Probably the Only Time Ever I Will Be Grouped with Orson Scott Card and George R. R. Martin
(originally appeared on danieljhogan.com)
[dc]I[/dc] joined the website Goodreads recently.
I wanted to use it as a way to track what I am reading, to get suggestions about what to read next, and to try out their Reading Challenge.
After signing up, I saw they had my novel, The Magic of Eyri, listed, and that if I was the author, I could apply for Author Status. Why not? After a couple mouse clicks and a short email, I was given the title of Goodreads Author a few days later (despite my novel being self-published, but hey, take the wins where you can, right?).
Now that I am a Goodreads Author, folks can become “a fan” (which is probably only a few pegs lower than joining the Mr. Belvedere fan club¹). Neat.
I found a few friends of mine on Goodreads and added them, because it is What You Do, and I saw an alert that one of my friends, John, was now “a fan”². I popped over to his page, and I was listed with some of his other Favorite Authors in the sidebar, which gave me a chuckle.
I didn’t expect to be listed alongside big names like Orson Scott Card and George R. R. Martin anytime soon, except perhaps as a punchline.
Joking aside³, I know I do have fans of Magic of Eyri† and the other nonsense I churn out, and when I have been lucky enough to meet them in person, I am always grateful. If you have 10 fans, or ten thousand, each one is a win–and take them where you can.
Except Spambots on Twitter. Those don’t count.
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¹ FACT: I was a member back in the day. I have the stickers and the T-shirt somewhere. This is not a reference to the SNL skit.
² In all honesty, John has been one of my biggest fans and supporters since the book came out in 2007. I don’t forget stuff like that. Same goes for my Magic of Eyri co-star, Robin.
³ I’m a fan of Ender’s Game, and I want to read the Game of Thrones series at some point (and watch the show–c’mon, Netflix). I have played the game though, but before the show came out.
† I have been very lucky to meet a few fans at conventions, and some have even emailed me–mainly when the Magic of Eyri podcast was on hiatus. That kind of stuff keeps me going.
Daniel J. Hogan has many fans: the kind you plug in. Follow him on Twitter, @danieljhogan.
