A few questions about INDEXING, answered.
The first episode of Indexing (check this link for more details) has now been out for a little over a week. Response has been generally positive, which makes me very happy, but there have been a few recurring questions, so I figured I'd take a moment to answer them.
1. Can I get Indexing for my Nook/in the iBookstore/for any format other than Kindle?
No.
I'm not trying to be harsh: it's just that this particular question has a very simple answer. Indexing was commissioned by 47North for the Kindle Serials Program; "Kindle" is right there in the name. While I am historically opposed to "format exclusives," I am okay with this one for two major reasons. One, the project would not have been possible if not for 47North saying "we want this for the Kindle, we will pay you to write it." Two, there will be a World English print edition in December, meaning that even those of us who don't us Kindles will get the opportunity to read it. It's just going to take a little longer.
2. Isn't this just going to increase piracy?
Probably. But I really do hope that anyone who chooses to pirate the serial because they don't use the Kindle will then buy the finished print edition, because I really, really enjoy feeding my cats.
3. Didn't I read this like, four years ago?
The serial novel Indexing is based on a revised and expanded version of the short story "Indexing," which originally appeared on the Book View Cafe in September 2009. The original story is no longer available online, and has not been collected in any print volumes.
4. Why can't I buy this outside the US?
The Kindle Serial Program is currently US-only, which means that the biweekly installments are only available to United States residents/people who know how to fool their Kindles. The print edition, as noted above, is World English, and will be available wherever there is an Amazon partner site. If you have questions about why this is, please ask Amazon; I cannot help you.
5. Is the Aarne-Thompson Index a real thing?
Yes! I own one. It is my pride and joy and it is enormous and it cost a lot of money and one day Bill Willingham will pay someone to break into my house in the middle of the night so that he can claim it as his own. Sometimes I just sit and pet it for hours. It's a very helpful scholastic tool, for a folklorist, and a really great doorstop for people who don't read indexes for funsies.
6. You know Bill Willingham? Does that mean you know about how there's a Snow White in Fables?
I do, and I do, but our Snows are very different people. Snow White is what's called a "public domain character," which is how there can be so many versions of her without Disney deciding to sue us all for copyright infringement. I love her because she's a fantastic mirror to hold up to other stories. She brings the apples and the glass coffins, we bring everything else. For other awesome Snow Whites, read Catherynne Valente's Six-Gun Snow White, Neil Gaiman's Snow, Glass, Apples, and Jim C. Hines's The Stepsister Scheme. Archetypes are for everybody!
The next episode will be out this coming Tuesday, and I just finished the first draft of episode nine. I think you're going to like what's coming!
Got any more questions?
1. Can I get Indexing for my Nook/in the iBookstore/for any format other than Kindle?
No.
I'm not trying to be harsh: it's just that this particular question has a very simple answer. Indexing was commissioned by 47North for the Kindle Serials Program; "Kindle" is right there in the name. While I am historically opposed to "format exclusives," I am okay with this one for two major reasons. One, the project would not have been possible if not for 47North saying "we want this for the Kindle, we will pay you to write it." Two, there will be a World English print edition in December, meaning that even those of us who don't us Kindles will get the opportunity to read it. It's just going to take a little longer.
2. Isn't this just going to increase piracy?
Probably. But I really do hope that anyone who chooses to pirate the serial because they don't use the Kindle will then buy the finished print edition, because I really, really enjoy feeding my cats.
3. Didn't I read this like, four years ago?
The serial novel Indexing is based on a revised and expanded version of the short story "Indexing," which originally appeared on the Book View Cafe in September 2009. The original story is no longer available online, and has not been collected in any print volumes.
4. Why can't I buy this outside the US?
The Kindle Serial Program is currently US-only, which means that the biweekly installments are only available to United States residents/people who know how to fool their Kindles. The print edition, as noted above, is World English, and will be available wherever there is an Amazon partner site. If you have questions about why this is, please ask Amazon; I cannot help you.
5. Is the Aarne-Thompson Index a real thing?
Yes! I own one. It is my pride and joy and it is enormous and it cost a lot of money and one day Bill Willingham will pay someone to break into my house in the middle of the night so that he can claim it as his own. Sometimes I just sit and pet it for hours. It's a very helpful scholastic tool, for a folklorist, and a really great doorstop for people who don't read indexes for funsies.
6. You know Bill Willingham? Does that mean you know about how there's a Snow White in Fables?
I do, and I do, but our Snows are very different people. Snow White is what's called a "public domain character," which is how there can be so many versions of her without Disney deciding to sue us all for copyright infringement. I love her because she's a fantastic mirror to hold up to other stories. She brings the apples and the glass coffins, we bring everything else. For other awesome Snow Whites, read Catherynne Valente's Six-Gun Snow White, Neil Gaiman's Snow, Glass, Apples, and Jim C. Hines's The Stepsister Scheme. Archetypes are for everybody!
The next episode will be out this coming Tuesday, and I just finished the first draft of episode nine. I think you're going to like what's coming!
Got any more questions?