Este blog é um romance em tempo real, baseado em pessoas reais que vai sendo escrito com o desenrolar da vida da personagem principal...o Roberto.
O leitor é o "Big Brother" da personagem principal e pode se deliciar com um post por dia (excepto fins de semana porque também preciso de viver).
A real-time what now?
Serial. It comes in lots of little parts. I called it “real-time” because people read it (and commented!) as I wrote it. I didn't pull an old manuscript out of the drawer and chop it up: I wrote this story on the fly, for the medium. Each day, I read comments from readers about the previous day's page and used their feedback to guide what I wrote next.
One page per day?
Right. Well, actually, one page per weekday (Monday to Friday). Because I need a break, man. Give me that.
How long is each page?
They vary. Which turned out to be a great way to control pacing, by the way. There are longish pages of 800 words and pages that are a single sentence. Most are around 300 words. That's what I think is an ideal length for fiction-by-internet: long enough to execute a scene, short enough to consume without interrupting your day.
Reading one page per day sounds weird.
It is. It's almost more like checking your favorite website each day rather than sinking into a novel. But it's a little addictive, too. A lot of people seem to enjoy that part of their day when a new Machine Man page dings into their inbox.
How long is it?
One hundred eighty-five pages. Which is 37 weeks, if you stick to the one-page-per-day regimen. Less if you cheat and read ahead online.
What's it about?
A man loses a leg in an industrial accident and decides to build a better one. Because that's the kind of guy he is. He gradually gadgetifies himself, which attracts the attention of his employer, the Better Future corporation.
Is it finished now?
I posted the first page on March 18, 2009, and the final page on December 1. But you can still sign up for one page per day via email or feed reader, starting from page 1. You just aren't reading the pages the same day I posted them.
Why did you do this?
Partly because some of my readers were frustrated with the delay between novels. And by "frustrated," I mean, "accusing me of sitting around doing nothing all day." (See my blog about it.) An alarming aspect of being an author is that you spend a couple years on a book, then someone reads it in five hours and asks when your next one will be out. I figured a drip-feed story would keep them off my back for a while.
I was also interested in using the internet to successfully deliver fiction. I don't think the web is a great medium for novels, because novels are supposed to be immersive: you need to sit down and disappear into them. On the net, you can't give your attention to any one thing for more than eight seconds before feeling the urge to check your email. Don't say that's just me. It's how the internet trains us.
I think there are a lot of gimmicky attempts to mash fiction and the web together, regardless of how well they fit. They are promotions for a print novel, essentially, rather than genuine attempts to engage the medium and work to its strengths and weaknesses. I wanted to write something that fit.
Is it any good?
I think so. It's not nearly as polished as a novel, because it's essentially a first draft. Also, since I was publishing each page as I wrote it, I couldn't go back and change something I regretted later. Sometimes this felt like being strapped to the front of a train.
A good analogy I heard is that this is like listening to a band play live instead of their studio recording. It's a little raw and chaotic. But I'm very proud of it as a real-time serial. And plenty of people seemed to enjoy it. Here are some quotes from readers the day I posted the final page:
“I just LOVE this story... freakin' awesome... my favorite book.” — Justin. • “Brilliant” — tim. • “You are so good, Max. I'm just flabbergasted. What an amazing ride. And a finish completely up to the standard the books set. Soooo good.” — Charles Thiesen. • “Fabulous... Please sir, can we have more?” — Lisa. • “What a trip, Max. Fantastic work. I'm going to miss seeing these pages arrive in my Google Reader every morning.” — RequiemInADream. • “In short, you blew my mind. Thank you and do another!” — Ted. • “this was an awesome story” — Paul Haggerty. • “Thanks very much Max. It was an absolutely fantastic read. It's made everyday that little bit better knowing I'm going to have a little bit of excitement in my inbox” — Stuk. • “Thanks for the amazing story, the unique experience, all the good reads every day, all the frustrating cliffhangers. I love you, but you better be creating another masterpiece in the near future, or else!” — Yannick. • “definitely look forward to and buy the next serial” — Lucy. • “Fantastic! I have loved the past weeks waiting each day for the next page... what will I do now?” — Craig Barron. • “Read it, loved it, every day... very much looking for your next daily serial... Where can I pre-order?” — Hendrik. • “Really loved the book” — Dave. • “Simply brilliant, start to finish. Soooooo pleased to have both been a reader and a aprt of this very enjoyable book / process” — Mapuche. • “awesome, I enjoyed (almost) every bit of it :-).” — John. • “Well done, Max! Absolutely bloody brilliant.” — Pev. • “a great book” — Adam. • “Fantastic!!!! I will miss this dearly :(” — Katie Ellert. • “kudos Max, it's a great story!” — Jamie. • “It's gonna be weird tomorrow to not start my day with this... Great work!” — Paul. • “totally awesome” — Arnab. • “This was amazing. Thank you. :)” — Mary. • “brilliant, just brilliant. Thank you so much for such a marvelous 'book'. I will miss it.” — Anonymous. • “awesome book Max, thank you so much!” — YHM. • “Brilliant stuff mate, great ending!” — Josh. • “Thanks for an awesome story. I'm just sad it's already over. I thought that the page a day format would have bugged me but I found it a refreshing change of pace.” — Anonymous. •
How do I get it?
Buy your Machine Man feed here! Or, if you'd like to sample some pages first, sign up to a free feed or just start reading online.
How much is it?
Up to page 43, it's free. That's nine and a half weeks of Machine Man goodness for nothing. Your own feed, which gets you access to the entire 185-page story, plus allows you to pause, rewind, re-read, and feed my family, is US$6.95.
Can I buy it as a print book?
A print version of Machine Man will be published in 2011, which will be a novel based on this serial. It won't be the same exact story, because I'm going to rewrite it a couple times between now and then, but it will be the same concept with (most of) the same characters.
Did I hear something about a movie?
I think you did! Midway through the serial, Mandalay Pictures picked up the film rights. This means there's a film in development, which may or may not get made. Most books that get optioned like this do not make it into actual movies, alas. But how cool would it be, you know?
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