Progress. Half.com now has the book available for sale. And Alibris has us on their site again, although still listed as "Used" because, according to Alibris, the quality of print-on-demand books is not up to "New" standards.
Which, as with most things in the publishing industry, is laughable.
And...if I were in a less charitable mood on this lovely Xmas Day, I might say something less than nice about people and how much fun I've been having dealing with them--and although I'd love to, no matter how I write it up it sounds like pathetic bitching and moaning. So the only thing I'll say before I wish you happy holidays and whatnot is this: "Lobster Bucket."
-Widge,
Reaching for another Turbo Truffle...
11/24/2002
If I had any sense, I'd be depressed.
A writer whom I really respect--and who shall remain nameless, don't even bother asking--has gone to great lengths apparently the make it clear that the only way to succeed is to follow the pattern set forth by writers of old. You know what I'm talking about, right?
Step one: write book. Step two: prostrate oneself in front of agents, beg for them to deign to pick you up as a client so that they can make money off of you. Step three: when agents tell you to screw yourself, dust yourself off and get on your knees in front of the next one.
Or...here's a great piece of advice: find somebody who knows somebody within the industry.
Jesus Christ. An industry that thinks it's a good idea to pay millions for ghost written autobios that only hardcore fans will read and which will wind up at outlet stores within six months--and we're supposed to trust them to know what the reading public wants? I can't believe that this person, who for the longest time I considered to be very intelligent, has fallen into this trap. What century are we living in, anyway?
I guess it's just a matter of what your priorities are. My priority is writing and getting my stuff in print so that the people who want to read it can. I don't want to play the game that I played for the longest time--hoping that somebody will give me "permission" or "sanction" to get published. That's bullshit.
The most important thing we can do--all of us--is to stop taking the advice of people who are simply content to do things the way they've always been done. Now is the time for original, creative solutions to things. Simply smile, thank them, shake their hand--and then pass them on the left.
-Widge
Still on the first pot of coffee for the day.
11/23/2002
Some more thoughts on this process and some news along the way, too.
The news is that I almost forgot to tell you: we're listed in Books in Print, now, so--in theory--you should be able to go into any bookstore and demand your copy of Mystics.
What's the reality? Well, we're dealing with a force of nature: the book publishing and selling industries. You see, bookstores, if I understand it correctly, operate their special orders (i.e., stuff they don't carry) off of Books in Print. BiP is the bible of what's available and what isn't. However--BiP is accessed, like in the case of Border's, by CD-ROM. There's no magical uplink to the Net where there's a constantly shifting, dynamic database of what's available. And of course, these CDs are sent out not even on a monthly basis--so how can you find the latest stuff?
Is this a small press guy bitching? No, I'm not complaining, really, I'm just laughing at yet another business that refuses to run their business...like a business. Because you'd think that a bookstore would want to have tons of product for you to choose from, and they must love to special order stuff...or why would they ask you about it every time they don't have something specific in stock? I just think it's amazing that you could ask for something that you know is available, that they should be able to order, and they can't--whether it's my book or the latest unexpurgated volume of Lethally Poisonous Treefrogs and You.
Anyway, so it's a slow train. If you go into a bookstore and they don't have it, tell them you know for a fact that it's in Books in Print, because the author told you so. I'd be interested to hear what people find out when they try and order it, so keep me posted.
Somebody asked me the other day after they heard about all this mess: "But are you still having fun?"
Oh hell yeah. Wouldn't change it for the world.
-Widge
Shortly after 2pm CST
11/22/2002
Man, life has been busy. It's one thing to say, "I'm going to do all of this myself," because of course, you realize that no one else is going to do it for you. At least, not without mortaging one's bits, apparently. But then there's actually realizing, "Holy crap, I'm going to do all of this myself."
So it's fun, but I'm going nucking futs. Anyway, news.
The book is available on Alibris. And no, it's not being sold there used. For some reason, they have the book down as "used," and I've asked them to change that. And try and get some cover art on there.
The book is listed on Barnes and Noble, although it's listed as unavailable--which is also incorrect. I've been told this should be fixed in the next fortnight, so stay tuned. Good news is they very quickly got my cover art and name up on the site, for which we thank them.
The book will be listed, hopefully soon, on both Half.com and Amazon. Those are in the works.
In the meantime, of course, you can still purchase the book from BookSurge. I don't care where you buy it, really, just so long as it gets read.
Also working on setting up appearances and signings after the first of the year. These will take place in various parts of the country seemingly at random. You'll know when I know...I just need to know more, and faster.
-Widge
Just before 1:00am CST
10/31/2002
Happy Halloween and stuff. For your dancing and dining pleasure, here is a RealAudio rendition of my short story, "Of Sorcery and Seasonings". Hope you enjoy it.
-Widge
2:00pm CST
10/29/2002 - Second Entry
You know, it's funny. Talking about being available from B&N. It's a very strange feeling to see something you created, over the course of five years, up on a site as a real book. Very strange indeed.
