PatrickWensink
from Portland, OR
September 27, 2012 - 8:21pm
Hey Courtney,
The Jack Daniel's news was an incredible boost. At one point, Broken Piano for President was the 6th bestselling book in the country, right behind all the 50 Shades books. That's unheard of for a small press novel like mine.
In addition, I was on NPR's Weekend Edition, the NY Times, TIME, Esquire and a bunch of others. The freakin' New Yorker wrote one whole sentence about me. I about had a heart attack.
Actually, it's still reverberating. I was told BPFP was in Forbes again today. (Next to some soda called Dr. Publix, no less!)
It was totally crazy, but crazy in a really good way.
Pete
from Detroit is reading Red DragonSeptember 28, 2012 - 8:03am
Patrick wrote: The freakin' New Yorker wrote one whole sentence about me. I about had a heart attack.
I can't stop laughing at those two sentences. haha
PatrickWensink
from Portland, OR
September 28, 2012 - 1:48pm
I'm dead serious. I have no illusions that my name will ever be in the New Yorker again. Unless, it's the mailing address sticker on the front cover.
Pete
from Detroit is reading Red DragonSeptember 28, 2012 - 2:24pm
No, I know you were serious. And everything that happened is so awesome. But it was just funny the way you worded that.
Andrez Bergen
from Melbourne, Australia + Tokyo, Japan is reading 'The Spirit' by Will EisnerSeptember 30, 2012 - 4:33am
Kicking myself I missed this - had my head like an ostrich in other stuff over the past month - looks like it was a fun book club selection!
PatrickWensink
from Portland, OR
September 30, 2012 - 7:17am
Never too late. I'm always available for questions and complaints.
Jay.SJ
from London is reading Warmed and BoundSeptember 30, 2012 - 6:52pm
More importantly read this book Andrez! is a good one for sure
Joshua Chaplinsky
from New York is reading Library BooksOctober 1, 2012 - 1:19pm
I know you said you've got a book of shorts or essays coming out... any novels in the works? (This may have been asked, but there's no way I'm going back and re-reading this whole thread.)
PatrickWensink
from Portland, OR
October 1, 2012 - 5:28pm
JOSH: Yep, my essay collection, Everything Was Great Until It Sucked, comes out this month.
I have two novels on the horizon, actually. My next novel is scheduled for release this summer. It's a comedy about a widower who is convinced only assholes get ahead in life, so he sets out to teach his six-year-old son to be a total asshole.
In addition, my agent is working hard at finding a home for the novel after that, which is also finished. It's called Fake Fruit Factory.
Joshua Chaplinsky
from New York is reading Library BooksOctober 1, 2012 - 8:59pm
Nice.
wickedvoodoo
from Mansfield, England is reading stuff.October 2, 2012 - 3:08am
It's a comedy about a widower who is convinced only assholes get ahead in life, so he sets out to teach his six-year-old son to be a total asshole.
This sounds superb.
PatrickWensink
from Portland, OR
October 3, 2012 - 4:54am
Well, September's over, so I guess we have to hug and say goodbye. It's Exorcist time. Which, if you haven't read it, is an awesome book. Blatty actually started out writing comedies (One, I THINK, was about some college football star who accidentally becomes an Iranian Sultan or something) I was obsessed with finding them, because those books are way out of print. T
Also, the new cover for Broken Piano was released monday. You can take a look at it here.
Thanks to everyone who took time to contribute and thanks to those who just lurked and followed along. It's a great reward for a writer to have smart people reading your work and thinking about it so deeply.
One last note, there is a possibility that I will soon lead a class with LitReactor, so keep your eyes open. I will not dissapear easily!
Pete
from Detroit is reading Red DragonOctober 3, 2012 - 5:08am
Remember, threads don't have to die just because the month is over. If anybody ever has any thoughts to add, feel free to keep posting in here.
Patrick - thanks for taking part. It's been awesome reading your side of everything.
Joshua Chaplinsky
from New York is reading Library BooksOctober 3, 2012 - 6:28am
Patrick teaching: very cool. And that Blatty comedy sounds amazing! If that's not the actual story, then you should write it.
PatrickWensink
from Portland, OR
October 3, 2012 - 6:41am
I was wrong. But that book, John Godfarb, Please Come Home, actually sounds better. FOrmer football star-turned U2 pilot crashes and is recruted to coach a Soviet football team. I want this book badly, but have never seen it.
Also, the first movie Blatty ever directed, The Ninth Configuration, is weird and funny and doesn't totally work. But is still worth a watch.
Courtney
from the Midwest is reading Monkey: A Journey to the West and a thousand college textbooksOctober 3, 2012 - 4:36pm
For the love of God, do one of the newly-announced seminars if you come back to teach.
Also -- are you still answering questions? I was going to ask whether your books are coming out on Lazy Fascist or if you're seeking a new publisher for these and why. Just out of curiosity.
Jay.SJ
from London is reading Warmed and BoundOctober 3, 2012 - 5:16pm
Can't wait for your book of essays too!
