It's early days yet--obviously, dear sweet gods above and below, it isn't even HALLOWEEN--but people are starting to talk about which series will be eligible for next year's Hugo ballot. I...I need a nap.
Anyway, I saw a small argument about whether the October Daye books would be eligible for 2019, mostly due to the question, "Has she added sufficient words to the series?" Which made me ask myself the same question.
The Best Series Hugo requires at least two installments (not books, installments) and 240,000 words between appearances on the ballot. Cool.
As the author of the October Daye series, I have access to literally all the installments in convenient .doc form. I also have a calculator. You might be able to see where this is going. (Hint: It's going partially toward my needing a drink.)
Since the 2017 ballot where Toby was nominated in Best Series, two books have come out (THE BRIGHTEST FELL and NIGHT AND SILENCE), each packaged with a novella ("Dreams and Slumbers" and "Suffer a Sea-Change").
If I total the word counts for these four installments, and ONLY these four installments--so not taking into account any of the short stories released via my Patreon--I have added 270,033 words to this series since its 2017 eligibility.
That is.
A quarter of a million.
Words.
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK I NEED A HUG I NEED A NAP I NEED SOMETHING.
A quarter of a million.
Words.
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK I NEED A HUG I NEED A NAP I NEED SOMETHING.
So, uh, yeah. The October Daye series will be eligible in 2019, and while I would of course absolutely love to be nominated again, I think I'm going to go hide under my bed until the enormity of that number fades a little bit.
Amendment: it's "at least three installments since last appearance on the ballot," which the Toby series still meets, as novellas are installments just as much as novels are.
