The Pulp 2.0 Brand

One of the questions I get asked the most is "What sort of material are you looking to license for Pulp 2.0?' It's  certainly a fair question, but sometimes hard to define as I do have eclectic tastes when it comes to my reading, movies, comics and toys.  I thought I would take a moment to sit down and try to define my tastes, and give you a clearer insight into the Pulp 2.0 brand.

Come to find out that it's a good time to discuss branding, universes and "presence" on the internet bookshelf. 

When I was a snot-nosed brat growing up, one of the best places to visit was downtown Aiken, SC.  A short bike ride past the Highland park golf course and voila' you were in the center of a cornucopia of small shops, thrift stores, drug stores, 2 movie theaters (The Rocking Chair and the Mark 1&2), a sporting good store and a newsstand/convenience store.  For a ten-year-old kid this was a major component of the pulp paradise that would help define my level of taste  (the other being Kmart and Nonesuch Books ).

Downtown Aiken, SC had, for all intents and purposes been built in the fifties and sixties when the Savannah River Nuclear Facility came online and brought thousands into the sleepy town and the 20th century.  Prior to that, the main street was dirt and geared toward not only cars, but horses and carriages. Aiken was known as one of the premier horse training areas in the country with several Kentucky Derby winners to its credit. It was a small town that liked it that way, and did its best to accommodate the great influx of  people, money and commerce that a nuclear plant provides.

So by 1974 or so, I had the good fortune to be able to navigate this sleepy downtown corridor of 50's storefronts and find all sorts of cool things - the kind that delight the mad-pulp-bastard-in-training with a voracious appetite for reading, hobbies and movies - of the fantastique variety.  We would get Aurora model kits and Estes rockets from Aiken Sporting Goods. We would devour copies of Famous Monsters, Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella  at the Quick Stop; pick up comics at Hooks Drug store and Starlog and Fangoria at Aiken Drugs.  Some Saturdays we would go to the Rocking Chair Cinema and see things like The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Silent Running,  The Planet of the Apes movies, Godzilla v. Bionic Monster, and later more adult fare like The Great Texas Dynamite Chase, Death Race 2000 and yes, even Big Bad Mama.  


[OMG - Captain Kirk is getting naked with Police Woman! She is so hot!] 

So this is the stuff I grew up with (though not necessarily grew up on. I went to high school with an emphasis on reading, and because I had such a habit I read everything - including all the literature that's supposed to be good for you).  Yes it informed my style, and the style of many of my peers.  From those humble beginnings we haunted garage and attic sales and the occasional swap meet looking for these buried treasures...

And we realized we weren't alone.

So if you remember Famous Monsters,  weird series fiction paperbacks, Aurora model kits,  masked mexican wrestling, cliffhanger serials, pinup magazines, and all of the movies mentioned above then you have a pretty good handle at what makes my clock tick.  That's what we're doing with Pulp 2.0 ... and not just with books.

(Cue dramatic organ music)

So what does that mean for you creators and our audience?

For established writers it means if you have material that fits the description and has been published before - we want to talk to you to see about possibly licensing your work for new pulp-inspired editions.  We want to keep your work in print and looking its best to our audience so that it makes all of us a nice profit.  This includes prose as well as graphic novels.

For artists it means we want to see about licensing art from you for covers and interior illustrations.

For new writers who may have a few credits it's an opportunity to work with us writing novel and graphic projects we've developed - just like the old pulp publishing houses. You'll have the chance to earn money in print as you develop as a writer.  You get to work with all of us here and get stuff done.

You see, I'm setting a goal of licensing 100 titles in the next two years.  A pulp library dedicated to bringing back the "buried treasures and guilty pleasures" of yesteryear, as well as developing new pulp properties in the classic mold.  A library that draws an audience and is the launching pad for all sorts of media creations: tee shirts, posters, web series, movies, games and toys.

(Nobody ever said I wasn't ambitious)

For the audience it means you'll get a plethora of pulp entertainment at your fingertips (or wifi connection) : digital books, print editions, media and merchandise that doesn't break your bank and looks great on the shelf.  It means you get to hang out with people who are just like you, and help us develop a company that's geared toward what you like. Maybe even develop your own talents just like Don Glut or Joe Dante or John Carpenter (when they each wrote for FM) and become a pro at it.

