oh shiny world

[devi]

Many coolnesses! The first one, as seen on Neil Gaiman's journal, is hiddenpassageway.com. If I had one it would have to lead to a Madwoman's Chamber, like the one in the Wizards, Warriors and You books. Though some of you might think that in a house with me living in it this would not be difficult.

Yesterday I got an unexpected parcel from addedentry and j4. Surprise parcels are the best. It had two books on writing for children, including one by Joan Aiken! And a card with the cover of one of the Malory Towers books! You guys rock.

(The Joan Aiken book had a list inside the front cover of books she's written, some for children and some for adults. The adult books all have dull, wet names like "The Young Lady from Paris" and "The Smile of the Stranger". The children's books have thrilling titles like "The Stolen Lake" and "Midnight is a Place". Wonder what that tells us about her? Or maybe about me?)

I really appreciate all the comments on the cover I put up. And I have found a printer in the UK thanks to spurious_fellow's introduction skills. This is great news, meaning no stupid international shipping charges for me or anyone else who wants to buy the book over here, but none for people in America either because they have a branch there too!

Is it wrong of me to think that "Antony Rowe" will look way better than "Lulu" on the back of a book? It sounds so much more... publishery. I hope this is not just because of some unconscious prejudice on my part because Lulu is a girl's name. Albeit a particularly fluffy, silly-sounding name.

Doing it in the UK means I have to do various bureaucratic bits myself, though. I have to get a company in Oxford to make me a barcode. On a little piece of plastic, apparently. And it looks like I might have to buy ten ISBNs. You can't get them singly. I have a few other hare-brained book schemes in the back of my head, but not a whole ten of them. Is anyone else out there considering self-publishing something? If so, you can buy an ISBN from me for £9.40 and then I will officially be your publisher! This amuses me greatly.

Exclamation marks! They are the new understatement!

Comments

[ex-humanfema327.livejournal.com]

Regarding !'s - half the work in translating german is removing the damn things.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Really? Are Germans much more keen on them than we are?

[mooism.livejournal.com]

I think “Antony Rowe” looks more old-fashioned than “Lulu”, which is practically the same thing as being more publishery.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. I like their website too because it looks brown and serify, which in my head equals more respectable and bookish.

[mooism.livejournal.com]

Where’s their website?

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Here (http://www.antonyrowe.co.uk).

Lulu

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

makes me think:
'My wife's been at a tribute to female singers, in Hawaii.'
'Did she go to Honolulu?'
'No, she's more of a Kate Bush fan.'

Re: Lulu

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, oh dear... :)

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

I am now lost in a reverie of Take That singing "Relight My Fire" accompanied by a tweed-jacketed Anthony Rowe.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

You got to be strong enough to walk on through the night - yeah!
There's an 80gsm laminated perfect-bound paperback on the other side

[cleanskies.livejournal.com]

I think Antonia Rowe would sound just as authoritative. Although Antoinette Rowe, I would expect to publich porn classic erotica

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Good point. It would to me too, so it can't be the femininity, just the... Luluness.

Hey, does Neal like Bill Hicks?

good question

[cleanskies.livejournal.com]

I really don't know. I think that's something you'd have to ask him ... (grinds teeth) they outta be letting him OUT already

Re: good question

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

I think I'll risk it and put some BH rants on a CD for him in any case. Comedy might make a change from books and music... but yes, I agree entirely.

Re: good question

[triskellian]

I suspect Bill Hicks might have been among the stuff smiorgan took him the other day, but I can check.

In other me-being-useful shocks: you don't need to get your barcode on a bit of plastic - some places will actually agree to - whisper it - email them to you! I can find out how much I paid for my last work one, and let you have the details if it's a sensible amount.

Re: good question

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

That would be great (on both counts, but especially the barcode). I mean, I'd have to scan the piece of plastic in once I'd got it.

The people I talked to quoted me about fifteen quid, for comparison purposes.

Re: good question

[triskellian]

Axicon, £17.63, same day service by email.

Re: good question

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Hey, they're the same people I talked to yesterday and I didn't pick up on the fact that they'd do it by email. Fabulous. Cheers!

Re: good question

[triskellian]

Also: smiorgan did take Neal some Bill Hicks.

[mollydot.livejournal.com]

Lulu sounds like a poodle.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

A poodle with bits of its fur fluffed up and other bits shaved. With a pink ribbon.

[mollydot.livejournal.com]

Dye the fur blue, then you can happily use the company.

[j4.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked the books!

I didn't get round to commenting on your book-cover on the actual post, so I'll say here instead that I thought it looked bloody brilliant. Like an Actual Proper Book which I would buy. And I love the title, and the lettering for the title is just right.

"Antony Rowe" sounds much more publishery to me than "Lulu", and I don't think it's just that Lulu is a female name -- e.g. "Jessica Rowe" sounds much more publishery than, I dunno, "Robbie". For me, the name "Lulu" is inextricably linked in my brain with the pop star, and that's probably going to be true for a couple of generations of pop-music-listeners (since she had that bizarre semi-revival in the 1990s with Take That). You can't help the fact that names have connotations!

There must be something cool you can do with spare ISBNs. Actually, I thought about buying addedentry an ISBN for his birthday, once, years ago. Like those buy-a-piece-of-the-moon things, or name-a-star-after-your-loved-one, only more librarianly. :)

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Thanks - for books and cover comments. And yes, ISBNs are kind of inherently cool. At least to the very bookish.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

ISBN - hmmm, yes, possibly. I need to knuckle down a bit more first, though. Can you sell an ISBN on eBay? ;-) (Or buy one, indeed! There may be someone in the same boat who's already paid for their ten...)

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Interesting. Will check.

*applauds notion of you needing an ISBN*

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

What are Antony Rowe's prices like? Equivalent to Lulu?

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting question. They charge a setup fee, which Lulu doesn't do, but after that the books (and of course the shipping of the books) are way cheaper.

[amuchmoreexotic.livejournal.com]

That hiddenpassageway site reminded me of http://www.entrances2hell.co.uk/ for some reason.