PatrickWensink
from Portland, OR
October 3, 2012 - 5:33pm
Thanks, Jay. I'm psyched about it. More so than some. I read from it this past Friday to a bunch of 20-somethings. I made the mistake of reading a piece I did for Thought Catalog about being a stay-at-home dad. They were not amused!
Courtney: Yeah, I'm totally up for answering more questions.
To answer yours: Everything Was Great Until it Sucked, the essay collection, is out through Lazy Fascist. So will the book this summer about the father teaching his kid to be an asshole.
The other book, Fake Fruit Factory, will ideally be out through a much bigger publisher. My agent is talking to editors now.
In the future, I'll be putting more stuff out through Lazy Fascist. I make the comparisson to Sonic Youth in the 90s. They put their main stuff out through major label Geffen and their more essoteric stuff out through indie labels. Best of both worlds. I am a lucky man.
Courtney
from the Midwest is reading Monkey: A Journey to the West and a thousand college textbooksOctober 3, 2012 - 5:52pm
That sounds like a great plan and one you could have a lot of fun with. Why the jump to a more traditional publisher, though? Just opportunity and a better business plan for now? I'm really curious about this stage of things, I could ask questions for hours.
PatrickWensink
from Portland, OR
October 3, 2012 - 7:46pm
Courtney: Good question. The answer is, simply, a better opportunity to reach readers. Like most indie authors, I am currently my own marketing department. Working with a publisher with its own marketing and PR professionals will help me reach more people who might find my weird sense of humor up their alley. I currently stay home and take care of my kid and don't have the time to dedicate to stuff like that any more. Especially, on top of writing fiction late at night after everyone has gone to bed. That sounds appealing to my sanity right now.
Maybe I'll find I like things better the old way. Who knows?
Jay.SJ
from London is reading Warmed and BoundOctober 16, 2012 - 8:12am
Anyone else excited about the essay collection?
.
October 16, 2012 - 8:45am
"I became a dad for one reason...the pussy."
Yeah it's going to be great, I can't wait!
PatrickWensink
from Portland, OR
October 23, 2012 - 10:52am
My editor says Everything Was Great Until It Sucked will be available next week.
Thank you all for your enthusiasm. I think folks will like it.
Class Facilitator
ReneeAPickup
from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck WendigOctober 23, 2012 - 2:20pm
I really can't wait for the essays. I was actually just coming in to post what Dakota did...haha.
Pete
from Detroit is reading Red DragonOctober 23, 2012 - 4:07pm
I'm about halfway through the booked podcast review of this. I'll be finishing it on my way home from work tonight - hopefully.
Anybody who hasn't listened to it yet, you can find it here:
PatrickWensink
from Portland, OR
October 26, 2012 - 11:09am
Yes!
If you took part in the discussions, I promised (way back when) Lazy Fascist Press would send you a PDF of the book.
Email me and I'll send it your way patrickwensink@gmail.com
Thanks!
Class Facilitator
ReneeAPickup
from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck WendigOctober 26, 2012 - 7:19pm
*cough* Patrick also joined us on Books and Booze to discuss Broken Piano For President *cough*
.
October 27, 2012 - 8:06am
*cough* sorry I'm *cough* really sick
Pete
from Detroit is reading Red DragonOctober 27, 2012 - 10:07am
Post a link! Don't you know anything about self promotion? Sheesh!
.
October 27, 2012 - 11:47am
Pete, I think it's easier for people to e-mail him so there is less scavengers stopping by to get free stuff. By scavengers I mean people who didn't participate this month.
Also, keep up the good work! Your selections for the book club so far have been wise choices.
Pete
from Detroit is reading Red DragonOctober 27, 2012 - 3:59pm
I was talking to you Dakota.
Don in 60 Seconds
from a basement is reading your bookJanuary 22, 2013 - 8:42am
Hey Courtney,
The Jack Daniel's news was an incredible boost. At one point, Broken Piano for President was the 6th bestselling book in the country, right behind all the 50 Shades books. That's unheard of for a small press novel like mine.
In addition, I was on NPR's Weekend Edition, the NY Times, TIME, Esquire and a bunch of others. The freakin' New Yorker wrote one whole sentence about me. I about had a heart attack.
Actually, it's still reverberating. I was told BPFP was in Forbes again today. (Next to some soda called Dr. Publix, no less!)
It was totally crazy, but crazy in a really good way.
I can't stop laughing at those two sentences. haha
I'm dead serious. I have no illusions that my name will ever be in the New Yorker again. Unless, it's the mailing address sticker on the front cover.
No, I know you were serious. And everything that happened is so awesome. But it was just funny the way you worded that.
Kicking myself I missed this - had my head like an ostrich in other stuff over the past month - looks like it was a fun book club selection!
Never too late. I'm always available for questions and complaints.
More importantly read this book Andrez! is a good one for sure
I know you said you've got a book of shorts or essays coming out... any novels in the works? (This may have been asked, but there's no way I'm going back and re-reading this whole thread.)
