Where Excuses Go to Die will be available in print and in all device formats January 2013.
Meanwhile, a Where Excuses Go to Die Facebook page lets me share what it’s like trying to get this story told; from the disappointed looks I get when I claim to have better hooks than rape, riots, and rotten food to rejection letters and go-for-its I’ve received along the way. There’ve been loonies attracted in the process, constant smoke being blown up my ass, and the dread of asking others to read pages. What a whole separate pathology that is! (Worse than issuing or accepting a personal loan.) And such fun, dealing with those who assume I’m a profit-hungry offender out for a payoff! Finally, there’s being along for the ride as the publishing world makes an ass of itself as it tries not to go out like the record industry. It’s all a completely separate journey from having paid my debt to society for robbing, um, bookstores.
Writing a book about a prison sentence — wherein the absurdities witnessed might as well have happened on Pluto — and trying to get it published is a story in itself. I’ve spent years feeling like the freeway offramp guy, rattling a foam cup and swearing people will like what they read. This January, I’m finally gonna sink or swim. ‘Til then, I’ve learned a lot of lessons, good ‘n bad, and somebody, somewhere might appreciate a few of the tips and warnings. I’ve also discovered that a stack of rejection letters is good for achieving ideal ergonomic monitor height and it’s proof you’re doing something – unlike any number of talkers out there.
And just as I applied it to every word of Excuses itself, as well as to this blog, the WEGTD Facebook page takes into account one of the most important things I’ve learned about the craft of writing: “Just ’cause it happened to you, doesn’t make it interesting.” I strive to make it interesting instead.
So give this parallel world of proposals, publishing, and patience – your stamp of Like.