Comments on: Perfect strangers call you by name...

Perfect strangers call you by name...

astruc — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 13:32:53 -0800

Why Girls are Weird. In the ongoing debate of weblogs versus online journals, one journal-writer just hit a major milestone: bestselling fiction. Pamela Ribon, also a recapper for Television Without Pity, attracted recent attention when she asked her readers to support the Oakland Public Library, and they responded in record numbers. Those online fans are now responding again. Ribon released her first novel, Why Girls Are Weird, on July 1st, and her Amazon Sales Rank has shot up to 212 on some days, beating out other best-sellers for sales. Pretty amazing feat, considering the book was still in pre-sales and has yet to have publicity outside of her own web presence. The story, a fictional account of a woman who creates an online journal only to find fame, fortune and romance, is loosely based on Ribon's own experiences at pamie.com. In fact, sections of the book are from her former archives. So, will history repeat itself? How many of you are planning to try and publish your archives?

By: drezdn

drezdn — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 13:47:31 -0800

I'll sell them for $.10 (almost two years worth), so with 100 buyers I can buy an album.

By: keli

keli — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 13:50:39 -0800

Another online journal writer, Gwen Zepeda, has a book coming out next year as well. They've both worked very hard for this.

By: eilatan

eilatan — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 14:07:56 -0800

I think I'd have to pay people to read my archives, actually.

By: Asparagirl

Asparagirl — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 14:12:41 -0800

While this is cool news, I think it also should be noted that Ribon isn't exactly a total unknown in the non-online world. She created, directed, and performed the well-received play "Call Us Crazy: The Anne Heche Monologues" in Los Angeles, which had Ribon and several other women performing monologues and acting out scenes from Heche's bizarro autobiography. A bunch of famous people, including reportedly Heche herself, saw it, and it got good write-ups in the L.A. press. She's a creative person in a lot of different media, and the cross-pollinization is only to be expected.

By: anastasiav

anastasiav — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 14:14:38 -0800

It also doesn't hurt that it has a really cool title. I'm sure she'll sell some just to people who like the name...

By: SpecialK

SpecialK — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 14:23:26 -0800

... And her friends are all buying it and promoting it heavily, becuase a lot of the characters are based on real-life friends or people (like me) who were a part of the community that she hosted for a couple of years. Ms. Ribbon was also a comedian for a number of years, and performed in clubs in Austin and LA.

By: transona5

transona5 — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 14:24:14 -0800

Hmmm. I'm skeptical of anything affiliated with Television Without Pity, but the Heche thing sounds pretty funny. I can see why a lot of bloggers would want to read something like this, if only to get inspired for their own future publishing endeavors.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 14:40:14 -0800

Also makes you wonder how many books you have to sell to get that rank.

By: namespan

namespan — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 15:12:43 -0800

If Paul Ford doesn't have a best-seller inside of the next 5-10 years, the only reason will be because he just keeps giving it away for free.

By: arielmeadow

arielmeadow — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 16:23:56 -0800

Blogs are just so useful for us writers! I got an ongoing writing gig with a Seattle newsweekly after the editor found my blog. And I admit that, with almost three years of material built up, I have some hope that maybe some of it, just a bit, will be useful for some future publishing endeavor...like maybe a book. But don't tell anyone or else they'll steal my idea! ...oh wait.... Related news: I have some publishing industry friends in NYC who are 100% confidant that Dooce has already been contacted by lit agents.

By: strangeleftydoublethink

strangeleftydoublethink — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 16:26:30 -0800

I'm waiting for the Collected Works of Metafilter to be published. Matt?

By: weston

weston — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 16:43:39 -0800

You know, is there a better word for the kind of thing that online writers do than "blog" or "online journal". That's not really what they are. I'm really frustrated with that term and I know a number of other people are (including the afforementioned Paul Ford, apparently, namespan). I've heard a few people use the term "notebook" a few times, and that's closer, but it seems lacking in hypermedia caché... Hmmm. "Caché". A bit pretentious, but has potential.

By: normy

normy — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 17:19:18 -0800

ongoing debate of weblogs versus online journals Have I been asleep or... what ongoing debate ... of... versus ..? Huh? Why should there be some debate? Is there a prize?

By: jscalzi

jscalzi — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 18:08:44 -0800

Weston writes: "You know, is there a better word for the kind of thing that online writers do than 'blog' or 'online journal'." "Writing" is probably the word you're thinking of.

By: adamgreenfield

adamgreenfield — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 18:38:50 -0800

That's not writing, that's TYPING! Haw haw.

By: ShaneOPoghm

ShaneOPoghm — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 18:44:01 -0800

Good points. You write some fiction online on your site, you publish it somewhere formally later and pull it from your site, does that make you a weblogger being "discovered," or just a writer with an online practice space? And how do weblogs get "discovered" anyway?

By: graventy

graventy — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 20:22:58 -0800

Sixteen comments, and no one has an answer. C'mon people, why are girls weird? Why?

By: sugarfish

sugarfish — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 20:26:29 -0800

graventy, you have to read the book, silly. recommended, btw. i got my copy friday.

By: lnicole

lnicole — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 21:24:35 -0800

her Amazon Sales Rank has shot up to 212 on some days, beating out other best-sellers for sales. Pretty amazing feat, considering the book was still in pre-sales and has yet to have publicity outside of her own web presence. wow, i hope that works for me once i try to publish a novel... *ahem*

By: squirrel

squirrel — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 21:33:32 -0800

If Paul Ford doesn't have a best-seller inside of the next 5-10 years, the only reason will be because he just keeps giving it away for free. I would love to think that one of today's promising writers, in addition to Jonathan Foer, thinks that there's more to be done with writing than to write best-sellers. Well, of course Foer did just publish his first book, a best-seller. Hmm. How many of you are planning to try and publish your archives? When they pry them from my cold dead--ah, you know the rest.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 21:39:10 -0800

I started the blog thing in order to have some kind of external push to write every day. After about 3 years at it, I think I actually do write better as a result of all the public practice, but only if I plan to sit down and Write, which happens more and more rarely these days. Maybe it is time to mine the archives and finally do one of the books I've been threatening to inflict on the world for so long. If I can outsell Miguel in Portugal, my work will be done. Heh.

By: wendell

wendell — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 22:33:08 -0800

I'm waiting for the Collected Works of Metafilter to be published. All posts are © their original authors. Let's get 17,151 signatures on that book contract... ...plus a couple who have been banned for life but live on in the archives.

By: Mars Saxman

Mars Saxman — Wed, 02 Jul 2003 23:17:18 -0800

hypermedia caché cachET, not cache.

By: nofundy

nofundy — Thu, 03 Jul 2003 04:42:59 -0800

Thanks for the great link astruc. I have absolutely no idea why girls are weird but I wouldn't have them any other way.

By: Dukebloo

Dukebloo — Thu, 03 Jul 2003 16:11:50 -0800

There are many great writers online; aside from Paul Ford, others with potential for the blog-to-book translation: Alex at Brokentype, Michael Barrish at Oblivio. Any others?

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Fri, 04 Jul 2003 15:37:49 -0800

Huh. We're weird because people, in general, are weird. For proof, merely walk out your front door. Alex Golub writes fantastically well; Caterina writes professionally; and obviously I should mention Jessamyn, too, who has just published Revolting Librarians Redux.... There are numbers of fine writers in the weblogging world, some working in a critical/academic genre (so they don't really come into this discussion) but others, like Paul Ford, who illuminate everyday life with sensitivity and intelligence.