Q: Do you think that including LS content could possibly increase the appeal to publishers or increase sales of the published book?
A: Short answer is no. Longer answer is that I didn't really consider it strongly one way or the other.
A: Suppose a publisher said they’d print your work but only if you edit it to include more emphasis on LS and people’s various reactions to his opinions. Would you edit it to appease the publisher? Or suppose a publisher said they looked up LS and said there is no way they’re publishing the book if you include his interview?
A: While being pretty hesitant to go too far down the path of hypotheticals, I will say a few things about this. First is that yes, the publisher does get to make suggestions that other participants do not. I am pretty sure I've alluded to that before.
Also, I have a potential publisher, who I won't name just yet out of avoiding presumption*, but they are someone I feel secure in being able to work with. As I've said before I do still regard myself as Discordian, and have a vested interest in displaying Discordia fairly and accurately, so while it's plausible that a publisher could ask me to make choices that would not meet this goal, the publisher I've spoken with is involved in Discordia, and I do trust them not to ask me to make choices that damage the integrity of the work. If it falls through with the current publisher and I work with someone else, naturally I will evaluate suggestions and if it takes things in a direction I'm uncomfortable with I'm willing to look at alternative options.
Q: How important is it to you that these interviews are published?
A: I suspect everything will be published at some point, as stand alone interviews or in the book. But how important is it that any given interview is published in the book? Not especially. It's important that I have the best final product possible and for that reason I have some favourites, but I'm prepared for the brutality of judgement that comes with the cut and burn of the editing process (the horror! The horror!)
Q: How important is it that you recoup costs? How important is it that you make a profit? And how do these interests relate to your editorial decisions?
A: This project, on paper, makes no sense. The short answer to the first two questions is that I don't realistically have any expectation of recouping costs and therefore have less expectation of making a profit. From a financial standpoint this project is a weird thing to do. From the standpoint of being in a bit of a rut, in a small town I'd grown frustrated by and a desire to produce something creative, it makes more sense. My main hope with this is that I produce something interesting and high quality enough that I can start to open up creative opportunities for myself that I didn't have access to previously.
*not Anaphora, before the conspiracy theory starts forming.
