There’s something … cathartic, about shredding books.
Words, words, and more words
Not the kind of books fascist/religious extremists get all hot and bothered over, but the kind that’s been gathering dust under my desk since I realized there was no way I was ever going to inflict them on anyone else.
For those of you who don’t know the saga of Mortal Instinct, here it is in 23 words … signed a contract, publisher sucked, finished product sucked, publisher sold company, new publisher sucked, contract ran out, didn’t renew, all rights are mine.
I did however buy a bunch of hard copies in the misguided belief that my original publisher would stick to our mutually agreed timetable and I’d be able to go forward with my plan to launch at Vancouver Pride. Lesbians save the universe,+ Pride festival = perfect partners! … Oopsie.
This winter, secure in the knowledge my ‘author preferred edition’ (and self-published) of Mortal Instinct would bear only a passing resemblance to the original, I hauled out our trusty shredder and reduced the remaining copies to this …
They took up so much less space in book form
Also in December I came across this little gem of a post at Writer Beware (the only blog devoted specifically to writer focused evildoers now that Preditors and Editors appears to have had the biscuit)
I may not have dodged a bullet with my first publisher but I certainly did with the second.
Dodgin’ yer bulletz
P.S. I did keep one copy for historical purposes.
I doubt I’d have the courage to feed a book to the shredder… for any reason!
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It’s not for the faint of heart! 😀
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Whheeee! What’s going to happen to all the shredded pieces? I like to think they’ll become part of a beautiful garden, and will one day turn back into a tree.
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They went off to the recyclers … perhaps to become other books … or toilet paper. 😀
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That’d teach them!
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We can’t recycle shredded paper, so it goes on the compost – at least that’s more constructive than toilet paper
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I toyed with the idea of making a giant papier-mâché sculpture for the front yard, but unfortunately living in a rental excludes certain ambitions. 🙂
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Was this a book you wrote?
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T’was indeed. Wrote and had published in fact. So even though it’s no longer in circulation, I am technically a ‘published author’! 😀
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Time to create something new. Good luck with your next project!
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Thanks … well underway! 😀
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At least you saved one copy for when you’re famous. You never know – you just increased the value of the copy by a whole lot. Don’t forget to become famous.
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Yep! Penciled it into my diary for next Tuesday! 😀
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Best wishes for Tuesday, then.
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😀 … I’ll let you know how it goes!
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I remember throwing a book in the trash once – that was hard but necessary. Proud of YOU!
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Hiya Lara/Trace 😀 … thanks, I’m proud of me too. It cleared out the last traces of energy from the whole experience.
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Oh, ouch. Brave you for taking the step!
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Thanks … it took me a while to get going but then it was a relief. 🙂
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Did you feel a lightness gather inside you the more you shredded? A bittersweet feeling, no doubt. Big hugs to you, Widders. Onward and upward we go!
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I did get a bit teary here and there. I remember being out-of-my-skin-excited when I heard that my MS had been accepted … and how heartbreaking it was when it all fell apart so quickly after that.
Onwards and upwards indeed! 😀
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[…] continuing with the theme of my last post … from a certain point of view. (to quote Jedi Master Obi-Wan […]
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[…] continuing with the theme of my last post … from a certain point of view. (to quote Jedi Master Obi-Wan […]
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This was so distressing to read! Ack! But I’m glad you saved a copy. (And you’ve reinforced by leeriness regarding traditional publishers).
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Absolutely! 🙂
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