There’s a lot to cover today! Starting at the top, I am looking with interest at the idea of doing a podcast on various fiction-related topics. Right now I’m trying to secure a pod-partner or two and work out the details, with an eye towards launching sometime this summer or fall. If there’s anything you’d be particularly interested in, or if you’d like to participate, let me know in the comments or via e-mail.

Next item: supernatural erotica, I freely admit, is not my cup of tea. However! If it is your cuppa, please check out The Arcane, by Mur Rathbun, an old pal of mine. I expect it’s quite lurid. ;)

Speaking of checking out fiction, thanks to Jim van Pelt I have recently found out about Every Day Fiction, a website that provides a daily short story via e-mail or RSS feed. Very cool!

And if you want something longer than the average short story, check out The Economics of Niche Programming on the Overthinking It blog. Ostensibly about why good TV shows die young, it also has some interesting points about “the long tail” and how companies that thrive on it (Amazon, Netflix) operate.

So why did BSG succeed when Firefly failed? Why is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia entering its seventh season when Arrested Development struggled for three? What’s the element that those successful shows had in common?

When blogging for OTI, I try to avoid talking about the economic factors that go into the production of art. Economics can seem simplistic — like a “just-so story” — or reductionist. Why does The Walking Dead spend so much time at the campsite? Because they had a limited budget and could only shoot on a few sets. Done! Hit “Publish” and kick back until next week. When all you have is a bachelor’s degree in economics, everything looks like a widget factory.

But when talking about the overall logic of why one show succeeds and another largely identical show fails, economics can’t be avoided. You have to talk about what the market looks like, who the biggest producers and consumers are, and how the incentives line up.

And finally, because it suits the day somehow, let’s have a bit of brilliance from XKCD:

Catcha later!

-The Gneech

If anybody knows how, could you turn off the redirect that sends The Suburban Jungle wiki page to Keenspot? They’re fine and dandy guys, but SJ isn’t part of Keenspot these days.

I submitted an edit to the Keenspot wiki page to this effect, but I don’t know how to do the redirect fix and don’t want to muck it up.

-The Gneech

Noted here for my own reference as much as anything, Writing for Comic Books, by Joe Edkin. Lots of detailed discussion, well thought-out.

Definitely worth a read for comic creator-types!

-The Gneech

When it comes to being an internet persona, Oscar Wilde’s view that “the only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about” is the absolute truth. So if, like me, you are an internet persona, at least in your spare time, it’s good to know where you stand. Periodically, as much to “manage the brand” as to feed my hyper-inflated and fragile ego, I search around for what people are saying about my work.

I’m pleased to discover that The Suburban Jungle has a decent, if not huge, page on TVTropes.org, with an up-to-date link and all.

On the other hand, I’m saddened to find that NeverNever is only mentioned at all as an entry on the “Orphaned Series” page. Which, I must admit, is a fair cop for the most part, but still a poke in the ego.

Brigid and Greg have a nod on what appears to be a draft page called “Will and Grace Are Like Brother and Sister”, which tickles me. :)

The new comic will have plenty of tropes ready-to-go; you can probably guess a few just by looking at the heroes! What can I say, tropes are fun to play with. ;)

-The Gneech

Just a shout to my crisp and lovely U.K. fans — the collected Fictionlets are now available for the Kindle via Amazon.co.uk!

Volume I

Volume II

Come and see me at Confuzzled next year, and I’ll happily sign the screen of your e-reader!

…Okay, maybe I won’t do that. But still! At a mere £0.74 each, what have you got to lose?

-The Gneech

Waldenbooks? Get with the times, buddy. It’s Borders Express now, if you can find one, which most people can’t. ;)

Snagged from Jim Van Pelt‘s LiveJournal.

-The Gneech