We've already had some small success with Brother Blood and we're building on that with Radio Western Adventures and our upcoming Frankenstein Lives Again.  
















I can let you know right now we have many more cool things in store for you, and I look forward to hearing what cool stuff you have in store for us... 

Warren And Joss Go Outside the System (Again)

Warren Ellis answered a few questions this morning regarding his internet serial with Joss Whedon called WASTELANDERS.  They hatched their plot pre-AVENGERS MOVIE and plan to pick it up after the movie is in post-production.

What's interesting (to me, anyway) is the following:

A few notes. WASTELANDERS is not, as some people who can’t read have commented, the same as Antony Johnston’s WASTELAND. WASTELANDERS is Joss’ idea and Joss’ title. WASTELANDERS also has no connection to DR HORRIBLE. WASTELANDERS is where Joss’ sense that too few people followed the example of DR HORRIBLE meets my obsession with the QUATERMASS serials, which were half-hour episodes. Short-form genre serials of the kind that tv just doesn’t make anymore. What we eventually came up with was very much a fusion of British and American styles, and very much a fusion of my style and Joss’ style. And full-on science fiction.

 (highlights mine)

There's a lot to follow on this one because it represents a fundamental shift in thinking regarding media.  In the previous media era, it was rare for two people to collaborate as these guys are doing.  It happened, but it was rare.  Also, we have a situation where the plan is to not go to TV (because TV doesn't do short form serials) but go to the internet (because it DOES). Both have experience with the web - Warren writing the GI JOE animated web serial as well as the web comic FREAKANGELS, and Joss' DR. HORRIBLE.

This is the next iteration of their experience in this arena, and I'm going to say this sort of thing is going to happen more and more often.  Will it pay all of the bills?  Maybe, maybe not.  But the idea that the opportunity is there to do something different is more than enough to radically change how media thinks.

Cool.

What is the IPad Exactly?

Here's the best explanation I've heard recently, culled from  THE BEAT:

So, I agree with a comic book industry executive who, during our discussion of the business over drinks recently said, “The iPad is the new newsstand.” In its day, the newsstand serviced millions and millions of readers. It fueled the fire of reading. Adding another avenue that will get books into the hands of people and turning them into readers.

 And as I recall, there were a lot of pulp magazines sold at the local newsstand....hmmmmm.

MEMOIRS OF AN OCCASIONAL SUPERHEROINE FREE until MARCH 15TH

Valerie D'Orazio has posted her book Memoirs of an Occasional Superheroine online at Scrib'd.

Go and download same.

• Then READ it. 

•  It's a nonfiction account of Valerie's experiences in media and publishing.  Eye-and heart -opening.

• Tell your friends.

Tell them the Mad Pulp Bastard sent you.

Pulp Happenings Around the Web

Piers Beckley has set up a screenwriter forum for those in the UK here.  I may hop over there in my bloody boots and have a pint or twenty leaving scarlet footprints over the carpet.

Occasional Superheroine Valerie D'Orazio has put the 1st book in her trilogy  THE END OF THE VAMPIRE CRAZE IN NYC online here.  (Val - I want to know the results of this free experiment!)

Francesco Francavilla and the boys over at Comic Twart are drawing Abuli and Bernet's TORPEDO.  I may have an idea or two to throw their way - not that they need me at all. They bring the awesome quite well on their own.

Max Allan Collins liked my review of THE LAST LULLABY. 

Go visit them and leave a comment telling them the MPB sent ya!

I'll be here writing & publishing.

Pulp That Never Was...But Should Have Been

DAUGHTER OF DRACULA was an experiment of sorts for publisher Cameron Tyler to break into the narrow margin between outright sleaze (as he called it) of the burgeoning pornographic market (Playboy, Penthouse, etc...) ruled by Hugh Hefner and the Men's Adventure market dominated by Martin Goodman's line of cheap thrill rags (excluding his nephew Stan Lee's editorship of the company's Marvel Comics).

Tyler knew he couldn't squeeze into either of these areas nor could he compete with the rapidly growing paperback book market, so he decided to do an 'end run' and develop a line of books with the appearance of magazines, but the content of the paperback.

In essence he reinvented the pulp.

