Web slingers

>> Jim Munroe and Jon Paul Fiorentino choose the Internet over corporate publishers

by JULIET WATERS

A couple of weeks ago two writers with seemingly very little in common happened to meet. Toronto science fiction writer Jim Munroe spotted Winnipeg-born poet Jon Paul Fiorentino looking over some proofs at the airport and introduced himself. Fiorentino recognized the name because I’d recently told him I might put the two together in a column about Web savvy writers.

As Fiorentino pointed out in a recent e-mail, “It seems to me the only thing Jim and I have in common is that we’re not signed to HarperCollins.” True enough, though Munroe was once signed to the notorious publishing conglomerate. Then, after achieving moderate success with his first novel, Flyboy Action Figure Comes With Gasmask, he did the unthinkable. He opted out of his contract, figuring he could make more money selling his second novel, Angry Young Spaceman, himself.

As a long-time literary activist and zine editor, Munroe had already established a healthy independent network of readers. He did the math. Overhead makes up a huge fraction of the cost of corporate publishing. By cutting that out, he projected he would only have to sell 1,600 books to make what he would selling 5,000 through HarperCollins. Was he right? Visit Munroe’s Web site, www.nomediakings.org, and look at the numbers yourself. At the same time you’ll get some excellent insight into self-publishing with dignity.

The bottom line is that, after expenses, Munroe seems to have made roughly the same amount, leaving him enough to live on (frugally) for a year, and netting a greater sense of integrity. But Munroe took one gamble that might have affected the profit margin. He gave away 5,000 free e-books, hoping that many readers who downloaded them would want hard copies. In the end, only three per cent of the profits resulted from online sales, which would seem to indicate that the gamble didn’t quite pay off. Thus, his latest, Everyone in Silico, is not available as a free e-book (though an e-book of Flyboy is.)

For the literary community, more may be riding on the book’s success than just Jim Munroe’s annual income. Last week, Stoddart, an important Canadian publisher and distributor, declared bankruptcy, leaving a legacy of unpaid writers and small publishers. In this climate, it’s going to be harder for writers to have faith in any publisher, corporate or independent.

Jon Paul Fiorentino can worry a little less than others. Last week, Transcona Fragments, his focussed, lyrical and mildly mind-altered poetry beat out Carol Shields as a prairie best-seller. Talent probably has as much to do with his recent success as technology. With this collection, grounded in the working-class Winnipeg suburb he grew up in, Fiorentino establishes himself as a Canadian William Carlos Williams, with a dash of Al Purdy. Still, having enough Web savvy to send out a nice, accessible package to reviewers can’t hurt. Package or no package, poetry is extremely difficult to review. Without the benefit of a reader who’s already read the poem, it’s kind of like trying to describe somebody else’s dream. Fortunately, this reviewer can just refer you to Fiorentino’s Web page (www.jonpaulfiorentino.com) where you can read four of the poems yourself. Though Fiorentino doesn’t self-publish, he’s well served by Web-friendly Winnipeg publisher Clive Holden, whose Cyclops Press (www.cyclopspress.com) is a strong presence in Canadian cyberspace.

While the style and content of these writers’ work couldn’t be more different, they share something important: a drive that does much to destroy the stereotype of the disorganized, dependent artiste who can’t possibly manage his career. As Munroe writes: “Being organized and methodical is the only way I’ve been able to survive financially up till now. Perpetuating the myth of the purely creative artist is a great way to ensure a lot of cultural workers never reach their goals, whatever they may be.” :

Everyone in Silico by Jim Munroe, No Media Kings, pb, 241pp, $20
Trancona Fragments by Jon Paul Fiorentino, Cyclops Press, pb, 96pp, $14.95