Word Search

The last couple of months I've been working on my next book, User Friendly 1.0: Origins and Secrets of the User Friendly Universe. Instead of being a compilation of the cartoons on the site, this book covers the really early strips that haven't been printed on a dead tree yet, as well as the story of how UF came into being. In addition, there'll be some strips and art that haven't been seen before (for very good reason!) and I'll be covering a lot of the questions I get from people who are curious about how to put groceries on the table by producing online content, particular webtoons. The insane gang over at Plan Nine Publishing will be shipping the book sometime in March, and you can see a preview of the cover at their site.

Oh, and if you haven't picked up the other three books, Plan Nine is offering a Dust Puppy Pack -- a great deal on all three books together! Please buy them before my cat decides to gnaw on my arm for dinner.

I work at a *BigNameBookstore*(name deliberately obscured by WebDiva) in Illinois. The company has me put all of the User Friendly books in the General Computing section under Illiad. I, however, feel that they belong in the Linux section. (Or that's the best fit I've been able to think of) Fortunately, my managers wouldn't know an out of place computer book if it leapt at them from the shelf and throttled their brain.

To the point, however. I've sold something around 90 copies of Evil Geniuses since I placed it in the Linux section. Most other stores in the company don't even carry it anymore. So my feeling is that they would be doing a lot better if stores knew how to place them. Is there any way to get them to do that? They don't seem to listen to me.

Dear Future Entrepeneur whose-name-has-been-omitted-on-purpose,
Bravo and well done! Your humble Diva too, has been know to stealthily relocate the UF books in her local *BigNameBookstore* for much the same reason. And while I can give no hard numbers on increased sales like you did, I can tell you that the books are more often than not out of stock. I am also known to approach a sales person and ask about "the latest UF book" with that particular fervent UFie gleam in the eye. This is a cue to the salesperson that said book is "popular" and might merit another restock. I never do this when wearing my UF Staff big shirt, however. There are a couple of salespeople who are also UFies and if I can locate them instead I am assured that my request will be followed to the letter. The truth is, the fans know better than anyone what UF's place in the bookstore ought to be and should not feel remorse for rectifying the situation. As for you, Dear Entrepeneur, I dearly hope you received a commission on the sale of 90 books!

When I arrived at Raleigh it had snowed a few inches and the city was largely shut down. Not a big deal, though. Although the Friday of the show was quiet, Saturday was much busier. Jeff Darlington (GPF), Bill Holbrook (Kevin and Kell), Pete Abrams (Sluggy) and I were kept pretty busy signing and sketching. Jeff also learned not to show up at a conference late; Bill, Pete and I marked up one of Jeff's books with nasty comments and we made him a badge that said "Snow Pussy" on it. It's a long story, but if you ever see one of us at a show, ask us and we'll tell. Except maybe Jeff. He wouldn't wear the badge either. :)

So now that I'm part of the Plan Nine Publishing gang (yes, I'm also still being published by O'Reilly) I had the opportunity to meet Bill and Pete and Jeff as well as David, my new publisher. David's a great guy, but little does he realize we're all plotting to put him in an asylum before 2002 is out. At the next book signing all of the cartoonists are going to show up wearing casts and splints over our right hands and arms.

(I should also add that it was particularly hilarious when Pete Abrams was trying to figure out how to make David's Star Trek-prop phaser fire, and only succeeded in doing so while pointing the thing at his own face.)

On the topic of Plan Nine, two of the books that they publish include The Off The Mark Science Fiction Picture Show and Down to Earth: Waiting for OJ!. The former, by Mark Parisi, is a mildly acerbic, moderately twisted look at science-fiction and B-movies. Most of the cartoons range from cute to really quite funny, and a few of them had me cackling out loud. (I really like the one captioned: 'Green Hornet meets Spiderman' with a panel showing Spidey sitting in an easy-chair with a hugely swollen stomach, belching.)

The second book, Down to Earth: Waiting for OJ! is all about Hell. Hell and Death. Hell, Death and Anguish. Hell, Death, Anguish and an almost fanatical devotion to the ... well, you get the point. Penned by Gavin Chafin and Steve Wood, the strip collection derives its humour from being subtly nasty -- the kind of humour I get a kick out of. The art is clean, and any cartoon that makes fun of Star Trek gets a plus in my book. ("The hole is too small, we won't be able to fit through, I'm afraid we're goners." "Captain, I've calculated that if I take off my uniform I'll be able to barely squeeze through." "Good thinking Seven, do it." "Hold on Seven, Wesley has another idea...")

Finally, on the User Friendly front, Plan Nine Publishing is for a time offering a Dust Puppy Pack -- a discount of nearly ten dollars off all three books: User Friendly, Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell, and The Root of all Evil.

More on the upcoming fourth User Friendly book on Monday. Thanks for reading!