DAUGHTER OF DRACULA -- "Sounds more sophisticated than Dracula's Daughter... besides, Dracula sells!" he would shout around the office -- was a hastily conceived series  by Tyler's editorial "team" (whoever happened to be in the office that day and could humor the old man) and turned over to freelance writers to flesh out individual "novels."  Tyler's methodology was very direct and responsive to the needs of his audience:

He would read what was popular in the news of the day and develop a way to capitalize on it.  As he often said, "I don't want to make a wine drinker into a beer drinker. I want beer drinkers to try my brand of beer."

In this instance he had just seen Hammer Film's DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE starring Christopher Lee with his nephew. This wasn't the Dracula he knew from his young age, but a more sophisticated, sexy vampire with a sadistic streak that had no restraint. While the material did nothing for the puritan-raised Tyler, he could see his nephew's rapt interest. In fact the only thing that held young Michael's attention more than Lee's blood-soaked performance were all of the scantily-clad women in the movie.

Tyler thought if he could only combine the two elements he would have a winner...

Tyler nearly fell out of his chair when the words popped out of his mouth... "Daughter...of...Dracula!"

The rest fell into place rather quickly. DoD was the story of yes, Dracula's daughter Zara who must endure hardship and sacrifice as she travels the world following important clues left by her father after his demise at the hands of Van Helsing and co. Her goal is to use those clues and the treasure they reveal to forcefully take the throne as Queen of the Vampires.

Van Helsing's nephew, Michael (in a tip to Tyler's own nephew) agrees to aid Zara in her quest because since Dracula's death the vampires have grown restless and are attacking humans more frequently.  There is nothing to keep them in check.  As the duo travel the world encountering all sorts of supernatural creatures and mysteries, Michael and Zara must fight their ever-growing attraction to one another...

The series ran for approximately 27 adventures before dying an untimely death at the news stand. Astonishingly, for a man who was so able to keep his finger on the pulse of popular culture, Tyler underestimated the power of the magazine cover.  While his magazine-sized "pulps" had the goods on the inside - each issue packed with blood-letting, sex, monsters, adventure and  horror - something within Tyler wouldn't allow him to create more prurient,colorful, action-packed covers to demonstrate to the casual browser what delights lay within the pages.  Just as likely Tyler didn't really know what was in his own magazines for after an idea was turned over to his editors he would move on to the next subject that caught his interest. 

Many of the novels in the DoD series were authored by E. W. Benson under the pen name of "Maxwell Ernst." Benson was an author with a bloodthirsty streak whose prose would have made the editors of the old WEIRD TALES blush filled as they were with the above-mentioned sex and blood. Benson never met Tyler nor any of the other editors at the office, but simply and quietly fulfilled her assignments on time.

You read that right. Her assignments.

E.W. Benson stood for Elizabeth Warren Benson and she was one of the many freelancers who answered Tyler's small ads in the back of Writer's Digest and Author's Quarterly looking for writing work.  She worked under several pen names writing fiction, articles and advertising copy for a variety of clients from her home in St. Louis. It was probably a good thing that she never showed up at Tyler's editorial offices because she most certainly would have been fired. Not for any lack of quality in her work - but for the fact that male editors would have been too embarrassed discussing the prurient aspects of the books with a female.

By all accounts, Benson was a quiet woman married to a loving husband who worked for one of the many industrial plants there in the area.  No one ever found out she wrote stories featuring blood, gore, supernatural creatures, nudity, subtle lesbianism and sex.  She simply went about her business pocketing the (meager) checks paid to her family's bank account under "E.W. Benson."

   But that's just part of the story...












(c) 2010 by Bill Cunningham and Pulp 2.0 Press

Lessons I've Learned From Pulp

In reviewing the year and placing my thoughts toward the new year I decided to make a list of everything I've learned from my experience writing, publishing, producing, and promoting pulp media. I have to add that 'media' bit at the end because in the world of Pulp 2.0 - Pulp is not just books anymore.



1. Entertain first and often...

2. Make your pulp colorful, enticing and distinctive. Audiences do judge a book (or DVD, or magazine) by its cover.

3. It doesn't matter that it's cheaply printed - it matters whether or not its been read.

4. Forget about awards. Cater to your audience - that's your reward.

5. Sex sells. Sexy sells better because it sells to both men and women.

6. There are a lot of pulps at the news stand. Ask yourself what makes yours better because you can't just aim to be as good as the next guy. You have to be better than the rest of the herd otherwise you'll be looking at assholes all day until the hammer swings down.



