I was drolly amused to read in the Graun this morn’ that old mate Salman Rushdie is joining us here at Substack. The wide boys running ops at the Stack have not been backward about coming forward to poach hundreds of journos from dying newspapers and magazines all over the world. They’ve grabbed up a heap of ‘citizen reporters’ and hot-take merchants too. As soon as they heard that Fairfax had given me the arse in the opening weeks of the pando they were up in my DMs, trash-talking the alternative platforms like Gumroad and the much bigger Patreon.
For what it’s worth the gummy bears didn’t need much talking down. That platform is pretty much self-trashing. But they had a job convincing me I shouldn’t hang my shingle out at Patreon, again. I already had a nice set up over there, writing books in public, or semi public. A subscriber column seemed an obvious next step.
Long story short, they did convince me and Alien Side Boob took up residence here.
I do wonder what they offered Rushdie. Substack have more of the folding stuff to throw around than your average book publisher, even one of the Big Five. A recent offer they’ve been making is to pay some writers a big whack of dollarydoos up front for an increased take of their subscription fees down the line. Or something. The sums vary but they’re not nothing. Like, a hundred thousand plus for a years output. Them’s real dollars too, the green sort. No the Pacific peso.
The Graun’s story, and Rushdie himself, make it seem like lockdown boredom and frustration might have contributed to his decision to experiment with a new form. “I got very attracted to the idea recently, in this strange year and a half, of trying out things I’ve never done before.” But I’m sure his agent, the carnivorous Andrew Wylie, would also have enjoyed running the numbers in Substack’s prospectus, and perhaps even hinting at all the Big Tech riches his boy could trouser if the old skool publishing houses didn’t make with the spendy advances in future.
Anyway, good luck to him. I might even subscribe, just a for a look. I do wonder how he’ll go in the back-and-forth of writing in public though. Perhaps I should get Insomniac or Elana to running the blue pencil over some of his posts.
It will be a digital experiment in serialising fiction (“the way [it] used to be published, right at the beginning”) with new sections coming out approximately once a week over the course of about a year, he says.
A surprising number of the classics were originally serialised: Charles Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers is the best known example, but there is also Madame Bovary, War and Peace, and Heart of Darkness. Rushdie references the experience of Samuel Richardson, who serialised his novel Clarissa in 1748.
“His readers expected that she would, in the end, fall in love with the guy. But then he rapes her. Richardson had quite a lot of correspondence from readers who said that, in spite of that terrible act, they still wanted what they would consider to be a happy ending – and he very determinedly would not give it to them.
“I’ve never had that before, to be publishing something where people can say things about it while it’s going on.”
Is he open to the idea of feedback from readers shaping the story?
“It would have to be a very good suggestion,” he says.
ok boys and girls: time to get JB his Nobel Literature prize. It won't be the 2021 one (that one will go the great Afghan scribe Back of Box of Cerial). Long story short, we must get him on the longlist and then shortlist. The latter is much more easy than the first (kidnapping, bribes, incriminating cat pics), but we need some literature professor, previous winner or book-printing club (like for example the https://alnf.org/about/ ) to nominate him. For a small recap of the process look here: https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/literature/ After getting on the longlist we will take it from there and invoke the services of Kinetic Solutions, the RSPCA, the Salvation Army and a number of groups who at this time want to remain anonymous.
So let's make you an offer you can't refuse: vote for the man. With his health deteriorating and NP's not awarded posthumously this could be his only chance. So vote!
I had a look at another of his posts. Other than him thinking it takes 11 minutes for sunlight to reach Earth, I couldn’t find anything to ridicule him over. Whole different way of writing but.
Didn't Stephen King begin a serialized novel 'The Plant' back in 2000 that would progress based on subscribers paying per month? Interesting to see how the times have changed.
ok boys and girls: time to get JB his Nobel Literature prize. It won't be the 2021 one (that one will go the great Afghan scribe Back of Box of Cerial). Long story short, we must get him on the longlist and then shortlist. The latter is much more easy than the first (kidnapping, bribes, incriminating cat pics), but we need some literature professor, previous winner or book-printing club (like for example the https://alnf.org/about/ ) to nominate him. For a small recap of the process look here: https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/literature/ After getting on the longlist we will take it from there and invoke the services of Kinetic Solutions, the RSPCA, the Salvation Army and a number of groups who at this time want to remain anonymous.
So let's make you an offer you can't refuse: vote for the man. With his health deteriorating and NP's not awarded posthumously this could be his only chance. So vote!
Judging by his sole comment in his opening salvo, there will be much to do.
I give you…
“I’m looking forward to the! Thanks for coming along.”
It seems your services are required.
I don't get the blue pencil out for just any authors you know ✏😂
It is an honor to have made the cut, Elana!
A well deserved honour Mr Lambright! 😍
I'm up for applying the blue pencil to Salman's clacker on behalf of the Ayatollah.
I had a look at another of his posts. Other than him thinking it takes 11 minutes for sunlight to reach Earth, I couldn’t find anything to ridicule him over. Whole different way of writing but.
Didn't Stephen King begin a serialized novel 'The Plant' back in 2000 that would progress based on subscribers paying per month? Interesting to see how the times have changed.
Yeah. He started it, but IIRC the tech was so dodgy that he quickly gave up and refunded everyone.