The e-Sleeper of the Year

This Wednesday morning, the site's latest feature talked about time machines. Appropriate, I thought, since McSweeneys.net is one of the most effective cross-publishing ventures today—a kind of homage to futurism in a world where print publishing happily coincides with its little sister, e-publishing. As I started reading Philip Ryan's acutely tongue-in-cheek analysis of the past as it relates to "the unknowable future," this week's thesis on publishing became even clearer: History outdoes itself.Ryan writes: "The Contrivances of our Descendants will certainly be very fast-moving and, being harried by their faster pace of life, the Drivers of Tomorrow may not be on the look-out for us, Secret Visitors from the Past." Um. ok.He also writes: "Follow the crowds and attempt to blend in until you are properly oriented."Oh. Right. Of course.And while it is fairly clear that neither Ryan nor McSweeneys is making any shrouded point about burgeoning success as a kind of non-giant media giant (or at least self-effacing one), both Wednesday's latest feature, appropriately titled "Helpful Advice," and the onslaught of visitors the site reportedly reels in daily, is a testament to the power of pluralistic publishing. In other words, it pays to keep up with the future's enthusiastic inventions (as in, "harried by their faster pace of life"). Ironically, however, McSweeneys, the publishing conglomerate, has never followed the crowd—well, not exactly.It all depends on how you define "the crowd." Surely McSweeneys content and publishing methods are anything but mainstream. Where else can you read a short story about mail-order Russian brides in the very same place you can read about one man's investigations of Iraqi extremism—both online and off? Not in Rolling Stone. And certainly not in Newsweek. Contrary, McSweeneys is a purposeful hodge podge. But the real ruckus it's making has as much to do with production as it does pontification.Cyber impresario and founder Dave Eggers has proved that, yes, celebrity cache sure helps perpetuate a publishing pantheon, but so does new-fashioned "e." "E" as in e-publishing. The Internet has provided commercial and artistic benefits to a process Eggers has been inventing since he first developed (and dumped) Might magazine. The less-than-empowering "might" soon turned into a variable definition of itself. And with all (or at least the rest) of his own "might," daily exposure garnered by the inexpensive portal turned profitable. And now, daily postings, musings and e-mail letters provide every reason for a neophyte (yours truly) to peruse McSweeneys.net virtually every day, for not just daily updates and uber-intellectual hauntings, but also to find out more about the books and journals that McSweeneys also publishes. It's not enough in today's market to only be a print publisher or Internet publisher. One has to somehow juggle both worlds in order to come out ahead—or at least break even in an otherwise unstable market. This is the great marketing edge Eggers coddles—something that readers of his A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius might not have ever expected from the author-nee-big brother-nee ... slacker?Both with constructive (marketing, commercialism and shameless self-promotion) and destructive (what seems more like anti-commercial convictions and self-folly) leanings, the Internet has established a camaraderie between readers, writers and producers that has translated into successful publishing outside the realm of "just print" or "just Web." Case in point: had the original World Wide Web not wrangled such a cultish following, it's questionable as to whether the journal or books would ever have launched from the swamps of Eggers' ego. Instead, the accidental god has publicly admitted that e-publishing's future is about as fluid as creativity: Sometimes you have it, and sometimes you don't. Despite McSweeneys success, he's made no qualms about questioning the value of e-anything. To this point, the founder is absolute in his allegiance to print publishing. On the other hand, the businessman in the writer's suit must also be careful not to efface too far. Frankly, Dave, without e, you're nothing.But contrary to many online outlets, at McSweeneys.net, there are no banner ads. There are no exclamation points. But there is plenty of commerce. Think: t-shirts, journals, events listings, books, etc. (Read: This is the mainstream, commercial part of the endeavor). And while it may go relatively unnoticed by the casual content reader, the foundation has certainly been built to support this e-kingdom from the savvy publisher's perspective. Could this be the secret of future success? After the Oedipal downfall of the dot.coms, McSweeneys teaches a lesson in commercial humility. In its case, big isn't always better to bolster content. On the site, there's plenty of room for both imagination—and profiteering.Digital publishing's siren songs are, indeed, astute ones. Many authors (not just Stephen King) are taking a stab at the e-system. For instance, M.J. Rose ignited her literary career back in the late 1980s when she self-published Lip Service as an e-book long before e-books were a household word, er, soundbyte. More recently, Rose's second novel, In Fidelity, will, too, be published as an e-book (and also as a print publication). The news marks another notch for e-to-print publishing success, insofar as a major publishing house has agreed to take yet another fledgling writer under its wing. It's a bargain.But Simon & Schuster also reports that it will republish many of its popular authors' works in e-formats. Such Simon & Schuster bestsellers as Mary Higgins Clark and Colleen McCullough will reportedly be e-booked by year's end. And in the McSweeneys vein, Amy Fusselman is already going from unknown to phenom with her first McSweeneys-published The Pharmacist's Mate. Fusselman emerged from the McSweeneys stable as not only a promising talent, but also a potentially wealthy one. Should the book sell well, McSweeneys will bequeath all profits to the author (a common practice among indie publishers; why do you think so many musicians are spinning their own record labels?). At $16 retail on a book produced for $3 each, she could be sitting pretty as a profit princess should it sell—which it has already started doing. The moral of the story, in the words of Ryan's own predictions, is a lot more complicated than e-to-print success might suggest: "Don't read too much of whatever periodicals, digital or otherwise, they offer. They will contain misinformation. For to the Men of Tomorrow we are laughable cavemen."All the way to the bank, maybe.-Natalie Hope McDonald

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The e-Sleeper of the Year

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