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The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
Neil Strauss Joins Forces With '80s TV Dweebs To Teach More Men How To Build "Keno"

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highlydubious
03/16/09

In reply to The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
Can I duck with you? I picked it up for five bucks at a B&N post-Christmas sale and really enjoyed it. Totally mindless stuff, but really fun nonetheless.

Plus, such knowledge can come in handy. A guy tried to pick me up by "negging" on me (one of the PUA methods) and I was like, "Sir, please. I already know ALL your secrets." Boo-yah.
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kithkin
03/16/09

@highlydubious: You're gross, want to have sex? Or, for the extra subtle MM operators: Cute outfit, did you get it at Goodwill?

negging is the grossest shit ever.
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resonanteye
03/16/09

In reply to The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
The Dirt was ok. Never read the others. Seems kind of like the sort of book a middle-aged executive dude would buy at the airport to read on the plane, then throw out before he got home.
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odinsraven
03/16/09

In reply to The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
It's hard for me to hate on The Game because my friend dressed as Mystery for Halloween one year and it was really awesome. But more seriously, I thought the Motley Crue book was very well written - a total page turner. And it's not just the sex/drugs/music that made it interesting. If you read it consecutively with Slash's autobiography, which takes place in the same place with many of the same people and lots of the same drugs and, well, Strauss's writing is much, much stronger (sorry, Slash!).

He very well may be a douche, but I don't think he's some kind of publishing idiot.
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Red-headed bookworm
03/17/09

@odinsraven: Are you me??? I read the Motley Crue book, Nikki Sixx's autobiography, and the Slash book back-to-back. Very interesting and revealing.
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emdy
03/16/09

In reply to The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
Publishing Industry: I'll save you!

Uh... gimme a couple years. I gotta get my edumacation first.
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resonanteye
03/16/09

@emdy: Well hurry up! My bookshelves are waiting for you.
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eri401
03/16/09

In reply to The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
In the last few decades, publishing has really taken off because we've developed cheaper technology and new means of dissemination. But, it is like hyper-publication of more commercial junk! It makes me sad that the local Borders does not sell (insert name of classic novel) but does have the entire series of Gossip Girl. They read like candy, you can finish them in about 2 sittings, and you have to buy the whole set - what a way to make a quick $50.

If you have a beautiful novel or quiet set of short stories or have an academic non-fiction monograph....well, take a back seat to quick-sell novelty books, Tucker Max, pop-series like Twilight or the print version of Stuff White People Like.

I'm sorry to sound snobby - I did get reemed over Harry Potter a few days ago. I know publishing is a business but it makes me sad that the financial angle outweighs the promotion of thoughtful literature.
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bowleserised
03/16/09

@eri401: The thoughtful literature always remains. Publishing has always had broad appeal, it's just that the ephemera from the past hasn't lasted so you're not aware of it. I'm more worried about newspapers and magazines than books. Plus the tacky stuff underwrites the literary stuff financially.

Mind you, I do wish people wouldn't keep insisting that editors are unnecessary.
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littlemissvan
03/16/09

@eri401: You're right in a lot of ways, but you know, if you leave the chain, and get out to check out your local independent bookstore, a lot of that "thoughtful" literature is still there, being published. Often though, it is by smaller houses, and they can't afford the deep discounts the chains demand, or the outrageous "co-op" fees that are required to get your books on tables, in endcaps, and facing out on shelves.
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bowleserised
03/16/09

@littlemissvan: Oh, I work in the biz, and have for my entire working life, one way or another. There are independents (in the UK I'd say Faber, Atlantic, Granta, Portobello, Bloomsbury, Canongate) who are serious players with credibility, and who can afford the marketing. There are also superb literary imprints within the larger houses.
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rocknrollunicorn
03/16/09

In reply to The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
There are some things I have lost my sense of humor about. This dude is one of them. The Game makes me barf uncontrollably.
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voleclock
03/16/09

@rocknrollunicorn: God, that book was SO BAD. And it wasn't just because of the patheticness of the pick-up artists and their tricks- I actually ended up pitying rather than hating the guys in the book, they were such sad sacks.

The worst thing about the book was Strauss' smug-as-hell narration. I swear, I wanted to stab him in the eyes with cocktail swizzle sticks every time he talked about himself. A friend of mine hated his narrative voice so much she couldn't get through more than a couple chapters before she reached her personal limit of number of times you can throw a book at a wall before you just have stop reading it.
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Treeless
03/16/09

@voleclock: I thought the psychology of it was really interesting. Not ethical, just fascinating.

