h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I am actually jwf. I'm wondering whether to try approaching agents first or just go straight to the self-publish.

what's it about, Pastey?

today I started The Two Towers - reading it on my Kindle because the other book i have on the go is a paper one: Null Points by Tim Moore in which he interviews the 14 acts that scored exactly that in the Eurovision Song Contest.

It's best described as Surreal Fiction, a sort of cross between Tom Holt and Robert Rankin, with a bit of early Pratchett (pre-discworld) thrown in

if you publish as an eBook I'd buy it sounds right up my street

I'll have to make sure I let you know

I think I'll try and convince a bloke I know in the "industry" to have a look at it and see if they reckon a publishing house might go for it, but looking at costs etc, the need to self promote these days anyway, and the amount you actually make, I really do think that going straight to self-publishing might be the best route.

I have a couple of friends who are published authors. They all say the same thing: they could wallpaper their entire houses with the rejection letters.

The wife gets a writers magazine full of "handy" and "helpful" advice on how to get published, and most of it is about how to deal with rejection.

So, I think I'll just go down the route of getting the wife (who's a qualified proofreader/editor) to tidy it up, I've got the skills to lay it out for print and e-book, and a friend can be persuaded to do the illustrations/covers, and then just publish and promote it myself.

>>..just publish and promote it myself.<<

Good stuff. I too look forward to knowing when it's available.

To that end, and still wondering how many other hootooists may
have books inside them or sitting under ejection letters, I am
envisaging a special h2g2 labelling or branding of anything
published on Lulu by hootooists. Sort of an 'inhouse' icon
and identity that would give some cache to each and to h2g2
in total. Sort of like the old 'school' labels that were applied
to writers from certain literary commmunities - like the Bloomsbury
Group, the Romantics, the Beat Generation, etc.


~jwf~

PS:

One logical extension of that notion is to have our own
editors gather together some of the best of h2g2, posts,
quotes, entries and forums in compendium formats.

How many copies of the "101 Best Posts of 2legs" would
it take to secure a nest-egg we could use to promote our
best and brightest up and coming young writers.

Or "The Book of Gnomon", collecting all his edited entries.

The possibilities are many. The material is already at hand.
The initiative remains with the current management to see
the full financial potential of such a venture.


~jwf~

Strangely enough, the idea of an in-house publishing house was raised back at the initial bid stage as one of the ways that the site could make money, we are afer all a site for writers. This idea hasn't gone away, we've just found ourselves a little busy getting everything else sorted.

And also bizarrely, a book of the best of h2g2 entries was put together for the bid in very limited quantities to prove the business possibilities of the team that bid.

So yes, it's definitely something on the cards, at some point, maybe.

I'm reading Shakespeare on Toast by Ben Crystal. The author's aim is to make Shakespeare accessible without dumbing down. He's a linguist as well as being an actor, and he performed in the 'original language' productions I mentioned in the Petty Hates thread (page 611). So far it's been quite interesting.

oh I read that one, and it really made me want to read Shakespeare.

I'd rather watch Shakespeare. That is what it was written for.

I'm reading The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. It's published under Gollancz's SF Masterworks series, which is largely why I picked it over anything else on the library shelves. In the future year of 1996, mankind is beginning to colonise other star systems using "stargates" (that word will never catch on) and have been attacked by an unknown enemy.

I have put some of my bits together (Mr. P (and George) ) on kindle and am preparing it for Lulu. I did mention it before but have not seen any support from hootooers. (so few have been sold that I know pretty well every purchaser!!) I don't know why anyone would pay for stuff that they can read for free here.

>> why anyone would pay for stuff that they can read for free <<

a. because some people still prefer hard copies
b. and because if it was part of an h2g2 imprint
on Lulu it would get more attention and be collectible
c. and more of us here would be aware of it

I was not aware of it. See what just this convo
has done. Imagine a site-wide involvement.

So, in the spirit of self promotion
let yourself come forth and tells us where it is
and what to look for. Title and Lulu link, Please.


~jwf~

We really ought to get a h2g2 self-publishing group / store thing together. Will have to check the House Rules etc though as advertising isn't allowed.

Bagpuss, I agree that Shakespeare's plays were written to be watched, but that relies on one of two things:

1) Finding a decent production being staged near where you live. The closest theatres to us are in Stratford-upon-Avon, and their productions aren't cheap.
2) Finding a decent production on DVD that is a reasonable price. That's not easy, either. Besides, I don't know how often I'd want to watch the same production, even if it was a play I really like.

Anyway, the book I'm reading at the moment is Waverley by Sir Walter Scott. So far, so boring. I'm about 1/6 of the way into it and nothing has happened. I've read Rob Roy and Ivanhoe and it's hard to believe they were written by the same author.

They are plays, of course, so like any play the 'point' is to see them performed. But that doesn't mean there isn't pleasure in reading them. It's a different experience, but it can be just as enjoyable and rewarding.

That goes for reading plays in general - not just Shakespeare's.

I enjoy reading plays, they set scenes very simply and then leave the reader/director/producer to imagine how they should look.

The first "proper" writing I did was plays too.

Dear ~jwf~, there is an advertisement on my homepage. I don't want to push the kindle thing too much as I am having a bit of an Amazon boycott at the moment. They seem to pay less tax than I do. Which is hardly fair (or true!). I will announce the lulu version here as and when but I suspect your optimism regarding the h2g2 cachet may be misplaced.

I am reading my first (I think) William Boyd at the moment. 'Waiting for Sunrise.' Intriguing so far and its nice to be reading a proper book again (See kindle comment above)