i haven’t felt so alive in years

Yesterday, (well, today, actually. I’m composing this at 8:16pm on Monday, while Anne and Ryan assemble a desk, because I won’t have time tomorrow to write this up) while I was digging a hole in my yard, I thought to myself, Man, there’s been a big build up to this. People are expecting a major announcement, and there’s no way it will live up to expectations.
One of these years, I’ll find some way to not be so goddamn insecure. It’s in my nature. Just part of being a nerd, I guess.
So, without (much) further ado . . .

WIL WHEATON dot NET PRESENTS
The Epic Announcement!
brought to you by Slurm

There’s been a lot of speculation about the epic announcement. Ideas have included:

  • Anne and I are hatching a kidlet of our own.

  • Several different variations on the “Wil’s gonna be back on Star Trek” theme.

  • I’m doing a voice over for a television show, like The Simpsons.

  • I’m doing a voice over for a Pixar Movie

  • I discovered a bunker in my backyard, and it’s filled with a thousand cases of Guinness.

There were some who thought it was acting related, and a few who thought it was literary related.

If you were one of the very few in that last group, you totally win a pizza and a trophy, because . . .
I have totally signed a three book deal with a major publisher. O’Reilly & Associates, to be precise.
Okay, I’m totally trying to play it all cool, but . . .
HOLY MOTHER OF CRAP!! WOOOO!!!!!! ROCK!
YEAH!!! KICK ASS BABY!!! UNGH!!! UNGH!!!
*pant*
*pant*
Sorry. I’ve been getting those massive rushes of excitement with alarming frequency. I hope you all understand.
This is a very exciting relationship for me, for several reasons. First, I am a huge geek, and without O’Reilly, I wouldn’t know HTML from LMNOP. I never would have been able to get Linux running, and Perl would be one of the not-quite-as-good-as-Mrs.-Garrett replacements on Diff’rent Strokes.
This means I will be able to get my books into more stores than I ever was with Monolith Press. It means I’ll be sent out on a real book signing tour. It means I’ll be on national television and radio to promote my work, and maybe even get a review in major newspapers or magazines.
Dancing Barefoot sold 3,000 copies in less than five months, without any of that, and I can’t wait to see how it does when it’s got the power and budget of a major publisher behind it.
It also means that I will never royally screw up days worth of orders again, and I will be free to work like crazy on Just A Geek because I won’t be running the business any more.
I spoke with my editor at O’Reilly this morning (” . . . my editor at O’Reilly!” that sounds so cool!), and he told me that O’Reilly is so excited to carry Dancing Barefoot, they’re going to have a printing available in time for the holidays. They are currently working on a plan with Powells to get it out there right away, and I understand that they are in talks with Amazon as well. If you’ve been kicking yourself in the pants, or punching yourself in the back of the head because you wanted Dancing Barefoot for a holiday gift and missed out, you can stop the madness right now!
It should be in most major book stores very soon and y — Oh my god! I’m going to walk into Vroman’s and see my book on the shelf!!! AHHH!!! That RULES!
RAWK! \m/
Oops. There it goes again. 🙂
O’Reilly will also publish Just A Geek in Spring of next year, and I’m going to write a currently untitled technical book on personal website design that I think will come out in Summer.
So, you see, when I made my audioblog post back in July, I had just gotten off the phone with Brett from O’Reilly, who had called to tell me that none other than Tim O’Reilly himself had come back from OSCon talking about “the Wil Wheaton phenomenon” and instructed Brett to tell me that he wanted to be my publisher. Since that day, we’ve been working out the details. They were actually finalized a few weeks ago, but we all decided to wait until today to release this epic news, because I guess December 2 is a good day to release news, and there’s a good chance some mainstream media outlets will pick this up.
I want all of you who read WWdN to know that none of this would ever have happened without you. Many of you have been here since the early days of Where’s My Burrito?. In this strange, impersonal-but-personal way, you’ve gone with me through the ups and downs (mostly downs) of my Sisyphean struggles in the acting world. You were excited with me when I was added to Nemesis and cried with me when I was cut. You have been there when I’ve loved, and when I’ve lost. I’ve introduced you to Ryan and Nolan, Ferris, and Anne, who is more than my world . . . she’s my entire universe.
You’ve supported me so much . . . I can’t tell you all how wonderful it feels to share my tremendous joy with all of you now. Everyone who has read Dancing Barefoot, or come to see me at a show, or left a comment on this site, Soapboxers, Farkers, Slashdotters . . . I’m sure I’m forgetting people . . . but every single one of you owns a piece of this amazing new chapter in my life.

484 thoughts on “i haven’t felt so alive in years”

  6. That is so, so cool. Totally worth waiting for.
    you do indeed rawk.
    (I’m doing a little excited dance, right now)

  7. wow! Congratulations!
    Wil Wheaton, Author – it’s official!
    But this means, you’ll have to write more.
    (Which probably means, more day trips to Hooters)

  8. WAY TO GO MAN!!!!!!!!!!!
    i’ve been hitting your site every 20 minutes since last night to hear what news you had..
    and now we know..
    dude..you are indeed a writer now..
    holy living fuck..!
    a book deal..
    a 3 book deal..
    SWEET FANCY MOSES!
    we’re all mighty proud of you big guy!, and you deserve this!…hope you go out this afternoon and grab a guiness…
    you deserve it
    cheers wil, well done mate!

