This week I was engaged by an active member of the Self-Publishing community. I was invited to become active as a contributor to their unique fraternity. I took him up on it and I took some time this week to meet some new people.
Now first, I must make clear that I'm not much of a reader. Anyone who has visited my blog knows this. I read every day but only consume about three fiction books in a calendar year...and with great difficulty. I wish I could read more, but that's just not my life.
Also, I'm not a literary critic. I know what I like and I know what I don't like.
One thing I have found, at least so far, is that many in the Self-Publishing community take themselves really seriously. Maybe it's not just this community but authors in general...I don't know. Either way, just let me warn you that if you seem the least bit sarcastic after meeting the eighth author with a dragon on their book cover...you may be treated as an outsider.
So how did my first impressions go? I think so far they think I'm a jackass.
They had all but written me off (see what I did there?) until I mentioned something that brought me back into their graces:
There's a unicorn in my book.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Friday, June 08, 2012
So the book is done and junk
I'm horrible at self-promotion. I spent a year and a half writing a book and really only about four people knew it existed, and one of them was my mother who passed away last July. You can imagine the problem I'm having creating something I want people to read and enjoy but I don't want to bother letting them know it exists. I only introduced the fact that I had written a book to the public on a blog post a couple of weeks ago.
I posted the cover on my Facebook account and I got plenty of messages and emails about it that ranged from a rather wide spectrum of reactions. I guess I wanted to take an opportunity to address a few of them since, thankfully, there is some interest in what I wrote.
The book is fiction. It's not real. When pressed for a genre, it fit in the realm of Alternative History. It begins with real people in a real context and then diverges into a story that I made up in my head.
The book contains adult humor and themes. I've been asked if it is suitable for young readers and my answer is "No." It contains naughty behavior and genuine redemption as I understand it. But you can read it and decide for yourself.
The book is over-the-top in many areas. It's fiction after all. Why should it be stuck within the normal confines of reality? And unlike most fantasy books, I don't try to explain it away with overly convenient world rules. If I say there is a midget marching band, then there's a midget marching band. Nuff said.
Where can I get it? It will be available through me on a very limited basis and Amazon.com on an insane basis.
I concede the book doesn't have wide appeal, and broad appeal was never my intent. I wrote it over the last year and a half between 10pm and 1am and was having fun with it. I stayed loose and never worried about my prose or literary flourishes. I just wrote a story and often laughed to myself. I had a tough year and I used this as an escape. Staying up to write kept me from thinking about not sleeping.
I have friends that make things. They crochet blankets or make birthday cards or scrapbooks. I write. This project was meant to be self-published and offered to my friends as a gift...a gift you have to buy...ha ha...but if you buy 40 or 50 of the books, you can sew them together and make a crappy blanket.
Hard work was put into this. Not just the story but all of the supportive photos, cover and artwork that accompanies the fictional story. There is some production value to this book. You may not like it, but you won't complain that it lacked effort. Oh, and if you do complain I'm going to send you outtakes from the backcover photo shoot. You've been warned.
Can you just borrow a copy from me or do you have to pay for it? I shouldn't be amazed that I have had this question a few times. I'm not a library and don't make me lecture you on the tragedy of the commons. Go for private property! Own a copy! Read the next paragraph if you're not convinced.
The proceeds of the book will be matched by me and then will be given to the Everett Gospel Mission. I'm not making any money on this project, just a tiny tax write-off. If this still doesn't convince you then let me know and I'll work out something with you.
I will have some books on-hand eventually and I'll do some personal fulfillment in-person or through the mail. I'll autograph any name you request in the book, including my own. I have Dave and Steve Show Pins and some extra stuff you may see from the book's cover. I'll throw in odds and ends as I find them to anyone who gets a book from me.
Are you in it? Buy it and find out. Ha!
I will let you know when the release date is.
I posted the cover on my Facebook account and I got plenty of messages and emails about it that ranged from a rather wide spectrum of reactions. I guess I wanted to take an opportunity to address a few of them since, thankfully, there is some interest in what I wrote.
The book is fiction. It's not real. When pressed for a genre, it fit in the realm of Alternative History. It begins with real people in a real context and then diverges into a story that I made up in my head.
The book contains adult humor and themes. I've been asked if it is suitable for young readers and my answer is "No." It contains naughty behavior and genuine redemption as I understand it. But you can read it and decide for yourself.
The book is over-the-top in many areas. It's fiction after all. Why should it be stuck within the normal confines of reality? And unlike most fantasy books, I don't try to explain it away with overly convenient world rules. If I say there is a midget marching band, then there's a midget marching band. Nuff said.
Where can I get it? It will be available through me on a very limited basis and Amazon.com on an insane basis.
I concede the book doesn't have wide appeal, and broad appeal was never my intent. I wrote it over the last year and a half between 10pm and 1am and was having fun with it. I stayed loose and never worried about my prose or literary flourishes. I just wrote a story and often laughed to myself. I had a tough year and I used this as an escape. Staying up to write kept me from thinking about not sleeping.
I have friends that make things. They crochet blankets or make birthday cards or scrapbooks. I write. This project was meant to be self-published and offered to my friends as a gift...a gift you have to buy...ha ha...but if you buy 40 or 50 of the books, you can sew them together and make a crappy blanket.
Hard work was put into this. Not just the story but all of the supportive photos, cover and artwork that accompanies the fictional story. There is some production value to this book. You may not like it, but you won't complain that it lacked effort. Oh, and if you do complain I'm going to send you outtakes from the backcover photo shoot. You've been warned.
Can you just borrow a copy from me or do you have to pay for it? I shouldn't be amazed that I have had this question a few times. I'm not a library and don't make me lecture you on the tragedy of the commons. Go for private property! Own a copy! Read the next paragraph if you're not convinced.
The proceeds of the book will be matched by me and then will be given to the Everett Gospel Mission. I'm not making any money on this project, just a tiny tax write-off. If this still doesn't convince you then let me know and I'll work out something with you.
I will have some books on-hand eventually and I'll do some personal fulfillment in-person or through the mail. I'll autograph any name you request in the book, including my own. I have Dave and Steve Show Pins and some extra stuff you may see from the book's cover. I'll throw in odds and ends as I find them to anyone who gets a book from me.
Are you in it? Buy it and find out. Ha!
I will let you know when the release date is.
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