# Publishing of the third kind



## JustRob (Dec 22, 2015)

At a time when Scrooge is once again about to be visited by the spirits of Christmases past, present and future and perhaps the three clocks in my avatar, one going forwards, one standing still and one going backwards, carry a similar message, a somewhat alien story about publishing methods might be appropriate.

We are aware of the slowly grinding millstones of the traditional publishing process and the impetuous modern self-publishing option, but my rather amateur efforts seem to be taking a third path because I never intended to be a writer at all. For some time I have been emphasising in WF that a writer must have some idea about their target readership in order to write something that will grab their attention and hold it. I knew that my work would attract a very select readership and even stated that thirteen readers, a baker's dozen, would satisfy me. It now seems possible that rather than a baker's dozen my readership may be measured in covens.

My claim that my novel writing is based on future events within my own lifetime is not creative posturing but a genuine perception arising from my experiences. In fact I consider how my writing came about to be more interesting than the superficial fictional story that purports to be the final product. Hence I am considering setting up a website specifically to provide access to the fictional story alongside the true story of its writing, so that readers can judge for themselves whether some element of precognition might have been involved. So that reality mirrors fiction the website will most likely be one for the fictional precognitive organisation in my novel called _Mens Temporum, _the "Mind of Times". In a way this is a reflection of a sentiment in my signature, that sharing an experience creates a reality. My writing has always been self-referential, almost metafictional in nature, so like a Klein bottle it can be very difficult to determine whether one is inside or outside of it, a Klein bottle having only one side.

As part of my publishing and promotional process I recently contacted the Society for Psychical Research, the oldest ghostbusting and paranormal investigative organisation in the UK apparently. They have expressed an interest in my venture and offered to include access to my website and download facilities in their own social network. Maybe this will direct my writing to what may have always been my target readership, whether they be sceptics or psychics. Hopefully it will cause some relevant and well informed discussion which will help me to understand my experiences better.

Unlike normal publishing this endeavour will be a different kettle of fish. Anyone accessing the website to read the stories for their entertainment and philosophical content would want to see the latest edition of my work, exactly what WF helps writers to perfect. On the other hand those interested in the reality of the precognitive implications would rather see the earliest drafts written when the future events hadn't yet happened. There are even more complications, such as the cryptic reference in the original draft to my rewriting the first chapter during an eclipse of the moon, as I actually did after Lee pointed out that I should after beta reading the work for me. Hence it may be necessary to give access to several versions of the work.

At school I specialised in mathematics and was used to the fact that one had to show all one's workings to prove how one achieved the final result, but doing this with a novel that has evolved over several years is not a writer's normal perception of the publishing process. Nevertheless I think I ought to attempt it.

Well, that's enough spookiness in the lead-up to Christmas. I'll keep WF informed of progress and eventual availability of the website.


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## krishan (Dec 30, 2015)

I'm not sure, from reading this, what your work is about - but it sounds interesting. It's a fantastic idea to get in touch with existing organisations, clubs or societies whose readership might be interested in your book.


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## patskywriter (Dec 30, 2015)

Sounds like fun. Do it. Don’t just talk about it—Do it!


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## JustRob (Jan 30, 2016)

It is done. My website http://www.menstemporum.uk/ is now launched. Anyone who wants to share in my experience of the weirdest way to write a novel is welcome to visit it. The full chronicle of events and both the latest version of the novel and the earliest are included. I have already notified the Society for Psychical Research, so I doubt that the WF membership will cause me any problems in comparison. My partially completed novel now sits in some purgatory between beta reading and publication, the website being either, neither or both according to how one views such things. It doesn't matter too much to me. I never intended to become a writer anyway.

Krishan wondered what my novel is about. That was exactly my problem too. Since joining WF a year ago after writing it I have noticed one strange thing. It is in a way about an organisation located beyond reality, floating in a sea of timeless possibilities, with a baron at its head and the possibility that in the future it will be taken over by an admiral, but then I wrote it years ago. It isn't about WF though; it's about something else. It always has been.

The answers to questions about this thread, if they exist at all, aren't here but on the website.


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## JustRob (Feb 2, 2016)

This morning the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) posted an item about my novel and website on their Facebook page and in their Twitter feed as promised, so now I just have to wait for responses. On Saturday I'm going on an introductory course on cognitive psychology so that I have a chance of understanding any correspondence that I might receive from such people. Thank heavens for the level-headed types who abound in WF and their comprehensible banter.


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## JustRob (Feb 6, 2016)

I have been corresponding with a psychologist who heads a university team investigating claims of the paranormal. Her name is Caroline, she acquired her first degree in psychology at St. Andrews University and her senior colleague is a member of the Inner Magic Circle. They are one of only two teams that I know of in the UK who investigate this sort of thing. I avoided contacting the other team as their investigator has the initials "G G" and there are several references to those initials in my novel already. 

I mentioned to Caroline that in my novel written five years ago two of the main characters are a young woman named Caroline and a Doctor Andrews who wanted to be a conjuror and illusionist but became a medical doctor instead. She told me that I was trying too hard to make connections. These parapsychologists are tough people to convince. No wonder nothing has ever been "proved" by their standards. I must try harder with my predictions.

Our local tourist attraction was unexpectedly forced to close last summer. In my novel I effectively predicted that that would happen in 2015. I wrote to the lady who heads up the group of volunteers who ran the visitor centre there to tell her to be optimistic as I think I know how the story ends. She replied to say that she has taken my novel to read on the plane as she is about to go on holiday and she believes in this sort of stuff. Well, as long as the messages get to the people for whom they were intended I'm happy.

As I've written several times in WF, it is important to know who your target readers are meant to be. Giving your story a clear theme provides the opportunity to seek them out and use them to establish a presence. The alternative of writing too broadly may potentially bring in more readers but also your story may just get lost in the mainstream and sink. It's a choice to be made early in your planning, I think.

May the force be with you.


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## JustRob (May 3, 2016)

Well, here's an unexpected occurrence. For my replica computer project (The Honey Pi Project) I recently sent a couple of designs for printed circuit boards to the manager of a PCB manufacturing company in Yorkshire asking for an estimate for nine boards based on these. I also mentioned that there had been a long delay in getting the designs done as I had been preoccupied with the events described on my Mens Temporum website. In his reply he mentioned that he has downloaded my novel from my website and will start reading it shortly. He also said that he is intrigued by my unusual computer project and, having read the introduction to my Mens Temporum website, grateful for the opportunity to read my novel, so will only charge me for the initial tooling and set-up costs but will make the boards themselves free of charge. Given that previously we had discussed the high cost of gold plating the edge connections on the boards apart from the basic manufacturing cost, this is a valuable concession on his part.

Thinking about it, did I just quite unintentionally make my first book sale, albeit by payment in kind, in gold even? Maybe there is something to this publishing of the third kind after all.


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