quitter the book

The subtitle of this blog is “Thoughts on a local diet and other things in Wilmington, NC…” I have the local diet thing down, but in the past week or so I have become engaged in some “other things”. This other thing is something I am very excited about even though its completion and implementation is fairly far away. I have decided to put my other project, Quitter, into book form.

It seemed like a logical way to conclude the first five issues of the Quitter story, five fairly different pieces of writing. I have no idea if the demand is out there for this obscure personal zine, but I am confident that I can break out of the zine world and into a larger audience. These are stories about me and my experiences; will they resonate beyond those that know me? I think I can say yes at this point, three years on…

I meet people, randomly, who have read the series but have no connection to me personally. I have learned that people pass on their copies to friends and family, and this gives me the inspiration to put Quitter out there with some sparkle to it (read: glossy cover and ISBN number).

Cricket Bread reaches around the world instantly. It has grown more than I ever thought and it is just getting started. The emails I get from readers are inspiring. Folks are getting something out of my experiences, and they are enjoying coming along with me as I discover my foodshed. If I was just talking to myself, I wouldn’t need all *this*. But folks also like somethings to be tangible, which is the draw of printed material. This is why Quitter is not available electronically. That is not the format it needs.

Quitter has never made any money. Any zine writer will tell you that hundreds of dollars go in and a fraction of that comes back. It is an art, not a paycheck. I expect to price the book with a minimal return just so that it can be affordable. Hopefully, as the publication date gets closer, you all won’t mind me making a couple pitches for the book.

Until then, back to local eating…