinking it some.

I can only relate things from my perspective, and I never watched Buffy or Angel because I don’t dig vampires. It sounds similar to the way people act toward George Lucas. There may have been some dropoff, but a lot of people still like whatever he does.

Good to hear your perspective, thanks!

Ten years ago, he could Do No Wrong. Buffy The Vampire Slayer was at its peak, and Angel: The Series was a hot newcomer. Unfortunately, there were a lot of bad decisions made in the next couple of years (e.g. the death of Tara) that BtVS never truly recovered from. To make matters worse, Joss himself went online to address fans’ criticisms of the storylines and said, to all intents and purposes, that anybody who didn’t like the show’s direction was too stupid to appreciate good writing. Anyone familiar with Joss Whedon knows that he goes for the visceral, for the gut-punch, often at the expense of logical storytelling (e.g. Angel’s “happiness clause” on his curse – does that make sense to anybody?) Probably the only reason Firefly fans have not seen this side of Joss’ worldview is because the series was cancelled before Joss could drop the hammer on them.

In this time of media fragmentation, shows can live and die at the whim of a mere handful of fans. (Well, okay, a mere million fans.) Spitting in the face of your show’s fanbase is a sure ticket to cancellation. Granted, Buffy went onto another season after that point, but the ratings told the whole story: a fifteen percent drop across the board. Even if Joss (and Sarah Michelle Gellar) had wanted to do another year, I don’t see how the network was going to buy into it. A good portion of Joss’ former fan club have decided to vote with their remote, and are never going to watch any television series he is writing, producing or otherwise involved with again.

Keep up the good work, Jim!

Scott Sigler is no stranger to the cult of personality. Part of Sigler’s attraction is his high energy level and his style of faux-insult humor for his Junkies. J.C.’s brand, if I may be so bold to say, has been centered around the thriller/intrigue mode thus far, with the 7th Son trilogy, a short-story anthology and Personal Effects: Dark Art. I’ve never thought of J.C. as simply selling a personality, but to each his own interpretation I suppose.

However, the blog post that announced my departure from podcasting Free fiction stated: “I dare not assign responsibility to anyone but myself for this.” I cannot think of a plainer way to phrase this conclusion, which in no way indicts my audience.

Regarding your observation that my “brand” (and the apparent audience motivation to monetarily support my work) was based on my personality and not the quality of my fiction: I cannot reasonably contest this, as it is your opinion.

Another is, I can sum up Sig briefly. “shock horror writer” That doesn’t mean he can’t do anything else, but what it does mean is that he’s an easily identified brand and proved it time and again over a half dozen novels. J.C’s character as a brand was his personality, and that’s something you experience, not something you can sell as easily.
Cheers,
J

I’ve always wondered how all the big names I’ve heard manage to do it. And the answer that occurred to me this week is… they can’t. Seems to me that JC may have gone wrong in at least one thing; he went into debt to promote his novels.

I’m not a business guy… it doesn’t come naturally to me. It’s something I have to work at. So maybe someone can correct me where I’m wrong, add details that flesh out the context, and help me figure out what exactly is going on. But it seems to me that if one wishes to make a living being an author, one shouldn’t spend all the money before one makes it.

The old adage for agent and publisher hunting is that money is supposed to flow to the author, not from the author. May I humbly suggest that any sound business plan takes this into account as well? And that’s what promotion should be to those who want to make a living writing books. The business guys call this ROI, or return on investment. And a good ROI shouldn’t put you into debt, it seems to me. Or at the very least, it should at least guarantee a zero balance and not a negative one, if the worst-case scenario occurs.

I don’t think anybody can afford to “throw everything at the wall to see what sticks” unless you are already rolling in cash. So in addition to the author’s thoughts on the article you mentioned, I think taking a budget into account is a smart way to limit bad risks while accessing which risks are smart.

Just two cents to keep in mind.

– c.

Waiting for the next one.

I do plan on going to both next year since I’m so close to Charlotte. The family beach trip won’t be on the same weekend next year. Hopefully I’ll see you there.

One thing I definitely agree on is the cirularity of the podcast community. There is a lot of “your podcast is awesome. no your podcast is awesome.” However everyone I’ve approached to help me out top to bottom has bent over backwards in most cases. I think much of what you’re talking about may have to do with the fact that there aren’t a lot of podcasters reaching “up” to the more popular folks (or reaching “down” for that matter).

