The Food Network and other outlets churn out insufferable amounts of coverage devoted to barbecue in Texas, North Carolina, and Kansas City. With good reason, admittedly. Like anything, there are
Round Up of Hard Rock Books
Yesterday, we discussed the deluge of books related to hard rock and heavy metal. Whereas the prevailing attitude used to be that rockers don’t read, it now appears that anyone
We’re Back
I’ve just imported all of the old data from Slushpile since 2005 – no mean feat – so it should all be here. I’d love to hear from you all about why you read Slushpile and what you’re looking for. I’m trying to make this a bit more lively at the very least. Please comment below!
Kickstarter-Backed Author Burns His Books
Artist John Campbell, creator of the site Pictures For Sad Children, has started burning printed copies of his book after hitting $50,000 on Kickstarter yet finding himself still unable to ship the books.
He posted video of the burning on Kickstarter after receiving complaints from customers.
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Slushpile Needs Book Reviewers
Thanks to the jubilee we’ve been given with the site, it would be great if we could start fresh with some new content and new writers. We can get you books. We need you to review them. Want to join us? Email john@biggs.cc with a few sample reviews and your specific reading/writing interests. We’d love to work with you.
Please Hold
During a move we lost some of the data for Slushpile. We’ll be updating the site and all the SP goodness you expect should keep coming. Bear with us in this time of great peril.
Learn the History of the Jump Shot
These cultural history books can sometimes get a bit old. It seems like every conceivable gadget, trend, style, and food item has been written about. But every once in a while, a title comes along that catches my eye. So I was actually excited to see this bit of news in Publishers Marketplace:
Shawn Fury’s RISE & FIRE: A Biography of the Jump Shot, exploring the play that revolutionized basketball and provided the greatest moments in the sport’s history — from Michael Jordan’s legacy-defining jumpers to Ray Allen’s mastery — and is a technical, personal, historical and even spiritual examination of the shot, to Bob Miller at Flatiron Books, in a nice deal, by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency (World)
Looks like it could be a very cool, very interesting book.
Zane Facing Significant IRS Troubles
According to the Washington Post, best-selling author Zane has “sold millions of steamy novels, has been chased by creditors, including the IRS and the state of Maryland, according to court records and staff officials.”
Kristina Laferne Roberts writes with the pseudonym of Zane.
She’s facing a $541,000 claim from the IRS and a tax lien on her $1 million home in Upper Marlboro. The Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot announded that the $341,000 the author owes the state makes her Marylands top individual tax cheat.
Super Bowl Book Predictions
The day after the Super Bowl is full of Monday morning quarterbacking. And yes, the sports networks will even begin their predictions for next year. For the bookish among us, it’s amusing to start speculating on which players will sign book deals in the coming weeks. Usually, it’s the winning quarterback or maybe a more obscure player that is propelled into the pop culture consciousness by an amazing play, a la David Tyree.
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Crowdfunding So Far, According to Biggs
Slushpile founder John Biggs surpassed the initial goal for crowdfunding his debut young adult novel, Mytro. Now, Biggs and his fanbase are working on making their stretch goals over at Indiegogo. Here is a quick Q&A on what he’s seen with crowdfunding so far.
Slushpile: What surprised you about the crowdfunding process so far?
Biggs: That it took so long to ramp up. I have a fairly big platform but even with that it was a strange, scary feeling. I’m glad it worked, but it was frightening. I’m also happy that my friends and family really supported me.
Slushpile: You surpassed your initial goal. As a result, how did you increase or change the scope of the project?
Biggs: I offered improved goals. It’s a book so there’s very little I can change but still it was something to offer signed books.
Slushpile: What is one thing you learned, or wished you had done differently?
Biggs: Nothing yet. I wish I had budgeted a bit more but it’s hard to do before figuring out how many books you need to print.
Slushpile: What is the next step in bringing Mytro to readers?
Biggs: A thorough cleaning by a hired copy editor, layout, and printing. After this it should only take a few weeks to really get rolling.
Then I have to write two more books…
Slushpile Founder Nears Goal of YA Novel Crowdfunding Campaign
John Biggs, the patron saint of Slushpile.net, has launched a crowdfunding campaign in support of his young adult novel, Mytro. He is closing in on his goal, and offering some cool rewards, so contribute to the effort here. I’ve read the vast majority of this novel and it’s a great read, so I can definitely attest to the quality of the work.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting…
I’m a bit more of an old fogey in certain ways and I have my hesitations about crowdfunding and new mechanisms of getting literature out there. I’m no luddite by any means, but the jury is still a little more out for me.
John, on the other hand, spends his day job hours writing about the technology sector and he’s more accustomed to new fangled ways of thinking. Crowdfunding, as a way to raise capital as well as to serve as a test market for the viability of a concept or product, is almost second nature to him. He watches, and comments on, creators doing this on a massive scale all the time.
John has agreed to share all his experiences, good and bad, with us on this journey. Mytro is a real book, a real story, and one that people will enjoy. But it is also serving as an experiment for John to try out crowdfunding and releasing the book. So we will benefit from the lessons-learned.
You can read John’s explanation of why he chose the crowdfunding route to get caught up on the story so far. He’ll provide regular updates as things move forward.
LA Times Obit for Louis D. Rubin
The great Louis D. Rubin passed away recently. Perhaps most well-known for co-founding Algonquin Books, Rubin was also a fine and frequent writer.
The Los Angeles Times has a great overview of Rubin’s life. Check here to read the obit.