Funny--though Mystery was truly pitiable, and some of the others frightening I found Strauss mostly endurable, with the wild exception of Strauss blaming his father for failing to school him. As far as I know, most men don't teach their sons much beyond "wear a condom" and "bring her flowers". The idea that fathers are supposed to teach sons in the art of pick-up is ludicrous, not to mention doubtful (in light of the intergenerational conflict fathers and sons more typically engage in).
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voleclock
03/16/09

@Treeless: I'll admit it was cool to see what tricks they used, and why they worked. What I found most interesting was the mindsets of the guys who took up PUA stuff. It just seemed like such a sad lens to view life and other people through.

I don't know, something about Strauss' written voice just really annoyed the hell out of us. It's been so long since we read it that I can't remember why exactly it irked us. All I know is we couldn't move past it enough to actually enjoy the book.
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undomesticgoddess doesn't sleep a wink
03/17/09

@voleclock: Does't it? I usually wonder if there is a single genuine aspect to the interactions of those guys.
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Santos L Halper
03/16/09

In reply to The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
So...this guy is Lex Luthor, is what you're saying? What with the evil and delusions of grandeur, right?
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megscissorhands
03/16/09

In reply to The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
As a wannabe published writer, the publishing industry confuses me. I will just continue on my way submitting to web-zines and small journals (and then maybe a throwaway to the New Yorker, just if i feel like having a good, self-deprecating chuckle).
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littlemissvan
03/16/09

@megscissorhands: Keep it up! Once you've had some stuff published in magazines of various sorts, then start sending your stuff in to agents. DO NOT SEND ANYTHING DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLISHER. All publishers have rooms where that stuff ends up. Walking into them is liking walking into a room where dreams go to die.
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megscissorhands
03/17/09

@littlemissvan: thanks for the advice (and BrightonShiny too; I haven't figured out how to comment at two people at once)! I really appreciate it =)
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Eeva
03/16/09

In reply to The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
...this economy doesn't leave room for gentlemanly qualms...

Well! That sucks for my new band, The Gentlemanly Qualms.
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morninggloria
03/16/09

@Eeva: That's nothing compared to the fate that has befallen my band, The Unnecessary Luxuries.
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Khrushchev
03/16/09

@morninggloria: My band, This Economy Doesn't Leave Room For, has been doing tremendously.
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Eeva
03/16/09

@morninggloria: @Khrushchev: Of course, my sideproject, Lipstick Sales And Hemlines, has been on the up and up recently, so there's still hope.
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Eeva
03/16/09

@Eeva: comma comma comma comma comma chameleon. There are other punctuation marks, you fooool.
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littlemissvan
03/16/09

In reply to The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
From personal experience, I can say that publishing is not nearly as high-brow as its image. I continue to sell a painful number of copies of What's Your Poo Telling You, and this seasons smash hit is How to Live with a Huge Penis. And I can't sell a book of poetry unless it's by a huge name (ie Margaret Atwood) or the author is local. Sigh.
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bowleserised
03/16/09

@littlemissvan: I used to send out Pulitzer-prize winning poets on submission to UK publishers. I think the most we ever got for British/Commonwealth rights was £1,000.
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littlemissvan
03/16/09

@bowleserised: It is by far the hardest thing in the world to sell. I have one publisher right now, and they are harassing me to get a bookseller for an event one of their authors is doing. He is a poet, and will be reading at a cafe. Which is laughable, because I haven't sold a single one of his books in my territory, let alone enough to justify some poor bookseller paying someone to sell books at a poetry reading.
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bowleserised
03/16/09

@littlemissvan: Oh bless them for trying, but yeah. The kids aren't reading poetry, people!
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sequined
03/16/09

@littlemissvan: Every time I go to the enormous local bookstore I ask if they have a specific book of poetry I already own, just because I want to support the author and convince them to maybe get a couple of copies of his book. But I never see many people in the "local authors" section of the poetry room (or in that area at all), so maybe this won't accomplish much.
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Khrushchev
03/16/09

In reply to The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
I have a number of short stories here on my computer that I'm about to print out and then set fire to. And then I will be looking for jobs on Craigslist for the rest of the night. These two facts are directly related to this post.
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TexasCrude
03/16/09

@Khrushchev: J.D. Salinger? Is that you?
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Khrushchev
03/16/09

@TexasCrude has Jill Fever!: What is the sound of one hand clapping? Oh no wait, that's just me banging my head against the wall.
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bowleserised
03/16/09

In reply to The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
It's OK, there's a cycle in publishing. They do things like this and if it fails, they then see good, small independents doing well and take some inspiration from them. Then they poach the staff.
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vamusical
03/16/09

In reply to The Future Of Book Publishing Is The Player Of The Game
That guy in the picture is the future? Wow, Zac Effron went bald FAST.
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Neil Strauss Joins Forces With '80s TV Dweebs To Teach More Men How To Build "Keno"

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