About this Project
Servicing the Pole was my first manuscript. I wrote it in 2007, and pitched it to agents and editors through the spring of 2008.
During that time, I did everything I believed I was supposed to do. I researched agents, publishers, and industry protocol for hours every day until I thought my eyes would bleed. I labored over my queries and synopsis. I learned how to present marketing materials.
I went to the London Book Fair with a friend — a male stripper who also had a book to hawk — and we talked our way into the agent’s section. I even landed a lunch with one of the best mass market agents in the UK (it wound up being a liquid one).
Many experiences I had taught me much about the way publishing works. I wasn’t entirely green when it came to that, either, because I’ve worked in the music industry, which is similar in many ways. And I’m still grateful for everything I’ve learned. Some of those lessons were extremely entertaining.
Ironically, I was offered representation by the first agent I queried, in late 2007. A well-known and fairly successful New York agent! But with one enormous caveat: she wanted me to rewrite the entire story as chick lit. I was unwilling to do that. I walked away from the offer.
I had my reasons, of course, for being so stubborn. Servicing the Pole is a personal story. I stripped in New York in the 1990s, and although this did not wind up being a straight-up a memoir in the end, much of the content is based in my own experiences. There’s a name for this sort of a book, in fact. And naturally, it’s a French phrase.
I’ve been calling it fiction because it is fiction. It’s a whole big old pack o’ lies. I changed details, embellished more details, and plain old made the rest up from dead scratch. So if you decide to call me a whore, please make sure you get it right. Call me a lying whore.
Overall, I was told that the book was too dark. That I’d have better luck catching the reader’s fancy if I made the story into something upbeat. The suggestion I took the most issue with was that I ought to transform Emily, my protagonist, into a more ‘likeable’ character. To do so would have been to change virtually every theme in this story.
Ultimately, I wrote the story I wanted to write, and this was the story I wanted people to read. So I took Servicing the Pole off the market, and made it available for free on this website.
I’m excited to be able to offer you the chance to read this book just the way it was intended – satirizing my younger self and the people I knew; telling certain truths about the way I lived that life with no apologies to anyone. You, in turn, are free to love the work – or to despise it.
You’re free to print it and distribute Servicing the Pole as long as you don’t sell it. It’s published under a Creative Commons license, details at the bottom of this page.
You’re also free to tell me what you thought about this story and why. Your comments will be published on this site, whether they flatter or insult — unless they are illegible, threatening, or outright spam.
For those of you who would prefer to read Servicing the Pole in the traditional book format, I must offer my apologies. I’m not interested in going that route. But I hear that e-readers are great, and I’m happy to send a PDF to anyone who wants one.
I’ve included all but the final third of Servicing the Pole on this website. If you’d like to read the final chapters, and / or you prefer to read the book as a PDF, please email lauri AT laurishaw DOT com. I will send you a PDF of the whole book.
Hope you enjoy! And thanks for reading my work.
- Lauri Shaw
Licensing details
Servicing the Pole by Lauri Shaw is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.
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November 1st, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Hi Lauri, have you considered POD with Lulu or Createspace? No set-up charges or investment in stock.
I’m sure people would buy your novel if they could.
Lexi
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:06 am
Hi Lexi,
Thanks. And yes, I’m well aware of the POD route and all of the options that entails. I’ve come to the conclusion that it isn’t for me.
Thanks again to all of you who have been spending time here on my page.
Lauri
November 7th, 2008 at 3:03 am
Hm. Well I was going to say the same thing as the commenter above so I don’t really have much to add, but I wanted to leave a comment anyway so you’d know I was here and interested.
November 21st, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Lauri, Servicing The Pole is gripping and real… changing it to represent a more “upbeat” tone would entirely lose the point of the whole work. And how upbeat do these people want it to be? Sanatised for your safety? That is one of the things that is truly wrong with the world. We close our eyes to reality and are then overcome with the vapours when a harsh truth breaks the surface of our inbuilt smugness… we are particularly good at that here in the UK. Don’t change a thing….. I love the darkness…..it’s real… it speaks to me.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Dark? Possibly. Much of the real world is dark. We can’t change that but we do need to acknowledge it. I’ve read all 14 chapters and think this is a truly wonderful work. The fact that it’s not all frills and lace doesn’t offed me. I admire the fact that you are able to write about a more difficult part of life. Thank you for being true to your art and for sharing it with us. I’m looking forward to reading it in its entirety.
February 1st, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Thank you for leaving your book as is. It’s fucking amazing.
February 5th, 2009 at 9:26 am
I’m very, very glad that you like it so much, RJ.
April 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am
i was rifling through blogs, music or tv on sometimes both, its weird trying to multitask listening, sometimes it almost works. then i came upon “servicing the pole”. i have turned off the sound, the tv, shut the door, and i’m only on chapter 10. this is incredible stuff…if characters have to be uplifting, i don’t want to read the story. don’t get me wrong, if the story gets it right, i’ll go with the up with people approach. but i prefer the straight feed of artistic truth. that is more uplifting than any positively spun prescription dramedy in any format.
i guess what i am trying to say is, i love it!
April 20th, 2009 at 4:43 am
Thanks, Fucen. It’s good to know you feel this way. I, in turn, prefer to have quality readers… so I guess we both win.