  9. Congratulations, I can see why you think this is so good.
    Well done !
    I hope this new found fame won’t stop you from continuing to maintain this site yourself…we would all miss your frank & honest views.
    *CLAPPING OF HANDS*

  14. Hi Wil! I have to leave for work but I just read your announcement and I had to say CONGRATULATIONS!!! What an awesome and well deserved thing to happen. (Damn, I’m not wording this well because I’m in a hurry.) I just hope you can feel my sincerity because I am totally jazzed for you! Way to go!!!
    Hugs!
    Tracey

  17. Congrats. You’re a success story of the modern era and one well worth writing books about. Too many people become famous and then lose themselves in search of retaining that fame. You haven’t and as far as I can guess, you won’t.
    Well done and best of luck to you.

  18. OMG!!!
    This is *huge*.
    Well, obviously you know that already!
    But!
    Wow!
    I am so happy for you!
    Unhealthily so!
    Maybe I can get my book now.
    Come to the UK!
    That is all.

  20. Congrats Wil!
    I can hear it now as Katie says: “And with us Today is Wil Wheaton, author of the New York Times bestseller, Just a Geek.”

  22. Congratulations, Wil! It couldn’t have happened to a nicer/more talented geek! (Man, I better start saving up for the Guinness for when you come to Florida! Party!!)

  23. Congrats Wil! This is awesome news! I’m happy for you and I’m also happy I will finally be able to read Dancing Barefoot. Keep it up, man!

  24. Congratulations, Will! I’ve been enjoying your weblog enormously, and you’ve got some serious writing chops. Keep up the good work!

  25. O’Reilly is so excited to carry Dancing Barefoot, they’re going to have a printing available in time for the holidays.
    Woo hoo! Now I can get a copy! (I’m one of those who’d been kicking herself for not getting one earlier.)
    Congratulations, Wil! That is so freaking awesome. I’m absolutely thrilled for you. (Not that you’re not thrilled enough for yourself — you just now have more thrill. woot!)

  26. Congradulations Wil. Good things come to those who wait. Just remember you need the down times in your life so you can appriciate these up times.
    Man that sounds so cleshe (sp?)!
    Congrads.
    Spike

  28. Congrats Wil! That is so awesome. I am so happy for you as you really deserve this. I love reading your stories, as you really know how to make the reader feel as if they are right there with you at that moment. So again, congrats and I cannot wait to read JAG when it is released.
    underdog

  29. Yay! I’m very excited.
    About the only thing that could have topped this would be hearing that Paramount has fired Berman and Braga and put you in charge of the franchise.
    I think I know what all my friends are getting for their birthdays this year.

  32. Congratulations, Wil.
    The ‘untitled technical book on personal website design’ sounds like something that could be really cool.
    Good luck with it all.

  34. Ooo, now this is better (for you, Wil) than even being included in a new Trek… that’d just be going backwards to TVsWilWheaton, not Wil Wheaton, Geek and Author. I’ve always had a TON more respect and awe for authors than for actors anyway.
    This is what you’ve been working for here, what you’ve been building since you started blogging and writing books, you’ve got serious backing.
    And DUDE, way to go getting in at freaking O’Reilly! They’re my favorite technical publisher. I used to work as webmaster/sysadmin/coder for a Competing Technical Publisher back in ’94-’97, got free books from Said Publisher, but went out and paid full price for my extensive collection of O’Reilly titles. They are the bomb!
    So if you do a book tour in Indianapolis, I’ll be there standing in line to buy Just A Geek, probably even if I already bought it online or whatever. I know some people who’d like a copy too.
    Hoody hoo!
    Chris

  35. Aces! Congrats Wil!
    I gather there’s a time difference error of an hour between the soapbox and the blog. And that I was posting a dorky theory simultaneously with your answer.
    A book deal was my epic second theory though.
    Yay! Now we can all buy the book!

  40. Congrats Wil! Maybe with this potentially exponential increase in exposure it won’t feel so surreal trying to explain my Obey WWdN t-shirt to the 20-somethings working at the mall 🙂

  44. WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Way to go Wheaton. that is epic and wonderful news! All the congratulations in the world to you! I’m still anxiously awaiting my autographed copy of Dancing Barefoot that I snuck in right in time before you were out. And now I’ll be so proud to say that I had this direct from you while I go into a huge friggin bookstore and see your work on the shelves! We love sharing your days with you and I hope you’ll continue this site with all the work you have ahead of you!!! Way to go!!!!!!!
    Shannon

  46. w00t! go wil! akh! im so excited, im key-mashing! i had to write “go wil!” three times. ok, calming down… YAY!!! im going to keep my copy of dancing barefoot in pristine condition until i get a chance to have you sign it. Hey, maybe i’ll do a really elaborate FedEx thing, and send you a SASE, so you can sign it and send it back… or just wait until you come to Fitchburg, MA on your HUGE book tours!! YAY! You HAVE to come to Boston! else, the whole FedEx thing above will really confuse me and i’ll never have you sign my DB!! ok, ok, calming down… now.
    Congratulations, Wil. We are all so proud of you, Mr. Wil Wheaton.
    *Ana

  47. Congratulations, Wil! I think December 2 is a perfect day to make these types of announcements, but I’m biased because it’s my birthday. 🙂 Looking forward to much more writing from you in the years to come!!

  49. Wil,
    Congrats! You really deserve it. You’ve worked hard and long on this, and you really are a very good writer. I already have a copy of Dancing Barefoot, but I can’t wait to be able to buy more for friends and family. You’re great!!!!
    Kroeme

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