Brainhell, the book?

A friend has encouraged the notion of brainhell, the book. Not sure the marketplace of ideas would accept that, because brainhell the blog has barely any readers (but I do love you). So, hmm. Who'se gonna buy it? The vast numbers of people with ALS? The disease is too rare and the mortality curve is too sudden. Maybe smoosh it out into a general life-is-precious type of tear jerker? "Tuesdays with Maury" already did that. (Still haven't read it, despite being the guy with ALS). Maybe that was "Tuesdays with the Maori". Anyway, it works better if you can write about the person, and all the wisdom they have, and how angelic they be, and linger, as the famous poet once wrote, over the "agony in chalks." It's hard to be a tragic saint in first person, unless you're David Sedaris.

So yeah, maybe something nearly self-published, like a Print On Demand thing. I consider POD books "nearly" self-published because, while the author does pay to put it up on the server, the readers are the ones who order and pay for the professionally-bound copies. They look like real books. I know: I ordered one once. It was by the right-wing ignoramus who thought that diplomactic immunity meant that ambassadors to this country can abduct and murder our little Christian girls with impunity because they have ... diplomatic immunity.

Anyway, the point being that I don't wind up with a basement full of books. And I actually make money on the copies that sell. Not that, let us just be clear: Not that writing is about money. Very few people write books in order to make money. There are a lot better ways to make a lot more money.