7. Be quick about it. Pulp waits for no one. Deadlines are there to tell you that you have to get better.

8. Pulp doesn't ask for permission. Pulp knows no fear except the deadline.

9. To some, pulp will always be a 4-letter word.

10. Pulp is built on imagination. Feed and water regularly.

11. At the end of the day if you don't make money - you lose.

12. He who controls the distribution controls the content.

13. Never cheat your audience. They deserve your best effort.

14. Readers will try you out once for the action and the premise. They will return to you for the characters.

15. Everything is a first draft.

16. Pulp follows trends then surpasses them.

17. Never underestimate the value of a happy ending.

18. Pulp is not a genre, it's an attitude. Only the sweetest, juiciest heart of the story and no more.

Pulp Served!

Cherie Burbach from Blisstree had a post up yesterday about THINGS I LEARNED FROM TOP CHEF and as crazy as it sounds, it reminded me of how alike good cooking and good pulp media are:

Sometimes Simple is Best In cooking (and in life) sometimes the best route is the simplest. You don’t need to prepare an extravagant dish that goes over the top and (often) falls flat. Instead, a dish with minimal ingredients and prepared with a simple garnish can work. Simple isn’t boring, but it has to have excellence. Do one thing and do it extremely well, and this can take you far.

Stick With What You Know While it’s good to learn and grow, there is a time and a place to try new things. In a challenge (or when you have company coming over), it’s a good idea to still with what you are comfortable with. You might want to branch out a little, but keep the general technique and style that has worked well for you. Don’t abandon it simply because it’s “old hat.”

Cook for Your Audience You can say you’re a good cook, but if the people you are cooking for don’t enjoy eating your stuff, are you really a good cook? This came across loud and clear during the “Top Chef Masters” challenges. During one challenge, the chefs had to cook for some Girl Scouts. The chef that one got high marks because he not only made his food delicious but also fun. The girls loved it, and he won the challenge.

Admit Your Mistakes On “Top Chef,” there are certain challenges where a chef will completely mess up a meal. The most embarrassing part of watching is having that same chef deny that he or she made a mistake later in front of the judges. This same thing holds true in real life cooking. Not everything you make will be fabulous. But that’s okay. Owning up to your mistakes is all part of the process.

More pulp writery craftwork later...

They Are Designing My Movie...

Here.

Though I suppose that since it's moved into the design phase it's OUR movie.

We still need a lead actress to play a master thief who can fly.

Inspirational images here.

Shooting in New Jersey.

(Wait! Don't run away!)

And Who Didn't See This Coming?

From our friends at Tubefilter:

The Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog sequel rumors have been flying since days after the web musical premiered online last summer. Still, despite strong desire from fans and the cast themselves, there wasn’t any movement on the ‘Dr. H 2‘ mostly due to creator Joss Whedon’s primary commitment to his FOX series Dollhouse. But this week there’s new confirmation that the project is moving forward.

During a conference call to promote the new season of Dollhouse, Whedon somewhat officially confirmed that a sequel is going to happen:

The main question, he says, is whether he does it “on a shoe string again” or goes bigger budget and “invites other people into the process.” Either way, he promises that it won’t affect the storyline. (via TV Guide)

In terms of those “other people in the process,” we do hear that Whedon is shopping a digital studio proposal around Hollywood, including to the major studios, looking to raise investment in the $5 million range, according to sources. The unnamed Whedon studio will apparently look to produce four original web series a year, two of which will be directed by Whedon himself. One of those two will be the above mentioned Dr. Horrible sequel.

Hell - Might as well just paste it all up:

By Tubefilter Research estimates, the Streamy-winning show grossed just under $2.5 million, a number that was later reported by in a recent Forbes feature on Whedon. With a production budget just over $200,000, that’s not a bad return on investment (12x). But the question remains can he strike web gold again?

The revenue was largely driven through digital download sales at iTunes partly by accident as the initial release took down the free streaming version on the Dr. Horrible site itself. This, and the short initial window on Hulu caused thousands of fans to pay the $3.99 for the full season. Then there was the highly touted DVD release right in time for the holidays that featured the artfully crafted musical cast and crew commentary. The business model proposed for the new studio would follow that same paid-download and DVD model.

