I published a novel. I published it under a pen-name. Why? Maybe I've been reading too many of the marketing books that Scott Miller recommends (they're down at the bottom of the page - the all-time best). These books say that line extensions are bad: they get you a short-term gain for a long-term loss. In other words, if I used my real name, maybe a handful of the people who read this blog would buy the book, but nobody else would; they'd all say, "Fiction by a videogame developer? No way."
So this is my way of trying to have my cake and eat it, too. You should read this book. If you're like me, the kind of geek who got kind of sick of science fiction and turned to "contemporary literature" but still found yourself responding most to books with a geeky bent, this book is for you. It's geek literature: literature by a geek, about geeks, for geeks. If you liked Microserfs or Plowing the Dark or The Ice Storm or A Separate Peace or The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-Time...what are you waiting for? Topically, it has a lot in common with these books: coming of age, computers, comic books, autism, videogames. And it has sex, drugs, and violence as well. Buy it already. If Amazon runs out of copies you can get it here.
Ever since fourth grade, fiction and videogames were my two loves. In fourth grade, I wrote my first short story - a story about aliens taking over Venus and piloting it on a crash course for Earth - and programmed my first videogame - on my 8k PET computer, a game in which two players piloted two circles and tried to shoot each other with horizontal and vertical dashes. I would switch back and forth between wanting to be a novelist and a videogame developer as I grew up. (Although at one point I wanted to be a psychologist...) As my videogame career moved along, I didn't want to give up writing. I attended writing classes; I participated in--and eventually ran--the Beyond Baroque fiction writing workshop in Venice; I published my short stories on the web (and even in print).
But after a while, I had to face facts: my career as a writer was not going anywhere, and my career as a videogame developer was doing pretty good. I took my fiction off the web, devoted myself more to videogames - and my videogame development career rocketed even higher. (My boss at the time even said, once he noticed that I had started writing about videogames instead of fiction on the internet, "I can see you've made a choice." Is that why he gave me these promotions? Maybe. More evidence that people love a specialist.)
Still, I couldn't quite give up the fiction writing bug completely, and the novel that I had been working on for many years was almost done. So I started taking individual writing lessons from one of my instructors, and he helped me get the book finished. And now it's published. Did I mention you should buy it? And recommend it to all your friends?
Will I write fiction again? Other than storylines for games? I don't know.
So, how does it feel to own some published intellectual property, to know that I own these characters and story? Kinda neat.
Congrats on being published! That's outstanding.
Good grief man, where do you find all the time?! :)
Posted by: Scott Macmillan | October 14, 2004 at 07:22 AM
The book is very good. I highly recommend it to anyone reading this blog.
Specific questions? Email me.
Posted by: Rich | October 14, 2004 at 09:50 AM
Whoa!, It that photo of the author really you?
You look heaps different than what I imagined... which is something alot like a line drawing of a guy with his head in his hand all the time...
Posted by: rodeoclown | October 14, 2004 at 03:32 PM
Where do I find the time? I don't watch television. (Although there was a couple months there...we just got one of those digital recording thingies...that I sunk a lot of time into *Frasier* and *Will & Grace* reruns...fortunately I got sick of 'em before I was completely destroyed.)
Thanks Rich!
And yeah, that's me. I don't know where Gama got that clip art for Manager In A Strange Land...maybe I should have an artist go in and shave the guy's head and give him a beard...
Posted by: Jamie Fristrom | October 17, 2004 at 07:08 PM
Any chance I could purchase an autographed copy?
jwb
Posted by: John Byrd | October 18, 2004 at 04:59 PM
Sure - in fact, anybody who's interested, e-mail me and we'll work something out.
Posted by: Jamie Fristrom | October 18, 2004 at 09:42 PM
If I were to read your book I think the entire time I would be wondering how much of it actually happened to you. :)
Posted by: JasonR | October 25, 2004 at 10:53 AM
That's just what I want you to wonder.
Posted by: Jamie Fristrom | October 25, 2004 at 07:13 PM
Much congratulations man. Rest assured as soon as I get some coin, I'll be emailing you about getting one signed.
They say that everyone has that one story in them that they really want to tell. Was this "your story?"
Posted by: Jeffool | October 25, 2004 at 11:01 PM
just read it. started on monday, finished on tuesday. a real page turner. congratulations.
Posted by: wylye | October 27, 2004 at 01:58 AM
Jamie,
First of all congrats on the book!
Jamie, how's dealing with book publishers vs. dealing with game publishers? Is there advance/royalty system pretty good?
Posted by: gabusch | October 28, 2004 at 09:43 AM
Looks pretty good, Jamie! I think I'll also go for an autographed copy.
But a question: why reserve your more artistic sensibilities for the written word?
Posted by: Walter | October 30, 2004 at 08:39 PM