I’ve been a big fan of Max Barry since I read his book Jennifer Government, a wickedly funny and energetic sci-fi satire of capitalism gone awry. I just started reading his first novel Syrup last night and I love it already. He has an incredibly wicked sense of humor and a gift for language that’s poorly imitated by lesser authors. His words fly off the page like electric guitar solos in a punk rock blitzkrieg.
For his latest endeavor Max has done something really special. He’s publishing his book Machine Man online as he writes it–one page per day. A “page” can be as short as a paragraph or longer than three or four typical novel pages. That page that he publishes every day (and Barry swears that he’s publishing them as he writes them and he doesn’t know where the story is going to end up) gets sent out to email addresses and mobile devices all over the world. People can also check the feed on Barry’s website.
Novelists putting their work online for all to see isn’t anything new, nor is the idea of serializing books over a period of time. But what’s fascinating about Machine Man is the way the distribution system is affecting the way Barry writes it. In an interview he admitted that he tried writing the book the traditional way but got bored –this new format has made the story come alive. It’s allowed Barry to play with structure by limiting certain pages to a few sentences while dragging others out for as long as he likes. This lets him control the pacing of the book instead of the arbitrary format of a novel with chapters. I also think that Barry’s frenetic writing style is well-suited to this format. His books are fast and smart, and reading one in this way makes sense for him in a way it wouldn’t for someone like Neal Stephenson.
In a broader sense this is great because it’s a new method of looking at the printed word that lowers barriers for everyone. While Barry is somewhat well-known and already has publishing deals, a stunt like this brings readers in, allows them to participate in the story (each page is open for comments by the readers, who offer real-time criticism and discussion) and become invested in a writer’s work. In a publishing landscape where authors are required more and more to cultivate relationships with their readers and nurture fan communities to survive, Barry seems to have found a solution that solves that need while trying out something innovative and fun for his own writing process.
And the book is just plain good. It’s really fun and outlandish and I can’t wait to see what happens in it.
Machine Man is free through the first 40-odd pages, then it costs $6.95 to subscribe to a feed. That’s a pretty decent price point for a novel, especially one delivered in real time to you. It’ll eventually be published as a book, but really half the fun is in the online aspect. You can catch up to the real time feed by reading everything in a row up to now or start on page 1 and go at your own pace. It’s as much of a time commitment as reading a single email a day. Plus, Christina and I are both doing it–how much more peer pressure could you need? Check it out.
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First thing I do in the morning is check my email to read the latest page. I love the pacing and the fact that there’s a build of anticipation as to what’s going to happen next – you just can’t predict anything. And it’s cheaper than buying a hardcopy of a book….
BTW – I’m almost at 40 pages, will defintely be subscribing. It really unique seeing how the story is unfolding in unexpected ways.
Awesome! He’s still going strong, although I’d like to see the plot move forward a little bit, he’s sort of hovering right now.
I just finished his book Syrup and it’s sensational. Laugh out loud funny, smart, hip, just awesome. Loved it.