As for the title of Dr. Horrible’s new season, it’s anyone’s guess at this point. The NY Post unsuccessfully tried to sneak it out of Nathan Fillion during an interview about Castle, though Fillion did say he knew what it was.

Also to be determined is whether or not web star Felicia Day will return in some way after her character Penny was killed in the show’s surprising finale. This is Whedon we’re talking about here and who knows, it’s possible Penny could return, as one fan postulates, as Dr. Horrible’s evil clone/robot girlfriend.

A good first step.

But what's interesting are the recent opposing articles articles by the Hollywood Reporter and by Variety. HReporter taking the position that the "Long Tail" isn't working, and Variety showcasing Whedon as someone who caters to a niche.

So which is it? If the Long Tail isn't working and you can't make a profit from a niche (or rather people don't flock to niches as previously thought), then how does Whedon, who Variety characterizes as never having a "hit tv show" able to make his niche work and find financing? How is he able to make $2.5 M from a $200K investment and share that with everyone involved?

I think that what needs to happen is a lot of discussion as to the methodology of the study HR sites in their article, and a redefinition of what constitutes a "niche." I personally think that someone could make a lot of good money from creating content for specific niches - superheroes, steampunk, splatterpunk, alien invasion porn, etc... and spread that content out across many different platforms and revenue streams.

We live in interesting times.

High and Lowbrow: Co-Dependent

Been doing some research on the web, figuring out a bit of this and a bit of that. I sure am glad we have the internet and people are allowed to share their research and creativity and so forth. In years past it would have taken me weeks to accomplish what I've been able to assemble in mere hours.

Love that.

One of the recent finds is this, an article by Peter Swirski of the University of Alberta regarding Popular and High Brow Literature: A Comparative View. You can download a PDF of the article from the page. While the article compares and destroys the myths of the literary forms of "popular literature" (read: pulp) and more "pure art" projects, he notes many similarities and more importantly needs between the two. In other words, you can't have successful "high art" without a populist counterpart(ner).

Take a moment to read it and wherever it says "Book, novel or work" feel free to insert "Movie, comic, TV or web series" and you begin to see the broader implications of Swirski's analysis. An excerpt below:

The Pure Art myth wants us to believe that high art abides in the realm of creation untainted by the cupidity of its lower caste cousins. Like Disney's Seven Dwarves, who typically hang out in a troop, this myth does not dwell alone in the forest of literary and cultural misconceptions. On most days it can be seen having cocktails atop the Ivory Tower with a small but influential coterie: the myth that the Novel Is Dead, the myth that People Don't Read Books Anymore, the myth that the Paperback Is a New Kid on the Block, the myth thatReading Pulp Fiction Is Bad For You, and the grand myth that We Can Ignore Popular Literature.

In what follows I would like to take a closer look at some of the ways in which highbrow literature and popular fiction relate to each other. My aim is to take stock of select sociological data and aesthetic arguments that have accrued between the birth of popular literature -- the term I will use interchangeably with fiction -- in the eighteenth century and its drosophila-like explosion in the twentieth century. Its career may be all the more remarkable in that, for the most part, it has taken place without the sanction of the "eliterati" or literary scholarship in general.

Like a backyard fungus, mass fiction conquered the world without the benefit of a gardener's pruning knife (in the shape of systematic criticism) or clods of fertilizer (art grants, writer in residence funds, poet laureate stipends, government subsidies, etc.) which midwife the efforts of highbrow littérateurs. More than two hundred years of fruition in all corners of the world warrants the examination of popular literature as a literary phenomenon, rather than as a mere cultural nuisance.

Give it a read.

LADY WASTELAND

More here.

HATE the voice over. It detracts in most instances and only marginally enhances in others. I can't believe that a gun-toting, whipcrack of a heroine like this would have this sort of "voice" in her inner monologue. The narration is meant to sound important and artistic and that's precisely why it doesn't work. The action camerawork could be a bit better, but the storyline moves well and the production design is well thought out. It's a good location and could look especially creepy at night.

I'll say check it out.

Not Readers, Not Viewers, but...