As you know I’m sort of in two podcasting communities, the podcast novelists and the Christian podcasters. In an upcoming project I’m going to try and bridge that gap a little more. There will always be “cliques” or circles though. Birds of a feather and all that.

Damn, I lost my train of thought.

• He’s a good sport, who out of “the year from hell” can scrape together enough good will to treat the situation with humor and camaraderie.

• What’s more (any prospective employers out there, listen up!), he’s a Web 2.0 Zen Master who could take what was at best a questionable prank and at worst outright theft, and turn it into a months-long experience that hooked thousands of listeners, Twitterers, bloggers, and at least one inspired cartoonist-educator. Few of us could have done as well.

As for those who had problems with “The Great Reveal” — remember that “How do you feel?” always has a real answer, and your discomfort doesn’t mean you didn’t get exactly what you asked for.

I was not at Balticon, and have never physically met any of the players in this drama, and yet through the magic that is twitter count Tee a friend. That being said, I think I still have a somewhat unbiased opinion.

You take what is mine, make me the butt of the joke, ask me how I feel about it, and then get upset when I say it wasn’t ALL good? Because that’s what I heard. I heard a man say thank you for caring, but please be gentle. You take offense at this? Unmitigated gall.

If you’ve ever gone through a really down time in your life, and the place you went for succor turned out to be just another kick in the gut, I would be surprised if you didn’t feel for Tee during the reveal. Choked me up.

As Pip said, pranks, by their nature, can go bad. Be gentle, be kind, and don’t get upset if the target doesn’t react exactly as antcipated.

Re: Krakenthief — I can’t argue with anything you said. It was an awkward situation and no one could do much to change that. Everyone knew it had gone on way too long, like a movie that takes too long to wrap up when you already know how it ends…

BUT…

I can imagine another way to play it. Treat it like the end of a heroic, daring, challenging quest, and HERE YOU ARE! You’ve sang JoCo, photoshopped the podio-gang, paid tribute to the troops, slayed the dragon, rescued the princess, … AND NOW it’s time to take. back. what’s. YOURS. Yes, YOU are the triumphant quester and you will now receive your prize, and accept the accolades of those who held their breath as they looked on, and rooted and cheered for you at every step!

And basically, go out on a high note.

Just a thought on how it could have been done differently.

I am truly humbled and quite blown away from this episode. It was brought to my attention via Twitter, and I’ve had a listen. As far as people saying “How can Jim make an opinion on this as he wasn’t there…” the audio is online and unedited, in its entirety. And as no one locked the door, no one was a hostage. People could have gotten up and left. Some did. If you left because you got uncomfortable, though, did you miss the point where — as Jim mentioned — I said “This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”? If you did, then maybe you need to hold your judgment on the panel. It’s like walking out of the USUAL SUSPECTS before the ending so you discover the reveal of who exactly is Kaiser Soze.

As for me, Jared Axelrod, and Laura Burns, we are all friends. I would even argue I feel closer to Jared because of my honesty. Laura also knows I am okay, and I am still her friend. I am hoping we can get into Imagine That Studios — me, Laura, and Cmar — have a sit down with some drinks, and do a less emotional, more critical look at KrakensQuest, both with what worked, what didn’t, and why people are reacting the way they are.

Again, thank you for stepping up and speaking your mind. I do appreciate it.

No one cares about this part, it seems. heh

An hour ago I got home from seeing Star Trek, so listening to your review was perfect timing for me. Really enjoyed your thoughts on the casting. As for Scotty, I think you’re opinion that he was brought on for some comic relief is true, but it was also true on the show. Was Scotty ever a tragic character? Did he ever have a truly dramatic role? He was usually doing or saying something that had to do with either engineering or humor. In both the movie and the TV show, his engineering dialogue/acting served the plot points, and the rest of his character served for comic relief. in So, in that respect, he part in the movie wasn’t far off from his part in the TV show.
I totally agree w/you on the continuity and plausibility of time travel — they both work without much problem or argument. And it fit neatly together without too much suspense of disbelief.

I look forward to more of your podcasts!

Oh, and if you’re looking to add one more podcast to your listening schedule, you may want to check out The Scope: http://www.thescopeshow.com/ I’ve been listening to them for a little over a year now, and they cover the same geeky topics as you (maybe a bit too much of the music review), and they’re a funny bunch of guys.

Thanks again.

