m. craig
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"The Narrows is a queer cycling steampunk tour de force!"- M. Schnuer"With dashes of steampunk (brass goggles, leather pouches, carriages), some old-school magic (magic dust, wands, the occasional fairy or dragon), and plenty of the difficulties faced by an early-twenties woman in a big new city, Craig's book is already a complex undertaking.The meat of the novel, however, lies in its allegorical social commentary, taking a look at the ramifications of corporate takeover in terms of environmental and political impact. Factories spewing toxic, black magic byproducts are run by an exploited dwarf population, a race whose rights are consistently ignored by the government. There is an aggressive population of soldiers that monitors the Narrows to keep an eye on the myriad things that have become illegal." -Conceptual Reception review"The Narrows takes you to a fantasy land which soon consumes you and you start reevaluating your own surroundings for the magic within your own dwellings. As you follow Sim's adventure, The Narrows' mysteries and enchantments reveal them self to you and you will find yourself wishing you too could heat up your coffee with magical spells and foam your latte milk with dragons breath and you can even find cycling more enchanting (if that was even possible!)"- Amazon Review
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Posts
i loooove these kids. (especially when they look like fucking rad fire demons)…… (and when they’re making awesome music)…. (but really just always)
stoopin’ after our basement show in philly
- transparency is cool
and necessary, if we’re ever going to stick it to corporate, big business whatever.
So here’s what it takes to publish a book, my way:
Printing (1,000 soft covers, 100 hardcovers with the Sheridan Press) - $5,065
Editorial work at $15/hr - $3,366
Jacket - $1,350
Interior design - $500
ISBNs - $275
Business registration (in Pennsylvania) - $191
TOTAL - $10,747
That’s not yet including what I’ll have to spend on promotion. I would say that my approach at self-publishing is definitely more expensive than what most writers can afford. I look at it as an investment of my personal savings. I am part writer and artist, part business person. This duality haunts me continuously (i’m not even going to get into e-books yet), but it’s the price to be paid for those who want to have complete control over their own work.
There are plenty of ways to do this without spending so much money. I decided to hire a professional editor and a professional designer to do the cover and interior, so that the book would meet professional standards. Those two things are necessary no matter what, though you could probably spend less money on them without losing too much quality. Print on demand would have made my initial printing fee way less, but after a winter’s worth of research i decided that it was best to start with about $10,000 and invest that money in the best way that I could. The key is to look at all of the resources you have, and to do the best you can with them. We each have to find our own way of doing this.
- proving you can DIY
Let’s call this an experiment. I’m taking something i’ve slaved over for the past two years, my heart project, the story that saved me… i’m taking that and $15,000 of all my money and experimenting with it.
When you finish writing a book, you’re supposed to send it out to publishers, keep your fingers crossed for six months, and pray that some intern thinks that your manuscript is cool enough to pass along to his boss. But that sucks.
It’s time for the literary world to look at what the music industry’s doing. We have a lot to learn. New bands perform around brooklyn, for free, wherever they can. They make their own records or cassettes or CDs. They book their own shows and do their own promotion, using facebook, bandcamp, myspace. They fund record releases with websites like pledgemusic.com (which is awesome, you should check it out).
Books are harder. They take forever to write. You sit by yourself typing for months, maybe with occasional feedback, but never feedback on a finished product. Once the story is finished, you need to get it edited (expensive, if you hire someone who knows what they’re doing), and you need someone to design the cover (same), and the interior (same). If you’re going to do things in a way so that the bookish professionals, especially bookstore owners, will take you seriously, you should probably start your own publishing company (an epic pain in the ass, but gratifying in the end).
So I think now’s a good time to admit that I have no idea what i’m doing. I’m figuring out this book thing as i go along, making at least half of my decisions based on nothing more than intuition. I’m held up by nothing more than the unyielding support of my friends and family, and some sort of sense of… resolve, i guess. Books are different than music, but there has to be a way for writers to get their work out there without groveling at the feet of big publishing houses, or wooing small publishing houses (which i love. i mean, i started one). This is an experiment, driven by hypotheses. But i’m not the only one trying to figure out what’s next for books.
This tumblr is a collection of observations. Observations from my own experiences in self-publishing, and observations shared by others trying to do the same.
And, as for The Narrows… well, in the end that’s what it’s all about- freedom.
- website
…just about to be up and running! more blog posts and info soon re: launch parties, book tour, and when the damn thing is actually going to be printed.
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Tweets
- uggggh. drunkenly agreed to read my erotica at our @PapercutPress event tn @bluestockings http://t.co/mXTMaPXw look out for some elf lovin!May 16, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- check out @TheLizPerry killing this book sewing business. we're geeeetting there http://t.co/Svg3JbflMay 15, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- May 15, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- @thishannah ummmm. meant mate like the tea and not mate like a life lover..May 15, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- @thishannah i have some maaaate waiting for you! :DMay 15, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- @Najvasol can't wait to hear you talk on wednesday!May 15, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- sooooo tiiiiiiired. haven't felt like this since college finals week during my hermione granger phase. damn, the book business aint easy.May 15, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Had fresh fried river trout with gma for lunch today. This is why I love being from pa. Now... Printing an erotica novel. #whyilovenyc
- writing a sci fi story for this http://t.co/d0DdpORK prompt- 'space, time, tempo.' sold on it once they said i could perform on a trampolineMay 13, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- 'the novelist says in words what cannot be said in words' Ursula K. Le Guin #rockstarladyMay 12, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- 'dried fruit is like, you should only do it if you go on a voyage' -fruit partyMay 06, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- My roommates are so cuuuute. Tropical fruit platter! http://t.co/3Jg3thzJ
- writing a copyright page when all i want to do is go ooooout. sigh. #publishingLifeMay 04, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- y'all should checkout this feminist press that's binding WET for us http://t.co/thKbGm7M such a great name!May 04, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- just submitted our info for Bushwick Open Studios literally 2 minutes before it was due. but its gonna be sooo awesome! readings, music, artMay 04, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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news and reviews
- Review by Amanda Farah at For Books Sake
- Review by Karen at Conceptual Reception
- "Judge a Book by Its Cover" in the Brooklyn College Kingsman. May 8, 2012
- m. craig featured in "5 Bushwick writers on How to Get Published"
THE NARROWS - New York Book Launch from Danush Parvaneh on Vimeo.
Interview with m. craig on The Narrows and starting Papercut Press
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papercut press
- Papercut Press is an independent publisher based out of New York City. Our authors are underrepresented writers who choose to operate outside of the traditional publishing system and act as our creative partners in every project we release. We aim to foster an inclusive literary community both in New York and other cities through unique events and a wide range of collaborative projects across all artistic mediums. We welcome submissions year-round.