May 1st, 2009 at 9:11 am
I’d buy a proper copy of this, definately, with the right cover art and stuff (something appropriately dark), plus the fact that the title is awesome (I bet somewhere someone would want you to change that, too). I hate that people expected you to change that element of the story, for me that’s what makes it. I’m sick of stories where protagonists just walk into situations oh-so conveniently, or if they do struggle, supporting characters are super nice, to the point where they become wooden. The fact that Emily struggles and encounters conflict and tension on all sides, without the safety net (for the writer as much as the protagonist) of a big friendly sidekick character lends the story versimilitude which is often hard to find. I mean, what is art if not mimetic? Novels which fail to encapsulate humanity on a universal level are farsical in my opinion. That doesn’t mean that art should be mundane, but that even in describing the extraordinary, it should enable the suspension of disbelief. Books that are deliberately cheery do not achieve this.
How long is the final version in pages? If it was a skinnier book (think first few Harry Potter books), I’d probably buy it in paperback for about £5.99. Something chunkier (think later in the HP series) with a nice cover (yes, it DOES matter, lol), I’d say about £10.99. That’s in big bookstores, though. If it were in a smaller indie place and the blurb was really catchy, I’d probably spend more. Also, I think I’m onto something by measuring books in terms of Harry Potter.
I honestly love this, it’s the kind of contemporary literature I enjoy, but rarely find. Dark, with a message without having to research a more in depth philosophy beforehand. Do you mind if I post this link on the livejournal community, ‘bookish’? It would be really great to see this take off on a bigger scale.
Please keep writing, I am so thrilled that you have stayed true to your vision!
May 1st, 2009 at 10:16 am
Maya, thank you so much for everything you’ve said. Hmm… I actually have no idea how many pages this would be typeset. In Word, if I remember right, it was into the 400s when it was double-spaced.
And yes, certainly please feel free to post the link anywhere you like.
Glad I’ve got you interested and hope you keep coming back.
L
May 1st, 2009 at 11:17 am
posted!
http://community.livejournal.com/bookish/1609756.html
July 27th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Impressive.
I see you do short stories as well. I’m looking for stories 2000 words max for a project which is piloting now. Token payment only I’m afraid (25 pounds), but previously published work welcome. Email if you’re interested and I’ll send details.
August 10th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
I’m about to enter grad school, where I expect I’ll finally find out what real life costs. But in return I’ll have money to spend on the things I think are worth it.
Until then, I can’t buy your book. But I have the feeling it will stick with me anyway. Maybe I’ll see you in two years. =)
August 12th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Congrats on starting grad school, and good luck!
September 7th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
I came across your manuscript on Saturday evening and finished it yesterday………….it was fucking fabulous. End of story. Don’t change a thing. I have a very difficult time finding this type of writing which I truly enjoy. Characters from the ms have been popping into my head throughout the day….as if they were real people who I met over the weekend-
In particular, there is Sharon Kelly. Why? Well, you really captured the essence of the battle with smack and the love/hate affair with those entwined in her tentacles.
You see, I AM Sharon, almost. Twelve years ago I ran from the USA to Mexico with an ex gang member jumping bond. I WAS a white chick from an upper middle class family in Northern California. He was a junkie when we met. Then he actually kicked and has been clean for years……
But I gave in to the bizarre romanticism of heroin addiction that some people fall into. I believed that somehow my knowing exactly how my man felt when he was loaded or when he was not loaded that I would be more empathetic and that our problems would melt away with this super understanding. Or maybe I just needed a really bizarre reason to get fucked up………and fucked over. You allude to how junk makes strange bedfellows and you get it right. But what shocked me was how artfully you captured Sharon and Willy’s love/hate affair……….I have never seen it done as well and has brutally honestly as in this book. And then Alannah, oh how many bitches like her have we all known! ha.
I won’t get all sappy on you and say I am turning over a new leaf or anything, but it HAS made me think about my life as well.
Truly , we could be characters in this book and that is a trip.
I’ve gone down a rabbit trail here and I apologize. But, anyway, I WOULD buy the book, in traditional book form,most definitely and I guess I would paywhatever the gooing rate is for a comparable length book.
I encourage you to keep writing and wish you many blessings,
aims
September 9th, 2009 at 10:08 am
@ aims: Thank you so much for your comment, and also for sharing your story with me. My very best wishes for you both.
Lauri xx
September 10th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Dear Ms. Shaw,
I have a blog, Online Novels, http://online-novels.blogspot.com/, with the names, descriptions and web addresses of several hundred free novels available on the internet; please let me know if I may include a link to your book, Servicing the Pole.
Thank you.
Sincerely, Susan Crealock
September 11th, 2009 at 6:08 am
@ Susan Crealock — Certainly, and thanks!
October 21st, 2010 at 9:30 pm
I’m about to request a PDF version to convert for my Kindle. I haven’t started reading it yet, but I’d be prepared to risk 50p and pay more if I enjoyed it. I didn’t see a place to make voluntary contributions. Is there one? I haven’t looked at how much it would cost for you to set up a PayPal account, say, but eBayers seem able to afford them!
January 9th, 2011 at 3:21 am
Hi Andy,
Thanks so much for this comment. This site was down for a really long time, a hosting problem, and somehow I missed seeing this when I finally managed to get it back up.
In answer to your question: no, there’s no place to make contributions on the site. I’ve discovered that I enjoy the feeling of giving this particular story away.