@Troutfishing USA, I don't know why the publisher pulled out. Was it copyright? Was it merchandising? Was it a whisper across the tables at Elaine's? Was it prim outrage over my mention of Edwardian-era self-pleasuring devices? Who knows, the ways of publishers are mysterious.
Everybody told me the book was funny, and so I thought I'd put it out there. The Kickstarting is to pay for it to exist, and then if people enjoy it, it will sell. If not, it won't, and that's totally OK. I just didn't want to NOT publish it, for the sake of a dollar, or encourage the book business's fear of parody, which over the last 20 years has become a fear of comedy as a whole.
Salem, from a legal standpoint the US precedent protecting parody is strong--US publishers aren't afraid of losing on the law, they're afraid of having to spend more money than they'd make. So they all fold; which encourages each of them to threaten each other at the slightest hint of irreverence; and THAT makes what they publish much less funny. Which makes readers avoid humor books (other than The Onion, which is powerful enough to dictate terms), and funny writers go to outlets that are more free. It's an unvirtuous cycle--and it's one that could very well jump to other media. There's nothing special about TV or movies that guarantees they have more comic freedom--that is a cultural quirk after about 1965 or so. Prior to 1980, print comedy was MUCH freer, and the world didn't end; but the moment print started getting really weak financially, comedy was the first thing to go.
For now visual media are profitable enough for their owners to take risks with the comedy, but as the same fragmentation happens there as happened in books and magazines, the only thing that will keep wild, truly funny comedy around is clear audience preference for it. Over and over; in undeniable ways, like crowdfunding. The reason Stephen Colbert could make fun of Donald Trump last night is simply that Trump doesn't have enough money to really threaten Viacom. As the network model continues to morph, it's likely that crowdfunding will be the method of choice for comedy (see: Louis CK). And print needs it more than anywhere right now.
I'm no expert on law in the UK/Europe, but after Bored of the Rings (2001) and Barry Trotter (2002) were published without incident, there seemed to be movement towards US-style protection for parody.
Chris, have more faith in complete strangers you hear about via the internet. :-)
Of course I hope that people love the book and that it is a big success, like when I self-published Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody in 2002. But that is a total long shot, as Barry was. The amount of money I'm asking for via Kickstarter is very much less than the kill fee I was offered.
My soul throbs with as much venality and self-interest as the next creature's, but I just couldn't take the kill. It would've encouraged the publisher to do the same thing the next time to some other writer; it would've shown all the students/young writers that I work with exactly the wrong message; and it would've kept a funny book from seeing the light of day. Plus, the kill wasn't THAT much.
Hi FlTrem! The internet is full of annoying strangers asking for money, so I totally get your reaction.
It takes a huge amount of time to write, design, and publish a book properly. Many many days. And in this case, there are lots of people besides me that I have to pay, and a bunch of fixed legal and printing costs.
My wife and I set the funding bar as low as we could, because that gives us the best chance to make the goal. And also I am a Nigerian prince who requires your help to access Fifteen million one hundred thousand dollars (15,100,000USD).
As stated in the Kickstarter, I've been working in US book and magazine publishing for over 20 years, and just like every other business, there are simply some whips that must be internalized if one is going to work for Big Publishing. You don't get hired, much less promoted, unless you can play by certain understood rules.
Individually, the people are great--smart, love words, very funny--but corporate culture is a very risk-averse one. The firm's lawyers, to keep their job, must err on the cautious side; so the heads of the imprints, not wanting to make a high-profile mistake, err on the cautious side; and the junior editors (usually the ones handling comedy/entertainment) err on the cautious side. So privately they all LOVE The Onion, for example--but I can tell you that I spent 1991-1996 trying to launch something like it, and the lawyers were always the sticking point.
They gotta keep their jobs, and I respect that. But as a comedy writer, and specifically a print parodist, my interests are different. This is an experiment, and we'll see if it works. People liked the manuscript, it's well within the precedents I know of and have used successfully, and I like Downton, so I thought "What the heck?"
Enjoy that Pratchett! And thanks again for donating.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by Michael Gerber.
Re: Re: Re: FUD?
Everybody told me the book was funny, and so I thought I'd put it out there. The Kickstarting is to pay for it to exist, and then if people enjoy it, it will sell. If not, it won't, and that's totally OK. I just didn't want to NOT publish it, for the sake of a dollar, or encourage the book business's fear of parody, which over the last 20 years has become a fear of comedy as a whole.
Re: Parody should be iron clad
For now visual media are profitable enough for their owners to take risks with the comedy, but as the same fragmentation happens there as happened in books and magazines, the only thing that will keep wild, truly funny comedy around is clear audience preference for it. Over and over; in undeniable ways, like crowdfunding. The reason Stephen Colbert could make fun of Donald Trump last night is simply that Trump doesn't have enough money to really threaten Viacom. As the network model continues to morph, it's likely that crowdfunding will be the method of choice for comedy (see: Louis CK). And print needs it more than anywhere right now.
I'm no expert on law in the UK/Europe, but after Bored of the Rings (2001) and Barry Trotter (2002) were published without incident, there seemed to be movement towards US-style protection for parody.
Re: Ha!
Of course I hope that people love the book and that it is a big success, like when I self-published Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody in 2002. But that is a total long shot, as Barry was. The amount of money I'm asking for via Kickstarter is very much less than the kill fee I was offered.
My soul throbs with as much venality and self-interest as the next creature's, but I just couldn't take the kill. It would've encouraged the publisher to do the same thing the next time to some other writer; it would've shown all the students/young writers that I work with exactly the wrong message; and it would've kept a funny book from seeing the light of day. Plus, the kill wasn't THAT much.
Re: how much could it cost to publish a book?
It takes a huge amount of time to write, design, and publish a book properly. Many many days. And in this case, there are lots of people besides me that I have to pay, and a bunch of fixed legal and printing costs.
My wife and I set the funding bar as low as we could, because that gives us the best chance to make the goal. And also I am a Nigerian prince who requires your help to access Fifteen million one hundred thousand dollars (15,100,000USD).
Re:
As stated in the Kickstarter, I've been working in US book and magazine publishing for over 20 years, and just like every other business, there are simply some whips that must be internalized if one is going to work for Big Publishing. You don't get hired, much less promoted, unless you can play by certain understood rules.
Individually, the people are great--smart, love words, very funny--but corporate culture is a very risk-averse one. The firm's lawyers, to keep their job, must err on the cautious side; so the heads of the imprints, not wanting to make a high-profile mistake, err on the cautious side; and the junior editors (usually the ones handling comedy/entertainment) err on the cautious side. So privately they all LOVE The Onion, for example--but I can tell you that I spent 1991-1996 trying to launch something like it, and the lawyers were always the sticking point.
They gotta keep their jobs, and I respect that. But as a comedy writer, and specifically a print parodist, my interests are different. This is an experiment, and we'll see if it works. People liked the manuscript, it's well within the precedents I know of and have used successfully, and I like Downton, so I thought "What the heck?"
Enjoy that Pratchett! And thanks again for donating.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by Michael Gerber.
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