less than this

Okay, first book "ready" and uploaded to Lightning Source... They'll either accept the files and print a proof and ship it to me in the next few days, or they'll let me know I screwed up the files somehow. It happens. Then, if there's problems, I try to fix them. And if there's problems with the proof, I try and figure out what I need to do to fix the digital files, and I pay the revision fees and I pay for another proof... and hope THAT one is right. And if they accept the files and if the proof looks good, then hooray, Worth 1k --- Volume 1 will be a "real" book. It's already got an ISBN, a LCCN, all that mess.

Which means that it already IS a real book, as far as official channels are concerned. So, that's good.

I need to re-do modernevil.com, it's all still the old data, the old books... no one orders through it (it's had one order, ever, and that was a sale I made in person, too), I know intellectually I can take the site down while I work on getting "proper" versions of my books available, but it feels bad to have an "Under Construction" site... generally.

Oh, well. Do it anyway. And get my other books online. Still don't have a cover for LaNF that I'm happy with. I should work on UTFBF1-3 this weekend. Get the cover done up properly, get the insides fixed up, the the ISBN registered, request a LCCN.

That's a bit troublesome, on account of the eleven titles. Officially, books can have a title and a subtitle, and that's that. I'll work something out.

What do you think? I'm torn.

Everything else is in place, I have my ISBNs, pricing structure, cover designs for two of the three books I want to get set up with my new printer, and the bulk of the bookblocks (the insides, the text) ready to go ... but I applied to the Library of Congress a week or two (or three, I ought to have marked my calendar, I guess, or just done it at the same time as something else) ago to get access to Library of Congress Control Numbers for my books, and I don't have a response yet. I'm supposed to put the appropriate LCCN on the verso of the title page, with the ISBN and Copyright stuff, it's the magical code that allows libraries (including the Library of Congress) be able to handle my book appropriately. Without it, most libraries simply won't accept a book.

Now, admittedly, I'm not exactly a well-known author, or really expect libraries to want to stock my books, but officially, and especially with my new printer, if anything changes on the inside of my book, I pay for it. If it's just a little thing like putting the LCCN number in, updating the copyrights, et cetera, I only have to pay the printer - except it actually costs more to change an existing title than to set up a new one, in most cases. If I make more radical changes, such as -say- correcting errors, changing the layout, changing the cover, et cetera, it is my understanding that I need a new ISBN assigned at that point, and to set up an entirely new 'book' with my printer. Which, fine, the publishing industry is built around the old ways of doing things, the old models that are still in use for the bulk of the books being created, and the new(er) parts of the publishing business have to make nice with the older ones.

But if you're just printing my book from a digital file, which I have to create to very exact specifications for your print setup, and if I'm uploading them directly to your server, and you keep restating that you won't do anything to fix problems and don't take responsibility if I've sent you a file with half the pages backwards or with elements that get cut off in the bleed ... what's all the expense for? I am aware I'm paying a lot less than it costs to have an offset run made of a single title, and that I'm setting up several, it still seems out of proportion. Probably because I'm poor.

Anyhow, I can go forward, get the books uploaded, set up, get proofs in my hands and then ... I don't know, figure out how to get them listed on Amazon. (Did you know that depression, communism, and trying to build a business from scratch don't mix well?) Or I can stay on standby, waiting... waiting for LCCNs... patience, I suppose. Not exactly in a hurry, no deadlines but the ones I set, no co-workers or employees or marketing departments... No need to have a book's release date coincide with a book tour or an advertising campaign... Heck, these books are already available on a limited basis. Fine. I've talked me out of it. I'll keep working on the files, get things in order, and when I get my LCCNs, it'll only take a few moments to get my files online. Right?

Okay, now I just need to find a model who will work for free, has her own wardrobe and looks like Tinkerbell. And go do a photo shoot. And then spend a couple days doing the rest of the image manipulation work needed to create the (hopefully) compelling cover I have in mind. Or I need to come up with a new idea, and ... do that. Anyway, I don't like the old cover for Lost and Not Found, and I want to create a new one before properly releasing the book.

If you look like Tinkerbell, have an outfit that looks like Tinkerbell might wear it, and want to model for free (ooh, or I could give you books as payment, if you read), please let me know.

UPDATE: I'm a jerk. I've been spending several hours going through all the old email in my inbox (I've deleted over 10,000 emails so far, mostly spam), and found that the gov't responded in a timely fashion and I just didn't notice, and couldn't find it by search because they didn't use any of the words I was expecting in their emails. So. I've just filled out the form to request a control number for Worth 1k --- Volume 1, which I have literally ready to upload, and I'll know what to look for when they email me in a few days to a week with the answer. Whee!

Paralyzed. Not writing. Not painting. Not drawing. Not sculpting. Not outlining, brainstorming, sketching.

Not unreasonable, either; I've had a bit of a week. Last weekend was good, but then it was topped off by the beginning of quite a tumult. A series of events that caused quite a stir. I wasn't able to concentrate all week, didn't listen to any of my lecture series (I've been studying Chemistry and Particle Physics lately, after recently completing a long course of American History), could hardly concentrate on work. Still feeling a bit scatterbrained. Still feeling upheaval.

I tried writing for a few hours on Thursday, got about three typewritten pages down for a story I hadn't touched in almost two years. I didn't look at the original story before starting, and while I managed to start within a paragraph of where I left off (upon later examination) and remembered the characters names (give or take a vowel), when I read a couple pages of the older draft, I suddenly felt like what I'd just written was crap. So I didn't try again yesterday. It's too hard. It feels too far away, too foreign. Everything I have to write.

Even this post feels like it's further than arm's length away. Just out of reach of my paralyzed arms.

I just watched Sunshine. Yes, it was "pirated" - on account of it doesn't premier in the US for another 5 months. Yes, it was a "CAM" which means someone set in a theatre with a camera, so the sound is echo-y, not to mention the amplified coughs and popcorn rustling from the guy sitting next to the camera. Yes, the picture quality wasn't great, which is probably too bad on account of all the special effects required by the story.

Yes, it made me cry.

Excellent, excellent movie. For a while, the bad picture and sound and distortions and distractions were almost too much, but at some point during the movie, the story and the characters were so much more compelling than the delivery method was bad that I was on the edge of my seat. I noticed at some point that I had actually begun to care about some of the characters (even though I couldn't always make out their faces, or what they were doing). I know CAMs are horrible, horrible experiences, and as a general rule I don't bother to download them. But I was too excited about seeing this film to resist.

You should go see it. Pay for this movie.

If you live in the UK, where it is in theatres, go see it now. If you live in the US, see it in September. I cannot wait to see this one on the big screen, I cannot wait to be immersed at full quality in an experience that was able to grip me so powerfully through such a terrible delivery.