I love this passage from Chez Moi:

“…but I do know that we should never judge passion or sorrow because – whatever causes them and however they manifest themselves – we only ever see them superficially; we only see a lowly version, we remember what was visible on the surface, and have forgotten everything else when, later once we have healed, we study the painless scar of deep-seated emotions the affair provoked in us. We have recovered. The convalescence has managed to minimize everything, to grind down the sharp shards of glass and reduce them to thousands of grains of sand so eroded by the implacable sole of reason that they have lost their cutting edge. We wipe them away with the flick of a hand, a crystalline powder, specks of glitter. All that remains is the elusive spark picked out occasionally by a chance ray of light, just when we least expect it, but it goes out the moment we try to encourage it, or blow it to fan those former flames.”

Chez Moi by Agnes Desarthe

Translated by Adriana Hunter

Published by Portobello Books (2008)

I’m going to share a few digital publishing ideas over the next few weeks because the longer they sit on pieces of paper waiting for me to learn the skills to realise them the more likely they’ll fade. So, please if after reading you want to point out something or suggest an area I’ve overlooked, or just say nah, then feel free. Better still, if you know of something similar to what I’m trying to convey then please let me know.

The first idea was, or is,  about B.S. Johnson’s novel The Unfortunates. When I first heard about eBooks and Javascript it seemed logical the two would go together to allow the parts of this novel to be read at random as intended. You would come to the end of a chapter and your e-reading device would randomly select the next part.  I don’t know what this code would look like or how it would be implemented. There is the question though of how random? I mean with the physical you can shuffle the sections and have a look, where with the e-reader it would be….you know?

I’m going to go scour through the Three Press, Inc blog for some ideas of how this might be possible. I think it would be a nice idea and I would like to make a mock up if possible.

The natural step from an e-reader platform is, now, to make a smart looking web application using the powers of HTML5 where the sections are displayed on your lap/desktop and you can click and drag the sections around.

And that’s my digital publishing idea for the day. I hope I didn’t come across as sounding like too much of a dilettante.

I’m about a third of the way through Infinite Jest and this novel is already invaluable. I am having memories of scenes that feel like they’re from a grimy movie. I’m talking in particular about the drug addict with a feather boa. He’s just had a fit on a subway. Hopefully this book will take me a while to read.

One of my favourite pieces of description is about the man with no hands smoking a cigarette and then having a coughing fit. I also liked the pharse ‘administrative skeleton’.

WordPress Theme Thesis Maker Backs Down, Adopts GPL

This has been interesting. I’ve recently been waylaid by trying to come up with a price for the book.

Workings out for the production and delivery costs

Entering the details on Lightning Source

It’s a very slim volume (pamphlet almost) at just under 48 pages but the price I’ve arrived at is £3.99.

I’m confident of the stories I’ve chosen but I’m anxious that doesn’t represent value for money, to the reader. It would be terrible for them to think that it’s not worth it after reading. I’ve got two options, as far as I can see.

1. squeeze the margin even more (I love business)
2. add some out-of-copyright stories

As the aim of this project was to initially learn about the business and the skills needed I think I might squeeze the margin as much as possible. It could mean less in royalties for the authors but it might also mean I sell more copies.

It’s an interesting exercise because at one point I was actually sitting there going: how much can I get out of this? And I was wringing my hands as I imagine it must be in the business world with their bowlers, breifcases and pin stripe suits.

Next time on this blog I wrestle with blurbs.

“A gnome with no name in a world of terror and war…..”

Thanks for dropping by. Disconnect Books is a learn-as-you-go publishing project. It will also be the venue for anything publishing related that I think is fun to try.

At the moment there isn’t much to show except this blog. However the first release will be the The Short Story Split: Volume 1 and will feature one short story from two authors. You get the idea.

In the meantime, if you like punk rock please have a look at Disconnect Disconnect Records by my friend John. There are some good bands here and more to come.

If you like Sundays you might enjoy this casual blog I keep with my friend Alina.

You can also make suggestions, give advice or make me laugh by getting in touch on Twitter @robertjsullivan.

Below is an image I made in GIMP which I’m thinking of having as a ‘logo’.