JOSH: Yep, my essay collection, Everything Was Great Until It Sucked, comes out this month.
I have two novels on the horizon, actually. My next novel is scheduled for release this summer. It's a comedy about a widower who is convinced only assholes get ahead in life, so he sets out to teach his six-year-old son to be a total asshole.
In addition, my agent is working hard at finding a home for the novel after that, which is also finished. It's called Fake Fruit Factory.
Nice.
This sounds superb.
Well, September's over, so I guess we have to hug and say goodbye. It's Exorcist time. Which, if you haven't read it, is an awesome book. Blatty actually started out writing comedies (One, I THINK, was about some college football star who accidentally becomes an Iranian Sultan or something) I was obsessed with finding them, because those books are way out of print. T
Also, the new cover for Broken Piano was released monday. You can take a look at it here.
Thanks to everyone who took time to contribute and thanks to those who just lurked and followed along. It's a great reward for a writer to have smart people reading your work and thinking about it so deeply.
One last note, there is a possibility that I will soon lead a class with LitReactor, so keep your eyes open. I will not dissapear easily!
Remember, threads don't have to die just because the month is over. If anybody ever has any thoughts to add, feel free to keep posting in here.
Patrick - thanks for taking part. It's been awesome reading your side of everything.
Patrick teaching: very cool. And that Blatty comedy sounds amazing! If that's not the actual story, then you should write it.
I was wrong. But that book, John Godfarb, Please Come Home, actually sounds better. FOrmer football star-turned U2 pilot crashes and is recruted to coach a Soviet football team. I want this book badly, but have never seen it.
Also, the first movie Blatty ever directed, The Ninth Configuration, is weird and funny and doesn't totally work. But is still worth a watch.
For the love of God, do one of the newly-announced seminars if you come back to teach.
Also -- are you still answering questions? I was going to ask whether your books are coming out on Lazy Fascist or if you're seeking a new publisher for these and why. Just out of curiosity.
Can't wait for your book of essays too!
Thanks, Jay. I'm psyched about it. More so than some. I read from it this past Friday to a bunch of 20-somethings. I made the mistake of reading a piece I did for Thought Catalog about being a stay-at-home dad. They were not amused!
Courtney: Yeah, I'm totally up for answering more questions.
To answer yours: Everything Was Great Until it Sucked, the essay collection, is out through Lazy Fascist. So will the book this summer about the father teaching his kid to be an asshole.
The other book, Fake Fruit Factory, will ideally be out through a much bigger publisher. My agent is talking to editors now.
In the future, I'll be putting more stuff out through Lazy Fascist. I make the comparisson to Sonic Youth in the 90s. They put their main stuff out through major label Geffen and their more essoteric stuff out through indie labels. Best of both worlds. I am a lucky man.
That sounds like a great plan and one you could have a lot of fun with. Why the jump to a more traditional publisher, though? Just opportunity and a better business plan for now? I'm really curious about this stage of things, I could ask questions for hours.
Courtney: Good question. The answer is, simply, a better opportunity to reach readers. Like most indie authors, I am currently my own marketing department. Working with a publisher with its own marketing and PR professionals will help me reach more people who might find my weird sense of humor up their alley. I currently stay home and take care of my kid and don't have the time to dedicate to stuff like that any more. Especially, on top of writing fiction late at night after everyone has gone to bed. That sounds appealing to my sanity right now.
Maybe I'll find I like things better the old way. Who knows?
Anyone else excited about the essay collection?
"I became a dad for one reason...the pussy."
Yeah it's going to be great, I can't wait!
My editor says Everything Was Great Until It Sucked will be available next week.
Thank you all for your enthusiasm. I think folks will like it.
I really can't wait for the essays. I was actually just coming in to post what Dakota did...haha.
I'm about halfway through the booked podcast review of this. I'll be finishing it on my way home from work tonight - hopefully.
Anybody who hasn't listened to it yet, you can find it here:
http://www.bookedpodcast.com/2012/08/05/episode-99-broken-piano-for-pres...
Also the essay collection is now available: but hopefully Patrick will still be able to send out copies to those who took part: http://www.amazon.com/Everthing-Great-Until-Sucked-Stay-at-Home-Dad/dp/1...
Yes!
If you took part in the discussions, I promised (way back when) Lazy Fascist Press would send you a PDF of the book.
Email me and I'll send it your way patrickwensink@gmail.com
Thanks!
*cough* Patrick also joined us on Books and Booze to discuss Broken Piano For President *cough*
*cough* sorry I'm *cough* really sick
Post a link! Don't you know anything about self promotion? Sheesh!
Pete, I think it's easier for people to e-mail him so there is less scavengers stopping by to get free stuff. By scavengers I mean people who didn't participate this month.
Also, keep up the good work! Your selections for the book club so far have been wise choices.
I was talking to you Dakota.
Am I late to this party?
http://doneinsixtysecondsblog.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/broken-piano-for-...