About this Project
If you’ve ever made art that you wanted to share with the world, then at some point or another, you’ve been asked to compromise with the marketplace.
Let’s be honest. If you’re an artist, you probably hate that. The general consensus is that the marketplace is a necessary evil.
Some folks consider the market to be more necessary than evil. They’re willing to make changes to their work when asked, to increase the chances that the work will sell.
Of course, the market’s dirty little secret is that no one ever really knows what will sell. No matter how many meetings are held, no matter how many graphs are brought to the meetings, and no matter how many colors those graphs come in – if the product is art, music, or books, everyone might as well be doing a rain dance over a deck of tarot cards.
As a first-time, unknown author with no contacts in publishing, I stand low on the industry’s totem pole. This is understandable. I haven’t proven myself in the market, so it’s risky for anyone to offer me a liveable advance.
However, when professionals who were interested in selling my work insisted I’d need to make drastic changes to Servicing the Pole to make it a commercial prospect, I had to ask myself if the end justified the means. After all, these people were able to guarantee me little to nothing on the front end.
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, though, was that I ought to transform Emily into a more ‘likeable’ character. To do so would have been to change virtually every theme in this story.
I’m proud of the story I’ve written. It’s a story I can stand behind.
The more I thought about it, the idea of second-guessing what people might want to buy grew into a massive thorn in the side of the project. I was, and always have been, more concerned with sharing my work with people than with selling it to them. I decided to remove the marketplace’s barriers to my artistic freedom:
I took Servicing the Pole off the market.
I’m excited to be able to offer you the chance to read this book just the way it was intended – as told by an angry female protagonist who makes no apologies for her attitude or actions. 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 along with each chapter.
For those of you who would prefer to read Servicing the Pole in the traditional book format, I must offer you my apologies. Idealism always comes at a price, and this time the price is that I can’t afford to print up bound copies of Servicing the Pole.
On the other hand, if there’s enough of a demand for these books to be printed and sold as bound copies, we’ll find a way to make sure that happens. If you believe that Servicing the Pole should be made available in book form, please leave a comment below. Tell me why you think so and how much you’d be willing to pay for your copy.
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.
Subscribe via RSS
Subscribe via email
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 aware that there are several companies offering attractive and competitive deals, should the POD route prove to be the best avenue for Servicing the Pole.
The jury is still out on which route is the best. I think it will be largely decided by the people who are reading my book here at Laurishaw.com.
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. I hope you find a way to get your book printed at some point.
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!