Published

I wrote a little book back in the summer of 2005. When I finished it, I printed it and tucked it away in a box so I could forget about it and edit it later with a more objective point of view.
So a little while ago I found the manuscript and began the editing process. It's a strange feeling to read something and not knw what will happen next, only to find out and remember you already knew. It's also weird to see your writing, and know it's your writing, but it's so different to what you write like now... My style was so different back then, but still good. Parts of the book, I feel, are better than what I could write now, but parts are far worse. I decided not to edit the style, because it is different but good enough.
It's not easy getting a book of short stories published, even if the book is more like a novel, so linked are the stories to one another. No first time author really stands a chance with such a manuscript. So I decided I'd try and take the first step myself and publish the book on my own.
Lulu seems to be the way to go these days. I guess there's a lot of crap out there, and it can't be easy to market a self-published book, but all I really want is a few hardback copies for people I care about to read.
So last night I finished editing Godless: Fragments of Contemporary Society and formatted it for Lulu. Within fifteen minutes the damn thing was for sale to the whole world! I tried to order a single copy for myself, but some unknown error stopped this from happening.
Oh well, I'll get one eventually. And in the meantime I'll edit and format and publish Who Is Rodney Munch?

I'm not bothered about marketing, because I don't much care about making money or selling thousands of copies. I want the respect of my peers, not the masses.
But if I do decide to market the book, I know how I'll do it... I bought a copy of The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson a while ago, and inside the cover was a business card advertising a book published through Lulu, that the author believed to be of interest to HST fans. It's guerrilla advertising, friends! Clever and subtle stuff. It won't make you rich, but it'll gain you a few loving fans.

I think I'll indulge in a little guerrilla advertising of my own: leaving poems lying around the city with the address of this website at the bottom of the page and I'll link this page to the Lulu page (http://www.lulu.com/content/996109). I'll outright copy that clever author and leave my business cards in books like The Rum Diary.
Mwhahaha!