What a day

In the on-again/off-again odyssey of the funding of Teddy Bear Cannibal Massacre I again got a load of frommy's shit. So it's back to the three way partnership with Avi and David with me doing all the prep work for getting it to the printer and we'll split the costs between us. Of course after months of dealing with that passive aggressive manipulative creep this is a relief. The final argument was over whether or not I should put his girlfriend's vampire story in the thing. I'd said I'd try to help her get it into a print-ready form. He assumed that meant that I would put my life on hold to help her with it and then after failing to make it work put it in anyhow because he was putting up the money. I swear if I saw ANY hint of talent, originality or FUCKING adherance to grammar rules in the thing I would have been willing. [Please note that while I think she's a very nice person, I still can't stand her writing and I'm more disgruntled about michael's attempt to bully me into including it - the latest in his "I'll take my ball and go home" moves. I have plenty of friends who can't write for shit. I don't hold it against them.] I have accepted stories for this anthology which I felt were unready but had enough originality that I felt could be improved enough for December. I'm an unknown editor, with an unknown company offering 1% royalties (plus contributor copy) - so I had to settle for the stories that had potential (although they were attached to writers that were willing to bring out the potential so that's cool)

So on the negative I have to put up more money, handle the printing (as in get a Quark Xpress to get it in a print-ready format) and everything else. And find an artist (saintartaud or avphibes? Either of you guys busy?) On the other hand I know that David is a willing business partner - and neither David nor Avi will try to force editorial decisions on me after I've done all the work.

Still - I'm wondering if I should include my own story in the thing. Originally that's what I wanted to do - help edit an anthology, put one of my stories in the thing and have frommy do most of the editing work. That's what he was supposed to do. Month later when he not only didn't do a damn thing but his server crashed and I had to change the email address on Ralan to my own yahoo account (Spams away) and I was wading through hundreds of terrible stories (and some pretty good ones that just didn't fit - actually most of the stories were in that "just not ready for publication" category - like the contributor could do a few rewrites and it'd be gangbusters - ok I'm being generous in my memories. I was bitching away. And that story about the guy sticking things in his empty eye socket for five pages still haunts me - followed closely by the one about unicorns jacking off - I know why did I reject them?) I decided not to even pretend he had anything to do with editing (although if I allowed him to force his girlfriend's story into the thing that might have counted)

But now that this has become a collection edited by me, put out by my company (ok it's an LLC so there are three of us) - well, it looks like Vanity Press bullshit to put my own story in the thing. The only anthology editor I've ever seen include his own stuff is John Pelan.

I think if I take the story out that it will feel more authentic as far as I'm concerned. I can get that story published elsewhere.

Oh and again - is there anyone with a couch in NYC available in August when I come over to look for a place?

In other news

I must say I enjoyed motel666's post about her co-worker who does lap dances and then talks to the guys about her problems after everyone's finished with the dryhumping part of the experience. I was just thinking that I find strip clubs really sad and wrong but a lap dance that comes with a free rambling whine about everything and anything including loser boyfriend, rent payments, dealing with the stripper's mother - that sounds amazing.

And then avantpop did a much funnier post - but it's behind her friends filter so I won't talk about it (and if motel666's post is behind her friend's filter I feel very chagrined.

Just because I'm a lazy sod

In my last two entries I referred to avantpop when I meant avphibes - and I could edit both entries to change it but I'll just put it here and let everyone with large friends lists feel confused.