When I saw it up there, someone pointed out to me that B&N's discount comes out of the couple of bucks I make off each copy of the book. This astonished me, because I really don't know why somebody would go into the field of writing in an attempt to make money. I mean, sure, I like making a buck or two off each copy. I wouldn't just give the damn things away hand over fist. But--
More important to me is that the thing is out there and in the hands of people. People who read and enjoy reading. That's what the books need. They don't need to make money. I figure if you create stories that are good, novel and intriguing--then the money will come almost as an afterthought. The story has to be good first, then you can worry about losing a few cents because of a bookstore discount.
A final note about these various venues for getting the book, which will increase as time goes on: I don't care where you buy your copy. To be honest, the more diverse places you go and special order it, the better. Let those verboten industry morons see something happening with the title and it'll get picked up places.
Waiting to ensure I'm listed in Books in Print--then we can start doing readings and appearances. I'll, of course, keep you posted.
-Widge
A few minutes later, after a decent amount of Coca-Cola is consumed
10/29/2002
The book is now available online from Barnes & Noble. You can find it by going here. It's also available as a special order item from B&N's brick and mortar stores. If you attack from either direction, just remember: use the title or the ISBN number (0-9725164-0-9). My name currently isn't associated with the book in their database. Don't ask me why, I don't know.
More coming. Been busy trying to get the infrastructure in place for the book to actually be for sale places. No time for the audiobook. Soon, though.
Also, I've stuck all the 2001 entries into their own archive.
-Widge
Just after midnight
10/19/2002
So now for those of you who have no idea what this book thing is--and I know some people out there have problems with RealAudio--the two prologues are up on the site in HTML and PDF format. They can be found in the Store.
Also, I'm going to update the audiobook samples area to reflect this--but if you're having problems playing the files, I'd recommend updating to the latest level of RealAudio's free player. It's almost a game trying to figure out where the link on a page is to the free version. To save time, try this.
Also, I've added a link to our Needcoffee.com Extreme Store to the One Tusk Store. So all the ways you can give us money are all in one easy-to-find place. What a deal.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
10/18/2002
Big thanks go out to those of you buying the book. Hopefully all the feedback will be good. The One Tusk Store has been updated to reflect the book being onsale and also with links to the audiobook samples. I'm going to try and get some actual writing text samples up this weekend. Stand by.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
10/12/2002
Well, it's an amazing thing. We went live on Booksurge the same day that the first five copies of the book came to my door. And they honestly don't appear to suck.
Click on either image to go to the Booksurge website and purchase your own. The books are $15.99 a piece and they clock in at roughly 315 pages. The price is about as low as I could make it using the Booksurge service, but considering the last time I bought a copy of Flatland it was $11 for a little over a hundred pages--I don't feel so bad.
Again, if you want a better picture of the cover--click here. The pictures up top are just to prove that there is a book. It lives, breathes and is 3-D. And...is normally better lit than that.
I'm going to go celebrate this fortuitous happenstance by...working on the audiobook some more.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
10/06/2002
Let me tell you: there's nothing quite look doing everything yourself. There are so many benefits, it's not even funny. Of course, there's plenty to drive you up the wall.
Take making your own audiobook for example. I don't know about when you hear yourself recorded, but I think I sound like the world's biggest dweeb. So I've been fighting myself to try and get something that I liked in place. Listening to pros like Dylan Baker reading audiobooks hasn't been doing much for my self-confidence.
Anyway, the fruits of my labor are now online, at least in audio form. The two prologues for Mystics can be found here. Part One and Part Two.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
10/04/2002
Good God, the machine moves. A link for you. Explanation.
Three Moons Media are the people who are handling getting the book in print. They are affiliated with Drak, the very cool people who host this site and Needcoffee. Since they decided to launch a print-on-demand service, and since Drak has done nothing but good things for us, I figured I'd hop on the bandwagon. Thus they are putting One Tusk into print. And thus, we are very very pleased. Once they throw their doors open, I urge you all to go pester them to get your stuff printing and hurl money their direction.
Anyway, the book should hopefully be available for sale in another week and a smidge. Believe me, you'll hear about it when it hits. And samples are still coming. Crazy days.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
09/26/2002
Word has come down the line that the book has been delivered unto the hands of the printers. And yea, verily, in sometime around two weeks they shall deliver unto me an author's copy of the book. And lo, shall I need to change my pants in such a time of great tribulation. Then unto the great masses I will say, "Hey, buy this...unto your seventh generation." And there would be much rejoicing. Much shaving of small animals and much in the way of caffeinated beverages being poured over the heads of people we don't even know.
If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm really, really tired.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
09/20/2002
Okay, as promised, here's the cover art for the book.
Hopefully, I'll know more about when the actual thing is going to hit sometime next week. But so far, so good. Knock on formica for me.
I'll try and get some samples of both audio and text up here shortly, too.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
09/18/2002
0-9725164-0-9.
That's the ISBN for the novel. What a glorious looking number.
Cover art soon.
Oh and by the way, for those interested parties, Needcoffee.com gear is now available here. Go and support your local webmaster.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
09/13/2002
To hell with it.
The novel's being released. My first novel, completed and fully edited. The two big secret projects I was working on are releasing the thing in two different versions. Both are coming out under the One Tusk imprint.