Warren Ellis had a post on his website today regarding his Sony Walkman and how his daughter relates to it and other technology. Here's the relevant bit:

I found Lili crosslegged on her bed earlier, her guitar in her hands, earbuds in, watching something on her open laptop. I suspect it was either a guitar lesson, some tabs she’s been looking for, or listening to Theory Of A Dead Man and trying to detune her guitar to C-sharp to capture their tone. That’s how she treats the laptop — what else does it do? And the very conjuring of all those elements in the first line illustrates that her generation do not live with their heads in a laptop or a DS Lite or whatever. Less so, even, than the previous generation. It’s a fully integrated part of their lives, a Swiss army knife for the world. What else does it do?

If I tell her I have a YouTube app on the Sony Walkman I’ll never get the bloody thing back.

But here's how it relates back to us..."What else does it do?" applies not only to the technology but to the media. We have a generation that's going to read books, but they will be books with built-in links to other media. They will be videos with built in blog pages that take them in new story directions (background, alternatives, expansions), or webcomics with soundtracks. Toys with built in wifi.

You want to appeal to today's readers with your media? Then understand you aren't appealing to just readers or viewers...

You have to create something that appeals to users. That dear fiends (not a misprint) is a whole new ball game.

More on this tomorrow.

Green Hornet Conquers Web...Again

Many folks here in these parts know of my affection for the french Green Hornet short that made the rounds a couple of years ago.

Now, from MTV's SPLASH PAGE comes this announcement that there's a new Green Hornet web series shooting in Chicago:

Over at Destructo, they’re reporting that filming for a “GreenHornetTV” web series recently occurred at a famous landmark in Chicago. While their sources say the project isn’t related to the “Green Hornet” movie, they do claim that whatever does come of the shoot will end up online at www.GreenHornetTV.com. (The site currently states that whatever is planned for it is “coming soon.”)

“Filming at the Uptown Bank building seems to have been for basic interior shots and did not appear to involve the Hornet himself,” reads the site’s report. “However, other witnesses said that the police who were present may not have been wearing Chicago issued uniforms, but this could not be confirmed.”

Could there be yet another medium Green Hornet is headed to in the near future? We’ll be sure to keep you posted as any news develops.

Could this be where The Knightmare heads to in the future?

Hmmmm...

New Media Pimpin'

John Rogers gave us some mighty fine pimpin' this weekend.

His pimp hand is strong. (Ask his writing staff)

He also gave us the New Pulp Media company motto:

"Get off your ass and make your own media."

And I think that's as good a mandate as any I've heard, and fits right into the no-nonsense, here are the tools - use 'em approach we take here at Pulp 2.0. Nothing would please me more than for people to take time out of their week and create something - a short story, a piece of art, a photograph, a short film, an animation, an audio piece, or even a bit of code that does something cool.

Because when you finish something and show it, you get better almost instantly. You just have to do it first...and keep doing it.

And that's the approach of New Pulp Media (both as a company and a philosophy), to conceive of ways to get you to jump in and write or draw, film or whatever creative outlet best suits your temperament. To do it fast, inexpensively and in an entertaining way.

But most of all to have fun and to share those different forms of storytelling fun with others. The rest will take care of itself.

Headway

I made a new header for the blog and it will stay there a little while anyway. I can already see what's wrong with it and as I stare at it I am certain I will pick apart all of its faults.

I am such a bastard - even to myself. Okay, especially to my own work.

As I settle into the new digs and actually enjoy today's summer shower it feels good to take 30 minutes and whip up some artwork (by way of an original panel by Darwyn Cooke) and throw it up on the web. I know that in a few hours I'll have a couple of emails or comments telling me what they like, what they don't and why. Absolutely all part of the process. Absolutely the best and worst thing about the web.

So in that vein of thought, I present this - a mock up of a cover for the Rip Rocket chapter of my Open Source Pulp Manual (R)

This is a mockup of the pulp magazine in which his adventures appeared. Rip is an "Outerspace Agent" fusing the mission of Kennedy's New Frontier speech with the burgeoning "spy movement" of the early sixties.

The stories are definitely "spy fi"...

So let me know what you think. Brutal honesty always the best policy.

-----------------------------------
Rip Rocket is copyright (c) 2009 by Bill Cunningham and New Pulp Media. Original art by Freeman (Freidman?). Magazine design by Bill Cunningham.

From the Comments

Stephen Blackmoore commented on my post re: You Need Some Kindle-ing to Start a Fire and in the interest of furthering discussion on the topic and disseminating views, I brought it up to a post.