Towner was a terrific guest – I think he should interview you next time around! He was sharp and on the ball, and really kept the show going. He totally pwned you with that “Packers” line! Oh who are we kidding — you should really start transitioning the full-time host spot over to him.

It took ’til 11:30 to figure out whether you actually WORKED at Best Buy or not! :-p

I’ve only just discovered your show (no idea why I haven’t been here sooner), but really looking forward to the next one!

Hmm… podcast novels… well, I do have an eBook I could do… maybe in micro-episodes (5 minutes each)? I have an idea!

http://www.theleviathanchronicles.com/

Thanks for the great Scott Sigler interviews. I think this is the best set of interviews with Scott that I have heard yet.

Thanks also for playing my promo!

I don’t talk Star Wars and Indiana Jones much because there’s not much more that can be said about them in the world.

So…when are you going to make with the more on the sequals, man?!

Carissa

Steve “Snowball” Saylor
http://stevesaylor.net

“Hodge this isnt a hydro-spanner.” One of the best lines in Star Wars history! I am just blown away. I truly hope you change your mind and continue on with either, this story, or another Star Wars story. They are so incredible.

Keep up the amazing work!

-Jesse

Again, another great episode. The feedback you read about how your dialogue describes the scene without being obvious was right on. I didn’t even know that’s what you were doing. I just kept “seeing” what you wanted us to “see”.

W00t to Indiana Jim!

Justin

Bruised ego and bruised backside included, it was SO WORTH IT.

Also, Jim, loved the reference to the cell number they were being kept in.

By the way, your production on these episodes is AWESOME!!!!! It is really making my 1.5 hr drive to work much shorter when I hear these The writing is tight, and the story moves right a long. The soundscape, effects, everything are perfect. And I’m listening to this while I drive in a 1982 Diesel Suburban.

Awesome Job!!!

I don’t mind being wrong. It’s happened before, it’ll happen again. I’m not quite ready to concede my forecast, however. I’m hearing an awful lot about how it’s essential, and how it is useful. I’m not arguing that point. My point has is that it will not be as effective in the future because people will tune it out unless it’s very cleverly done. I’m just waiting for the next round of marketing to bring the clever.

So go on. Prove me wrong! I challenge all of you authors out there to do so. I’ll be happy to be wrong when all of you change the world of publishing as we know. If being wrong in a single blog post is the worst thing that comes of this, then that’s just fine.

(As for “so early 2008, ” well…I’ll just have to be more careful in how I title posts in the future. )

Anywho, keep up the good work. If the second half is as good as the first, it’ll still be one of the best Star Wars audio dramas I’ve heard in a long, long time.

I gotta disagree. A lot of new media is provided for free on the Internet, to be sure… I think “free” is part of new media because the Internet makes it very easy to give things away.

I think what new media is really about is putting choice of consumption in the hands of the consumer, and making the consumer the arbiter of quality. The success or failure of an Amazon run (or any aspect of an author’s marketing) depends on what the audience decides that author’s work is worth.

Thanks Ed, for adding your sentiments as well.

Coincidentally I am a big man. About 270, I think….

It takes a big man to admit he was wrong, even in part.

I don’t necessarily disagree with you in principle. You have been very helpful in properly framing the debate.

I think there is a disconnect between the creator and the consumer here. I believe I may have expressed how authors see things, when I was essentially trying to express how we consumers see the Amazon Rush. I think there are a lot of us who have bought into the “revolution” part of this, and you can’t deny that the new media creators have used that energy to promote their works.

I think where the intent has been sales and additional reader exposure, the selling point has been supporting the author, and I think a lot of us support the authors so that they can move the career forward. Perhaps the intent of the author is different than the intent of their fans, and naturally so?

You say “You cannot tell me that there is not one person out there thinking ‘boy if only I could have a run like Sigler.’”

like it’s a bad thing. It’s not. It’s an awesome thing. I hope many of us feel that way. The problem would be if we were unrealistic about what it takes or if we failed to recognize that we need to customize our approach for our own work and personality.

If you are specifically suggesting that there are authors believing they can get a small press deal, do a rush and then get a large press deal for the same book, well I don’t know, maybe there are a few. But the problem with anyone who thinks that is less a problem with the Amazon rush and more a problem with some fundamental misunderstandings. Such an author will likely never even make it to step one, getting published by a small press, unless he/she starts focusing on the specifics of his/her own situation.

Thank you for following Chris Miller’s lead and crafting such an evocative post.