One is in honest-to-God hold-it-in-your-hand book form. It clocks in at under 350 pages. It's been sent off to the people who are getting it ready for print-on-demand goodness.
The other is an unabridged audiobook, along the same lines as Love Letters but obviously bigger. That set I'm anticipating will be anywhere from seven to ten CDs when I get done. The recording sessions have already started. As far as extras go, I'm planning for author's commentary again and some other goodness which I don't have nailed down yet. But there will be some.
The book is called Mystics on the Road to Vanishing Point. It's straight dramatic fiction, i.e. non-genre. As for more regarding what it's about, I'll get samples online shortly.
Don't ask me about definite release dates. Don't ask me about prices yet. Don't ask me if you can reserve a copy. I'll let you know when I have answers. I just don't yet. This is just the shot across your bow to tell you it's coming. And to get it off my chest so I can feel like I accomplished something over the past decade.
I'm anxious to get this done, because...well, frankly, the second book is 95% ready to be published once this one's out and breaking things.
This space is about to get busier. Stick with me, folks.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
06/16/2002
Okay, so...a word about secret projects.
The trouble with secret projects and having a site like this is that I can't just come out and tell you all the crazy shite that I'm cooking up in the back in the big black cauldron. I mean, oh sure, I could talk about them--but I'm a superstitious fellow. I'd much rather have a project implode that no one knows about than a project that's been publicized destroy itself--and then I have to spend the next several months answering the question: "Whatever happened to that such-and-so deal you were working on?"
Sweeping things under the rug is so much more simple when you're doing it alone in a room.
It's depressing, though, because I'm sure the people who stop by here wonder just what in the hell I'm spending my time on. But it's being spent, and well, I assure you.
What I can tell you is that one secret project is definitely coming to fruition. But I still can't tell you about it because I want it to be a surprise when it gets unveiled. Because even I think I'm crazy for attempting it.
Another secret project--a facet of the first one, but still taking place independently--looks good thus far, so we'll see what happens. It kind of fell into my lap.
So when you have a moment, say a prayer to your favorite god, idol, tree, rock, whatever--that these things will actually ignite and I can clue you in finally.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
03/29/2002
Okay, when I said "later this weekend" I really meant later on another weekend almost a month later. I'm a scoundrel and I know it, but life's been too damn hectic recently.
But anyway, here's my short story, "Adelaide," which originally appeared in the now-defunct publication Altered Perceptions many moons ago. Two formats are available, as always. For you e-Book people, here's the PDB file of it and for the rest of you here's a PDF of it. Again, a good viewer for the e-Book side is CSpotRun.
Constructive feedback is always welcomed. Enjoy.
More news coming.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
02/23/2002
Trying to finalize the first round of Needcoffee.com T-shirts. There, I've said it. They will be sick, and they will be black. And you will want to wear them. No, really, you will. Got a few feelers out to get clearance for what I want to do, and I'll keep you posted.
Later this weekend I'll be posting another short story. I figure why not? Those few whackos that read this site, that come back behind the curtain of Needcoffee.com to check this madness out, I need to throw you some raw meat every once in a while, lest you tear each other to bits.
So stay close. Short story this weekend, T-shirt info hopefully later this week.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
02/17/2002
For those of you who've been hanging about waiting for the latest update: hi. We've got some actual real world products that are going to be added to the store: stuff you can wear, stuff you can use--and after we get done with that, we're going to work on the next book. More on that soon.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
1/21/2002
There's only one problem with being this busy. And that's finding the time to tell people what you've been busy doing. I'm sure to the lay observer, I'm the biggest slackass around when it comes to this site. But, what can you do?
Well, I can tell you that one big project and another project that I'd sure as hell like to do are currently being floated around. Floated where? I'm not exactly sure myself. But hopefully they will come to some form of fruition.
You'll notice I never come right out and say, "I've finished a screenplay" or something like that. There's a reason, even though I get the e-mails of people demanding to know just what this latest secret project or whatever is. The reason is because I'm a firm believer in the jinx. I just know that if I open my big mouth the gods will shut it for me.
I'm weird like that. Other news in a bit.
-Widge
-Coast City, IA
1/8/2002
Some people have been wondering just where the hell I've been. Can't say that I blame them. A lot of time and effort have been going into One Tusk's premiere website, Needcoffee.com. If you haven't been by there recently, you really should drop in. We've been kicking our own butts to get stuff updated and fast.
I'm going to try and update over here more often, since we're trying to get some things moving. If you've ordered a copy of the audiobook, we ran into problems with the liner notes that necessitated the scrapping of three different versions. Now we just need some new software and we're fine. So we appreciate your patience.
Now...this last thing I had meant to have up on New Year's Day--but 2002's even crazier thus far than last year was. So here we have another short story for you to enjoy. This is actually, I realize, the first time this has appeared anywhere. So let me know what you think. It's "The Day They Let Bernard Leave."
Two formats are available. For you e-Book people, here's the PDB file of it and for the rest of you here's a PDF of it. Again, a good viewer for the e-Book side is CSpotRun.