For the longest time people were saying the short story market was dead...I think perhaps its resurrection is all-digital.

Couldn't agree more. As magazine sales disintegrate more and more short fiction is appearing on the web. Sites like Plots With Guns (http://plotswithguns.com) and Thrilling Detective (http://thrillingdetective.com) have always been web based, but even more traditional print mags are moving to the web as their markets collapse.

When the NY Times finds it could save money (and by money I mean millions) by giving its subscribers a Kindle and having them download the paper every day then you have to say the gong is ringing loud and clear.

And it's not just short fiction. Interesting post at Joe Konrath's blog about his releasing one of his novels onto the Kindle for $1.59.

And how he shot to a #1 bestseller with it.

I will investigate this further, and see what I find out. John August has already dissected some of the manipulation going on over at Kindle as to how something gets on their bestseller list. Certainly I'm not saying that anything underhanded is going on, just that the methodologies employed give readers a skewed idea of what "bestseller" really means on Kindle's charts.

He's not making huge money ($1250.00) by any means, but it's an experiment and he rightly points out that an advance for a first time novel is traditionally about $5K.

And since he's putting it out himself all he's losing is the cut Amazon takes.

He could easily make $5K in a few months if sales remain strong.

Sure, he's not going to get royalties, but as you say it's about marketing. He needs to keep his brand fresh and strong and if he does that and works to maintain it then the royalty issue becomes moot.

Well, if he's selling it on Kindle and has built an audience, then he could easily do a print version via Createspace with added material and so forth - for the collector types. Again, I have to slice through his post. But, it points a way for new writers to get their work out there which is both a blessing and a curse. I do think that editors and designers will become more more important in this new paradigm. At least for those wishing to produce something of professional quality that stands out from the pack of books available.

And I don't know about you, but an extra $15K couldn't hurt (3 novels at $5k each/ year) and the fact they will always be "in print" means they are working for you. Then of course, there's the translation rights for other territories, the media and merchandise tie-ins... you get the picture.

He makes an excellent point about the advance a novelist would get in that it can either be spent on whatever or looked at as a business loan for your company and rolled back into it.

And ahem, certainly their will be companies hiring writers to work on Kindle novels based on outlines. The pulp publishing novel. Strictly percentage based, but a way to put callouses on your fingertips. This is how Tom Swift and Nancy Drew were created.

There are a lot of different ways to go about this, obviously, and I know a lot of people who are freaking out about it.

Certainly no need to freak, just start making plans and executing them. If you're an established writer - this is a new market for your work. If you're a newbie writer who needs experience, this is an opportunity. If you're a webcomics person, this is a way to sell your comics while you gather material for the GN. If you're and editor or graphic designer this a chance to ply your skillset to people who will need your services.

It's past time that self-publishing raises the bar on its offerings and quality.

And if you're like me, you're already working on this and tying it into web video (movies and serials), audio, comics, social networking and merchandising.

Danni Daring TM and copyright (c) 2009 by Bill Cunningham and New Pulp Media. Artwork used for example purposes only - no rights implied.

Thanks!

To everyone who's sent emails and notes from across the internet about Chapter One of "The Murder Legion Strikes at Midnight."

I am very gratified that everyone has boarded the fun train [TM by Rogers] with us - from Gregg who took a chance, to the actors who gave life to my scribbling, to Scott and Matt who gave our hero a "look."

I look forward to answering some of your questions and dropping a few hints on my plans for the character and for New Pulp Media.

If you haven't heard it yet (and shame on you if you haven't) - go here.

He Knows What You Fear!

Right here.

Thanks go to Gregg and the gang at Decoder Ring.

Enjoy... I have to get back to cropping video for my garage sale....Tomorrow!

Pulp Legionnaires: Alert!

As I told you in the first Electrogram. Build your network of web portals through one interface and track all stats not only from those portals, but all of the embedded players around the web.

(It has a few bugs, but this is a significant step forward in putting sophisticated marketing tools in your hands so you can make money with your media)

Track who's watching. When they are watching. Where they are watching.

If you know your audience and where they hang out you can tailor your content to them. You can maximize your particular audience, and minimize waste.

Oh and FYI - this is the sort of thing we go over in the Electrogram. This, free links (when I find them) and behind-the-scenes stuff of what's happening with New Pulp Media. There's more, but you have to sign up to find out.