Friday July 09, 2010

Why I am exactly like Rocket from the Crypt—but with e-books

It’s becoming evident—now, even to me—that what I really wanted to be was a rock star. Preferably in the ’90s. I have these e-books that look like records and cassettes. A desire to write like the Pixies rock. The fear of being Eddie Vedder. All the symptoms are there. So, rather than fight it, here is how my Summer of (Free) E-Book Love—which I just announced yesterday—was inspired by Rocket From the Crypt.

If you’re not familiar with RFTC, they’re what you’d expect to get if you crossed Danzig with Bruce Springsteen. But that’s not important to this story. What is important is that leading up to their major-label debut—1995’s Scream, Dracula, Scream!—they went on a six-week-long free tour in support of their self-released LP Hot Charity. Admission was free for the entire tour. How awesome is that?

I’m not going to tour this summer—I don’t have Interscope to foot the bill—but I am going to try to give away as many free e-books as I can between now and Labor Day, in anticipation of the fall release of Why They Cried. In particular, I’ll be recommending Single, my first e-book. It contains two stories that first appeared in One Story and the Land-Grant College Review, both of which will appear in Why They Cried. It’s a great advance sample of the collection.

So how am I going to give more of these away? I’m open to ideas, help, and suggestions, but I’ve started by posting instructions for downloading Single on every platform, from the Kindle to plain old paper. It’s easy to forget that most people have still never read an e-book. I’m instructing friends all the time how to get at my books, so it made sense to post these instructions all in one place. I’m also happy to help anyone who’s having trouble accessing my books. Think of it as e-book tech support. I’ve even set up a phone number for such requests at 347-WHY-THEY. You can also e-mail me or reach me on Twitter. And I really am open to ideas. It’s the Summer of (Free) E-book Love, for chrissakes. Anything goes. Spread the word, give me one of those Facebook thumbs-up on this page—I understand this is how publishers will now determine author advances—and shoot me your ideas via e-mail or in comments. And thanks for reading.

By the way, Scream, Dracula, Scream! totally rocks and I completely recommend it if you’re exactly like me, only younger.