Now I’m a publisher!
Saturday I took my frst real break since January — that is, doing something else with my Saturday besides work. I went to the movies with a friend and saw The Hoax with Richard Gere. It’s the story of Clifford Irving, the author who made headlines more than 30 years ago for his claim that he had been tapped by reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes to collaborate on writing his autobiography. The only problem was that Irving had never met the man. But his lie was so convincing that he got a million-dollar advance for his claim. When the truth came out, it caused a major scandal.
The early scenes were particularly amusing in their portrayal of the condescending and pretentious editors and publishers at McGraw Hill who disdain Irving’s work — until they see real dollar signs. Every author who has been frustrated in approaching a publisher can relate — especially those who are told, like I once was, that my book on John Paul I “wasn’t sensational enough.”
The film says a great deal about lying, conscience and desire for fame and power, and is well worth catching. But one other message I took away with me was “self-publish at all costs!”
Which was very fitting, because just the day before I had gone to the Bronx County Courthouse and filed papers to start my first business — and it is a publishing busines: Tau Cross Books and Media, which is where I am going to publish my Franciscan works, the frst one of which is a little book on St. Elizabeth for the Secular Franciscans. If things go well, I’l distribute the documentary through it as well.
You can visit the website for Tau Cross Books here and download a pre-order form for the book.
Take that, McGraw-Hill!