Did anyone really know anything about House of Leaves before it was published by Random House? I'm at a loss to find anything online published before 2000 that even mentions the book, but the marketing copy on Amazon reads:
"Years ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet.... Starting with an odd assortment of marginalized youth -- musicians, tattoo artists, programmers, strippers, environmentalists, and adrenaline junkies -- the book eventually made its way into the hands of older generations...."
Are there any marginalized youth -- musicians, tattoo artists, programmers, strippers, environmentalists, or adrenaline junkies out there who ever got their hands on this book before it was published? (excepting Danielewski friends family, and creative writing instructors, who may fit the above criteria) It is more likely that the publishing house make up an elaborate Internet fueled backstory a la Blair Witch Project to fuel sales. My guess is that the "marginalized" following that was said to have embraced this book most definitely discovered it after it was put in bookstores by Random House. The first time I saw it was on iUniverse a few weeks before publication. Not really the hangout of stripper's, programmers, and tattoo artists last I checked.
Publishers may be rushing to publish eBooks (or at least take advantage of Microsoft's marketing budget) but what is much more interesting is the rush pimp out interactive content to publishers. For example, Word.com -- one of the pioneers of interactive writing -- published Gig, a collection of interviews developed by a small army of interviewers originally featured online. The book is still in bookstores, and most likely still selling, but Word.com lost its corporate sponsor and is going out of business.
Slashdot Mirror
Publishers may be rushing to publish eBooks (or at least take advantage of Microsoft's marketing budget) but what is much more interesting is the rush pimp out interactive content to publishers. For example, Word.com -- one of the pioneers of interactive writing -- published Gig, a collection of interviews developed by a small army of interviewers originally featured online. The book is still in bookstores, and most likely still selling, but Word.com lost its corporate sponsor and is going out of business.