the mystery book

Warning: This is a wandering, pointless post.

I received a book sample from a printing company (aka book manufacturer) that Iâ€™d queried. This is standard practice. Printing companies will often send out an example of their work that closely resembles the specs of book youâ€™re planning on printing. I have a few copies of sample books. Theyâ€™re actual books, printed by actual people/companies who have used the printersâ€™ services and who have apparently agreed to have their books sent out as sample products. The subject matter is rarely compelling, but that is not the purpose behind the sample.

My sample was big (over 400 pages). The specifications of the book were what I was looking for, except that the trim size was a half-inch smaller than what I had specified in my quote request. I flipped through the book, noticing that it was not well laid out, which is a fault of the publisher, not the printing company. Obviously a self-published book, I looked up the website of the publishing company, curious to see if theyâ€™d done anything else.

I also wanted a little more info about the story. At first glance, itâ€™s impossible to tell if the story is fiction or not. Itâ€™s written in the style of a tell-all from a woman who was the long-time booty-call of a famous comedian. She eventually figures out that he isnâ€™t serious about her when he tosses her on her ear (long after he was married and raising a family). The comedianâ€™s name and description was thinly disguised, so I was very curious if this was a real story.

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pet peeve questions

When I started stripping, it took only a couple months before I had my #1 pet peeve question. When I started escorting, it took only a couple months before I had my #1 pet peeve question.

I’ve been doing this writing/publishing thing for over a year, but now that I’m regularly contacting other people and trying to “network,” I’ve realized I have a #1 pet peeve question for both men and women in this business. Didn’t think it would happen, but it did.

Strangely, all the questions are related.

Stripping: So what’s your real name?
Escorting: What turns you on?
Writing/Publishing (men): Are those pictures really you?
Writing/Publishing (women): Can I get a [free] copy?

I have to decide how to answer.

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off to work

Although I have plenty of topics floating around in my head, I will probably not blog again for a few weeks. I’ve started Book 2 with a bang and want to keep the momentum going (last week was a wash since I had a bad cold). I plan on finishing the rough draft by the end of December/beginning of January. Now that I understand this whole book-publishing thing, I think I can keep to a schedule and crank it out a lot better.

Although I enjoy blogging and have about 20 half-finished posts sitting in a folder and another 50 post ideas listed on a page (along with my mental notes), it’s too draining and distracting at the moment. (My burgeoning Squidoo addiction is even more draining.) I need to concentrate!

I also need to start churning out press releases and other advertising for Book 1 now that I can move forward with its promotion (see below). I’ll post if I’m really inspired and I will keep up with my other blog at its current unpredictable and slow rate.

I hope everyone has a great New Year. I will be happy to get the first draft of the manuscript done (which would mean I produce a lot more than 50,000 words in a month, see NaNoWriMo).

This doesn’t mean “don’t contact me,” this is simply an explanation of why the blog will be quiet for the next couple weeks or so.

a positive note

My book was accepted by Amazon and is now listed (look under “Personal Links” to the right). I’m very happy about that. I don’t like Amazon’s automatic 55% discount off any book listed (Golden Girl Press, LLC gets a little over $11 per sale), but it’s a reputable online retailer and I’m sort of stuck with it because I have no other options. Other than ordering through PayPal, it’s the currently the only way to order the book online. Discount or not, I’m glad I’m on there.

Theoretically, one could also special-order the book through Borders or Waldenbooks stores because they are partnered with Amazon. But since that system has yet to be tested with my book, I don’t know.

the blog

Comments will be open and spam will be deleted on a daily basis, as always.

bad day for free speech

Fox News Corporation (who controls Regan Books) has pulled the plug on O.J.â€™s book due to the controversy it created. In other words, O.J. has been censored. And why? Really? Is it because the Board of Directors at Fox care about two dead people and their families? Or is it because they want to avoid financial fallout from the book? You get three wild guesses and the first two donâ€™t count.

As more than one person has pointed out, this is the same Fox News Corp. that is totally behind the war in Iraq and gives a public forum to people like Sean Hannity.

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exploration of the first amendment

In a posting yesterday on the Small-Pub Yahoo Group, founder Marilyn Ross was embarrassed by the publishing industry for the first time. The new book by O.J. Simpson, which may or may not be fictional, has thoroughly disgusted Ross. The reason? She sees it as greed triumphing common decency.

Not surprisingly, Regan Books is the publisher. Regan seems willing to touch books no one else will. (I thought of contacting them but they only accept submissions through an agent and thatâ€™s a whole process I didnâ€™t want to get into.) I donâ€™t like the idea of this book but Iâ€™m not going to say that O.J. doesnâ€™t have the right to publish his thoughts on his own personal history.

Ross ended her posting by saying:

Oh, I hear some of you screaming “First Amendment Rights” already. But really think about it: How would you feel if this were personally happening to your family?

A humane argument; but the First Amendment is there for a reason and protecting the feelings of someone else is not that reason.

Little does Ross know that the self and small publishing industry she helped bring to the mainstream is not a believer in free speech. Sure, there are organizations who purport to support free speech and booksellers who belong to these organizations. (Everyone gets to put a little button on their Web site and feel proud of themselves.) There are libraries, booksellers and authors who celebrate Banned Books Week (in September). But what Iâ€™ve experienced leads me to believe that the only free speech they wish to protect is speech that they agree with. The banned or dangerous books they defend are usually older than I am or have been around so long theyâ€™re already considered classics. Cutting-edge thinking indeed.

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